Substitute words

[Yarddog]

Some people say curse words themselves are the problem, some people think substitute words carry the same weight and feeling in your heart so those are sinful too. I have struggled with cursing ever since I got into it in middle school. Is saying words like 'fudge' 'duck' or 'monkeys' (some people at school do this, one girl says donkeys :? ) okay instead of full-on censor-worthy words or not?

It is not so much the word that is used but the intention through which the word is used which makes it sinful.

 

[Nick714]

i would listen to your heart. i struggle with it too. even crude joking defiles my heart.

 

[*LILAC]

My female boss uses the f word now and then. I think its sometimes a statement of feminism, of equal rights.

I've heard alot of that going around. Many people thinking it's no longer "unprofessional" to be dropping f-bombs and other curse words within the work place. Especially for the women with such potty mouths.

 

[Galatea]

If it bothers you, that is good. It means you do not have a seared conscience. Cursing is unlovely and unholy. I can see nothing lovely in the f word, and the b word, certainly not in gd- which is the worst, though mf comes a close second.

It is what comes out of the heart that defiles a person, through their words.

It is also a sign of a very poor vocabulary.

But none of our opinions matter, only the Bible's matters. What does the Bible say about profanity?

James 3 is all about controlling our conversation.

I try hard not to use profanity, and like Lovebirds said, some substitutions are less ugly than others. My aunt says "goodness gracious". Which is ladylike and lovely.

Using the f word does not make you a "strong woman" like Paul surmised, but it makes you an ugly woman. There is really nothing more unlovely than a profane woman.

I like Lovebirds post, when I use substitutions, like good grief, I am actually thinking "good grief". If you are not really thinking the profane word, but the substitution, it does not appear to be sinful.

Also, being a "starched shirt" is okay! We are CALLED to be a peculiar people. It is peculiar when people in this sad culture do not curse- but it is a witness in itself.

Unbelievers who hear believers curse often think the believer is a hypocrite. What lost people are looking for is something different!

 

[The Brown Brink]

When I was teaching punctuation, students were often thrilled to learn that expletives are considered legitimate words in grammar.
Expletives express emotion.
They are often found at the beginning of a sentence and are usually punctuated with an exclamation mark, even though these words are not actually complete sentences.
Profane words can also be verbs and nouns and adjectives, etc., and grammar rules apply to them as well.
Grammar rules make room for profanity and expletives because people use such words in their language.

However, when I taught writing skills, students learned that they can bore and irritate their audience if they use the same words over and over...
Students were required to increase their vocabularies so as to avoid over-using certain words.

As for "replacement words", I'm all for them. These replacements allow people to express emotion without offending or frightening anyone.
That's good.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Scripturally speaking we should use our words to build up people, not tear them down. So I would think even substitute curse words fall into that category of not being appropriate.

 

[LovebirdsFlying]

When I was teaching punctuation, students were often thrilled to learn that expletives are considered legitimate words in grammar.
Expletives express emotion.
They are often found at the beginning of a sentence and are usually punctuated with an exclamation mark, even though these words are not actually complete sentences.
Profane words can also be verbs and nouns and adjectives, etc., and grammar rules apply to them as well.
Grammar rules make room for profanity and expletives because people use such words in their language.

However, when I taught writing skills, students learned that they can bore and irritate their audience if they use the same words over and over...
Students were required to increase their vocabularies so as to avoid over-using certain words.

As for "replacement words", I'm all for them. These replacements allow people to express emotion without offending or frightening anyone.
That's good.

I agree with your assessment. Overusing a word takes away its meaning. It loses its punch. That's another good reason to "watch your language." If I let something unseemly slip out, which I try not to do and have been working on, it's a clear indication that I've had it to here, and I'm about to lose my marbles. If I talked like that all the time, it wouldn't give anybody any reason to take notice. Then how would I communicate to other people that I'm on shaky ground and they need to give me some space? (Merely saying "I'm on shaky ground and you need to give me some space," unfortunately, doesn't always get through.) I'd have to come up with something more attention-getting. That wouldn't be good at all.

 

[Galatea]

I've heard alot of that going around. Many people thinking it's no longer "unprofessional" to be dropping f-bombs and other curse words within the work place. Especially for the women with such potty mouths.

I guess REAL ladies stand out more, then! There is a silver lining to every cloud. I hate it for their children, though- to have to hear their mothers defile themselves.

 

[The Brown Brink]

Scripturally speaking we should use our words to build up people, not tear them down. So I would think even substitute curse words fall into that category of not being appropriate.

Practically speaking, we can use our words to express our emotions, instead of bottling them up.
It is good to use appropriate language to express our emotions...
And it is good not to bottle them up.

 

[Galatea]

Practically speaking, we can use our words to express our emotions, instead of bottling them up.
It is good to use appropriate language to express our emotions...
And it is good not to bottle them up.

I think the key is APPROPRIATE language. There are so many Bible verses against profanity, there is no biblical way to support it. Evil communications corrupt good manners.

If I curse you out to express my anger, that is neither loving, patient, kind, longsuffering, good, peaceful, etc.

