Shut the F*** up !

Factual Questions
1

Question 1… What is the word that best describes the function of the word fuck in the title ? (i.e. noun, adjective, verb etc.)

Question 2… Is the word for copulation generally used as a universal emphatic/derisive descriptor of nouns and verbs in languages other than English?

Question 3…Why is the word fuck the only expression for copulation in English (for which there are many synonyms ) to be used in the manner described above? Or is it?

These questions arise from a documentary, (CBC, The Passionate Eye) I just watched with English subtitles translating a Chinese language. One subtitle appeared as “Shut the fuck up!” I’m somewhat skeptical with the authenticity of the translation. The word fuck came up frequently as we use it in Canada as well. But when I consider any other English synonym for fuck, it just doesn’t work. That leads me to wonder if the common usage of the word for copulation is somewhat unique to fuck regardless of language.

2

Answer 1: In that context, it is a “meaningless intensifier”, as the dictionaries say.

3

Noun, isn’t it? The boy, the dog, the hell, the fuck.

4

grienspace, I’ve edited the title. Hope it doesn’t take away from your questions.

Thank you for your understanding.

-xash
General Questions Moderator

5

Walloon has it right, it’s an intensifier. More specifically, the phrase “the fuck” is the intensifier.

6

Answer 2: Puerto Rican Spanish has foquin as an intensifier, imitating the English fucking.

7

If you interpret the meaning of the sentence ‘Shut the fuck up!’ to be ‘Please close the fuck!’, then ‘fuck’ functions as a noun.

Could also mean ‘Please close the fuckup!’, if ‘fuckup’ = ‘some object that can be closed’.
The Japanese language doesn’t make much use of vulgarities as intensifiers. When “Fuck you!” is heard in an American movie, the Japanese subtitle usually is “Baka!” (idiot). Uttered with the proper vehemence, in some situations, “Baka!” can be as strong as “Fuck you!”, but it’s not a literal translation.

Subtitling is a very specialized art. The translator must try to convey the meaning of the actors’ words as accurately as possible, but also must be concise. The subtitles need to be concise enough to give the viewer time to read without sacrificing attention to the action or the actors’ facial expressions. Subtitles are not usually word-for-word translations of the movie script.