Profanity is an interesting phenomenon. Everybody knows that everybody else knows that these words exist and have meanings that can be useful, and yet we all understand that we're supposed to use various synonyms for them instead. Often there are no polite direct substitutions (for instance you can't sub in any replacement for something like "John fucked his girlfriend last night") and you have to rephrase the entire though into something more polite ("John had sexual intercourse with her"). Other times you're allowed to substitute the anatomically correct term or a less vulgar term, or whatever. And forbidden words are always about sex and excretion and religion. ("Cock! Crap! Jesus titty-fucking Christ!")
Why the hell is all of this going on? Pinker seems to be saying that it is part of the elaborate system whereby we're all acknowledging social systems and our relative places in society or something. We'll see when I get there. I'll let you know. Until then...
Myself, I'm fairly profane. If you could do a word count on this blog, I'd bet profanity levels are pretty damn high. I think I just don't have any respect for arbitrary taboo, and I derive some enjoyment from flaunting that. I said shit in class the other day, which was fairly enjoyable, and yet its stupid that I should even make a note of such, but I do. Why? Fucking profanity, that's why. Also, I like it that my advisers are loose with profanity. I pretty much like anyone who is loose with profanity. So for me, profanity is a code that gives me cues that you might be cool. For others, profanity is a cue that you're probably a terrible person.
Also, profanity can be really funny sometimes. George Carlin and whatnot. Good for a cheap laugh at least. Tickles you somewhere you're not allowed to be tickled. The Aristocrats.
This post doesn't have a point, just rambling thoughts. No end either.
The book:
The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature
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