My daughter (10) just asked me a interesting question

[Ohiodislover]

How did bad words become bad words?

 

[bananda]

i was actually wondering that a few months ago

 

[PatsGirl]

maybe all bad words really aren't all that bad who decides? DS started using some semi-bad (who decides this too?) words once in high school and DD12 is just trying some out on me now to see my reaction

I ignored her because I didn't think the word was a bad word, lol, but she thinks it is so...The words I don't like to hear are "stupid" and "hate" and anything that remotely resembles prejudice... for those I dish out Momma's Wrath

 

[MM27]

I think it has to do with the way people react to certain words and how we've been trained.

While it's not about "bad words" you might suggest she read the book Frindle. It's about a 5th grade boy that invents a new word for pen (frindle) and watches as his classmates and then the news media go wild for this new word.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Well, if it doesn't offend anyone in your household too horribly much (it might in some, might not in others) send her to a good etymological dictionary and have her look up the origins of some of the curse words she can think of to see what they might have in common, when they were first thought of as bad words, and a few other interesting facts. The OED at a good library would be my first thought, but I believe there's a fairly good online etymologicl dictionary.

Yep. Just checked. http://www.etymonline.com/ I just looked up a crude word that I KNEW was punned upon in "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell with the word "quaint", as in "Your quaint honor" instead of "your" ahem "honor". And they HAD the reference included along with the history of that particular word.

 

[bananda]

I think it has to do with the way people react to certain words and how we've been trained.

While it's not about "bad words" you might suggest she read the book Frindle. It's about a 5th grade boy that invents a new word for pen (frindle) and watches as his classmates and then the news media go wild for this new word.

ooh, my teacher read us that book when i was in yr5. i loved it

 

[manning]

What's interesting is if you use the slang for a dirty word it is worse than bad, but use the actual word it is ok.

 

[Danauk]

I think it depends on where you are from too, there are a couple of words that do not get starred out on the Dis that I as an English person would view as swearing or not an appropriate word to use on a family message board.

 

[The Orchid]

In my home, the only "bad words" are the ones meant to inflict pain on other people. I don't care about the f word if my daughter stubs her toe and it hurts! Yell whatever you have to if it helps you deal with it! But God help her if she ever called somebody stupid, ugly, retarded, fat or any other cruel word meant to harm another person emotionally. That has always been the rule in my home....the only bad words are the ones that hurt.

Now, as far as the words society has declared "bad" I have always allowed her to use them with two exceptions. She may not use them just for the sake of it. That is annoying. Any word use excessively or just to sound tough is annoying! And she may not use them in public or around people who may be offended. In other words, use common sense and respect that not everybody is comfortable with such language. Other than that, in my opinion, they are just regular vocabulary words. Nobody is gonna tell me there is a difference between "darn" and "d**n." They convey the same meaning, yet one is considered "bad" and the other people are perfectly ok letting their kids say. Makes no sense to me at all.

 

[GeorgeG]

It seems there are no bad words anymore. If you go to any public place where there are a lot of people, especially younger people, just about everything is bantered about as if it's all part of proper English. I find that kind of distressing, but you know what they say about shoveling against the tide...

I suppose the only distinction we can really make is when those words are used in a derogatory manner.

We are seeing a whole new language developing due to the use of texting, as well. That carries over into written communications, too. Some of that is from wanting to be trendy, some is just laziness, and some is ignorance. No matter how are why, we have a new language. Read any thread on these boards and you'll see...

 

[PatsGirl]

In my home, the only "bad words" are the ones meant to inflict pain on other people.

I pick my battles and "bad words" aren't one of them

 

[LuvOrlando]

LOL, I like the question. It shows the kid is thinking about her world and that's a good thing. What on earth did you say?

In SI, NY the words that flew around me as common would make a sailor blush but now that I am in PA the S word is 'stupid' and the D word is 'dumb'... sometimes I have to bite my tongue when parents have a fit over a word like 'fudge' that is MEANT as another word

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I know how some of them became thought of as "bad" words. I don't see them as such a big deal, though.

 

[Ohiodislover]

She was talking about curse words more than just bad words. There are words I don't like my kids to say, and then there are words that they are NOT allowed to say.

Here are some of the comments she brought up.

"Who decided that they were bad words" "was there like a meeting where people decided what words were OK and what words are not OK"

She found a word origins website, and is researching some of them now.