Swearing

 The Guardian has a piece that at this time of year I find amusing. The writer notes:

Swearing has become more widely acceptable over the past two decades because it is increasingly used for other purposes than to insult people, linguistics experts have said. “F..k” and “s..t”, the two most commonly used swearwords in the UK, are frequently used to emphasise a point in conversation or to build social bonds, rather than with the specific intent to cause offence, according to academic researchers.

The use of the F word, actually a Germanic derivative but introduce by Edward III in 1353 as "Fornication Under Consent of the King". This was a permission for what was then for Common Law Marriages,  since the Plague of 1348 had demolished religious orders and those capable of performing a legal ceremony. Needless to say the shortening of the word has come down to us as noted. 

In my own case, it was the cold January of 1961 that my father sent me to work at the NY Sanitation Department, if I recall to teach me what work was really like. Perhaps I was a bit rebellious, but I don't recall. So every day I arose at 4 AM, dressed warmly, took two busses to the Sanitation Garage in Port Richmond. There after 4 years of Latin, three of French, one of Greek, a bit of Italian, a summer of Russian, I learned Staten Island speak, Namely the use of the F word as a noun, adjective, verb, adverb, conjunctive, preposition and on an on. One spoke using the F word as every other word. I had become a true Staten Islander, or even a Brooklynite! I could mumble and interject Fs as good as anyone else. Thus I could terrify the worst of my Mafioso friends.

Language is a reflection of class. In England it defines one's class, think King Charles. Most people fail to recognize that. Thus Jersey Shore is a true reflection of some I knew in my youth. As an aside Snooki (actually born in Chili) lives just around the corner from me here in New Jersey. She is listed by Wikipedia as a famous resident beating out two Mafioso heads who are now in the slammer. 

But the question is; what does the use of the F word, as it migrates through society really mean? I still feel the pull of that Sanitation Garage!