The Bible says to abstain from every appearance of evil. I know there are Christians whose testimony is of none effect simply because they use profanity.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Practically speaking, we can use our words to express our emotions, instead of bottling them up.
It is good to use appropriate language to express our emotions...
And it is good not to bottle them up.

It is good to follow the guidelines of God's word, not your fleshly impulses

 

[*LILAC]

I guess REAL ladies stand out more, then! There is a silver lining to every cloud. I hate it for their children, though- to have to hear their mothers defile themselves.

Exactly! And they kiss their innocent children with that mouth? I've heard one lady whose 3 year old son said "what the hell" and she didn't bother to correct him because that's his "freedom of speech". If anything she was proud that he'd learned it from mommy.

 

[Galatea]

Exactly! And they kiss their innocent children with that mouth? I've heard one lady whose 3 year old son said "what the hell" and she didn't bother to correct him because that's his "freedom of speech". If anything she was proud that he'd learned it from mommy.

That is really very sad. I am so glad my nephews and niece will never be able to say they learned profanity from their mother and father. I don't think anything can be better than having a lady mother.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

Exactly! And they kiss their innocent children with that mouth? I've heard one lady whose 3 year old son said "what the hell" and she didn't bother to correct him because that's his "freedom of speech". If anything she was proud that he'd learned it from mommy.

There's a commercial on Aussie TV where a motorist and his family get lost on a remote country road. The father starts explaining on the phone his location and looks at a sign which says "Ship Creek". Then the daughter asks "Dad, did you say up Ship Creek?" It supposed to be funny because the kid catches the father using a naughty word. I don't like it personally as it makes the kid sound cute and cool. I just find it annoying.

 

[Jesus4Ever]

Some people say curse words themselves are the problem, some people think substitute words carry the same weight and feeling in your heart so those are sinful too. I have struggled with cursing ever since I got into it in middle school. Is saying words like 'fudge' 'duck' or 'monkeys' (some people at school do this, one girl says donkeys :? ) okay instead of full-on censor-worthy words or not?

I mean...it says not to take the Lord's name in vain, but doesn't really mention curse words. (From what I have read.) I still curse...but I do my best to stay away from any curse words that mention God or Jesus. Also I don't curse at people. As long as you aren't taking the Lord's name in vain or you aren't using it to hurt others then I don't believe it's sinful.

Even so, it's true that curse words are impolite, so feel free to substitute them if you want to.

 

[thesunisout]

The scripture forbids us from filthy communication. God had totally delivered me of cursing for a few years and then I stated back up..I'm trying to quit again. I don't curse around people but I will find myself cursing under my breath. It can be a struggle but I know God can deliver me. As far as substituting I would advocate not doing that. Simply for the fact that it is reminiscent of the original thing.

I sat under a teacher once who was a great teacher but also would spice it up with colorful metaphors. He was actually an ex-drill Sargent and it was pretty funny. However much I may have enjoyed it, I felt like it would have been ultimately better not to use the substitutions. It was funny but it may have crossed the line over into filthy communication.

 

[*LILAC]

There's a commercial on Aussie TV where a motorist and his family get lost on a remote country road. The father starts explaining on the phone his location and looks at a sign which says "Ship Creek". Then the daughter asks "Dad, did you say up Ship Creek?" It supposed to be funny because the kid catches the father using a naughty word. I don't like it personally as it makes the kid sound cute and cool. I just find it annoying.

Ironic how the father reads the sign but the child's mind already hears a different word. Did they mention anything about losing a paddle? (sorry, couldn't resist!)

I know of a pastor who would use the phrase "scared spitless" in his sermons. That always threw me off and made me think if he's saying that, then is he actively encouraging his congregation to use other terms of expletives as well? I mean, who needs to be preaching to whom, right?

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

"scared spitless"

ROFL

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

There is a linguistic phenomenon called Pejoration - often also called the Euphemism treadmill.
This is where a euphemism used to soften a curse word becomes taboo itself and a new Euphemism is invented to replace it, and so on and so on. These substitute words may themselves become the cursewords of the future.

A good example is with mentally-handicapped that is in the process of becoming taboo. This replaced mental retardation, which replaced cretin, which replaced idiot etc.
The same thing also happened with English swear words themselves - sh.t started life as a mild euphemism for defecation for instance.

 

[LovebirdsFlying]

Since I've been active in this thread, I'll leave it to the discretion of other staff to what degree we should allow the bypassing. It is a valid topic of discussion, and bypassing might be hard to avoid.

I've said "scared spitless" myself. Then again, some people even consider "spit" a crude word. In some societies, any reference at all to a biological function is considered bad manners. Remember Corabeth's line on the "The Waltons?" One of the kids had made reference to being sweaty from working hard, and she bristled. "Horses sweat, dear. People perspire." Some of the blunt words for biological functions came through the Germanic or Anglo-Saxon, while the more "polite" words for the same thing came through Latin. I've often wondered why one language origin was "proper" while the other was "crude."

And then gender plays a role too. I once used "whiz" in reference to what my dog was about to do on the living room floor, but I got her outside in time. A young neighbor who was visiting told me, "Don't say whiz. That's a boy's word. Say tinkle." Um..... OK.

The euphemism treadmill is a good point. I didn't know it was also called pejoration. I cited the example with mental disability recently in another thread.