Has it become a norm to use Profane words or ‘galiyaN’ in our day to day conversations?
Most of my friends that I grew up with use such words every chance that they get. Actually their every sentence has at least 2 or 3 ‘galiyaaN’ … usually the more profane language they use, the more close or open they are to you.
The few that didn’t use it in college life and are now in The Pakistan Army use it with an ease. Must be the PMA training which not only straighten out their backs but also loosen up their tongues. Or maybe its the influence of their superiors, huh?
Also, I never heard my female friends/acquaintances use any kind of profane language. When I would visit my village near Faisalabad, women passing by would be cursing their cattle, kids & others. My justification would be their lack of education and the environment they were brought up in. But here in the US, one of the culture shocks was to listen college going girls, (regardless of race) cursing publicly! Some even don’t care using it in front of their children.
Is it human nature? Is it considered a strong way of expression?
Does the norm changes with time, and profane words become part of the language and are not considered ’ bad ’ anymore!
How much is our Desi community different from the others in this regard?
Of course people swear regularly and with great inventiveness. Some of the best ever swear words were invented by desis and involve mothers, fathers, sisters and many different farmyard animals.
I don't know about anyone else, but just about everyone swore at the school I went to and anyone who didn't generally got beat up.
Generally people have enough sense not to swear in front of elders or kids. And swearing at women isn't nice either, even if they sometimes 'blahdy well' deserve it.
The Government in the UK is introducing some new course for 11 yr olds teaching them all about swearing. It works like this: Children are taught the exact meanings of swear words in an effort to teach them why it is wrong because it is felt that they often don't know what they are saying.
If I was a kid I think that would make it even more exciting though - what do you think?
i think people who use profanity in every sentence r not really great at conversations. Cussing is just their way of filling in the empty gaps...swear words r considered "conjunctions" now according to most people. Last summer, my mom met her childhood friend after several years and they greeted each other with swear words and continued on w/ profanity within every 2 sentences. I was shocked. If parents r acting this way.. then i dont know what will happen to the kids. Toba... what is the world coming to?
I have to admit that I got properly indoctrinated to the art of swearing while I lived in UK.
I didn't like it.
I heard parents, yes desi parents, swearing profusely at and in the presence of their children.
I abhorred it.
I used to believe that I didn't like swearing or people that used profanity because I was unskilled at it myself. I have since learned that my dislike for people that use profanity stems not from my own inability to use it (an inability which has now turned to unwillingness) but from their inability to communicate in decent terms.
Why can't people just use decent language to express even their extreme emotions?
Why the need for profane expletives?
Makes me wanna wash their mouth out with Dial Antibacterial Liquid Soap.
I have always been, by default , of the opinion that people use such lingo to look as someone more mature, in-control..You know they get the feeling of being some ‘been there done that’ sorta person..very similar to the case of teenagers getting hooked to smoking just for the sake of appearing cool..
My 2 cents on this: Above all, we, as Muslims, have a directive on where we should be on this issue. It's an individual choice to follow the Islamic stand on this issue.
If you use the mother/sister (to use as an example) gaali, please imagine in your mind'
s eye same thing happening to your own mother or sister - if one is reviled at such thought then the question should be "Why?".
I don't use such words but do use ullu ka patTha - to my kids and they get a kick out of it. I am trying to stop using it, now.
[quote]
Originally posted by Mullah_DoPiazza:
*Who decides what's profane and what's not but more than that, why be offended by it ? *
[/quote]
If a word or a pharse can not be said in the presence of parents, grand parents, religious scholars, and other respected elders then you would have discovered what is profane or not. If you go into detail on this then sometimes a few words or phrases may not qualify as profane but they might just be too libral for them.
[quote]
Originally posted by jannu:
** If a word or a pharse can not be said in the presence of parents, grand parents, religious scholars, and other respected elders then you would have discovered what is profane or not. If you go into detail on this then sometimes a few words or phrases may not qualify as profane but they might just be too libral for them.
**
[/quote]
Dear Jannu:
Your argument is invalid. These are self-imposed societal restrictions which can vary from person to person , what to talk of cultures. In my opinion, if people are offended by other's utterances, then they are insecure with themselves. There's nothing to learn here but since this has become an issue of morality, let every one decide how they charter their daily life. If some one wants t take a self designed high road, so be it. If you get offended by other's speech of if you think that you can't say certain things in the presence of certain people, then that is your problem and should not be imposed on the rest of the society unless they wanna adopt it.
[quote]
Originally posted by Mullah_DoPiazza:
** These are self-imposed societal restrictions which can vary from person to person , **
[/quote]
Does your rule for self-imposed societal restrictions apply to profanity only or is it general?
For example....would you have the same opinion for a drug user? Should he/she be allowed to practice what they believe in without having societal restrictions imposed on them?
[quote]
Originally posted by Muzna:
**
For example....would you have the same opinion for a drug user? Should he/she be allowed to practice what they believe in without having societal restrictions imposed on them?
**
[/quote]
Profanity is verbal utterance to express anger or to draw some type of response from the other party and depending upon the response from the other party, can either resolve by itself or can flare up into a major verbal or in some cases physical combat. However, the key-phrase here is the response from the other party.
Drug use, as you put it, does not involve the other party and is a type of escape from reality in some situations or self infliction in the other. I don't condon it, nor do I condemn it. Drug use is a multifactorial problem and has nothing to do with the use of profane language i.e. drug users are not known to use profane language more often than the so-called clean people or people who use profane language are not prone to drug use more than any one else. Having said that, I think that drug addiction is an organic disease and requires rehabilitation and not condemnation or incarceration. I also think that legalization of drugs would do more good than harm but that's another subject for another day.
[This message has been edited by Mullah_DoPiazza (edited July 11, 2001).]