In English, lots of swear words get changed (toned down) to make them less offensive/shocking, e.g., sugar/shoot for sh*t, and basket for bastard.
The younger generation in Britain, since at least a decade ago, do not exercise such considerations, however, using the f-word liberally almost as a badge of honour. This gets picked up by non-English speakers (e.g., from Europe, working in the pub) who seem to think using the f-word as freely as the native-speakers makes them more native / less foreign.
A Taiwanese friend once told me in 1979 about a Taiwanese girl who’d gone to America for a brief period — on an English course, I think — and come back throwing shit and f**k around all the time. He said, “She thinks that this way she’s showing off her superiority* over her fellow Taiwanese. She doesn’t seem to realise that it’s actually showing up her stupidity in choosing to use such vulgar language, especially for a Chinese girl.”
This reminds me of something a student once told me in the late 80s or early 90s. Western female tourists in the Guilin (SW China) area were walking around in colourful baggy shorts they’d bought in the open markets, leaving the locals, especially the old ladies, tittering. Those comfortable baggy shorts were the Chinese equivalent of the Western boxer shorts (i.e., underwear).
*It wasn’t easy in those days for people from Taiwan to go abroad.
(London 2012–present; Taiwan 1979s; China, 1980s/1990s)
No comments:
Post a Comment