When my father stayed with us over Christmas last year he was quite shocked about the amount of swearing on telly. My dad went to Oxford in the early 70ies and he used to watch Monty Python, Russell Brand is not quite his cup of tea, but he likes Father Ted and surprisingly took to Spaced (we often buy him comedy so he can catch up on things as he lives in Germany). God only knows what he would have made of Frankie Boyle, who makes us laugh, as he knows where to sprinkle the f-word to good humorous effect.
I have to admit swearing has increased in the last 20 years. Maybe it’s due to reality TV. Even I find it occasionally too much. I don’t mind a good old swearing and the use of the most versatile swearword fuck (I find feck funnier) has been very well illustrated here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6nPQsuRKsE .
I don’t think any other language can boast of having so much variety in swear words. It can be baffling for foreigners. In German we do swear a lot too, but it’s not having quite the same impact and variety and the German equivalent to the f-word makes not much sense as my husband learned. When we lived in Kiel, he used to cycle to work. One day he got cut off by a driver and for want of the proper German swear word he shouted; “Sind Sie ficking blind” That was one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard – the driver must have thought –what a weirdo or simply couldn’t make it out.
2 comments
Anonymous says:
February 19, 2009 at 11:11 am (UTC 0)
I turn the TV off a lot now. I can't stand all the swearing etc. And I'm no prude !
Anonymous says:
February 19, 2009 at 11:13 am (UTC 0)
I'm no prude; but have taken to turning the TV off when dimwitted idiots think that lavatorial humour and endless effing and blinding is perceived to be some form of entertainment.
I think it is really unpleasant !
Although I was taught swearing as an art form when I was a teenage sailor in the Royal Navy, and can still be somewhat expressive on the right occasion, I find gratuitous swearing in any public place extremely offensive and positive childishly ignorant when it is done deliberately on TV.
In fact, I'm find the quality of TV in general so awful, I'm almost considering not bothering to buy another when the current one gives up the ghost.