So, while doing a lot of Buffy watching this summer, I’ve noticed a trend. Brittish expletives are not part of ‘The Seven dirty Words’ [tm]. Shag is just the Brits way of saying ‘screw’ in the very literal sense. I don’t think it’s as vulgar as ‘fuck’ but close to. Of course, there was a sort of controversy about the Title of Austin Powers II, so I guess no American could not know that it’s quite a strong profanity. Wanker, said a lot by Spike, is just Jerk Off. To wank is to masturbate. Being a wanker… well you guys know. Ass is being used a lot. While not technically one of the seven dreaded words, it’s still kinda vulgar, ain’t it?
The networks are working their way around profanities regarding genitals by being very clinical: Call me weird, but I think that saying penis is worse that saying dick. Not to mention vagina.
Does anyone hear a character say Frickin’ and not hear fuckin’?
I don’t know how many households in the US that have cable. But there is certainly profanity on Sopranos and Sex and the City. Isn’t the whole “Seven dirty words” kinda moot today? I know of the Supreme court’s ruling and I understand that there are some powerful lobby-groups, but hey - arent the double standards getting a bit stupid by now?
(Yes I know - this is from the morally laxed Swedish perspective - where Big Brother showed live sexual intercourse last winter)
I heard “wanker” on the Simpsons once (the one which features U2 and where Homer becomes Sanitation Commissioner). I thought that was a little surprising for prime time.
Does “wanker” have the same meaning in the US as it does in the UK and in Australia?
I should point out to the OP that many of the “adult language” TV programmes which can only be seen on pay TV in the US are shown on free to air network TV here in Australia.
it’s scary being old enough to remember when “wanker” replaced the term “whacker”
I know, reprise. Same here. Sopranos is on at Fridays att 9 I think. Sex and the City on Wednesdays @9.
No one in Sweden would get upset about here the F word on the air, not even to hear the Swedish word - knulla - on primetime. It’s simply not an issue.
Violence OTOH, is.
In the same vein, I think that other Britishisms that are considered offensive there are sufficiently odd here that, even when their true meaning is known, they’re not as offensive. Wanker is mostly just an odd word here. Even though a lot of people (certainly not evertone) knows that it means “masturbator”, it doesn’t have that emotional charge. Similarly, I’ve heard Bollixed up every since I was a kid, and didn’t realize for a very long time that “bollix” = “bollocks” = British for “balls”. People who would hesitate to say “all balled up” 9an odd phrase, but not unknown) wouldn’t think twice about saying “bollixed up”. The immediate understanding and emotional overtones just aren’t there.
I suspect it’s the same thing with two different forms of American slang – Jerk is a perfectly acceptable word to describe a deliberatelt stupid individual (not mentally deficient, but stupid through pigheadedness and unwillingness to learn). They even used it as the title of a Steve Martin film. But it’s almost certainly a shortenede version of Jerk-off, a sexually charged term that you won’t find in polite conversation. The implication is clearly that the Jerk became that way from too much jerking off, an idea that invokes those century-old warning pamphlets about the evils of masturbation.
I remember when the second Austin Powers movie came out. I live in the States, was born and raised here, but my mother was born in Liverpool and lived the first half of her life in Great Britain. She was typing on the computer when an ad came on and the announcer said “Austin Powers: the Spy who Shagged Me” My mom’s eyes got huge and she let out a shocked little gasp and looked at the screen in disbelief. I found that really funny.
but it’s the same with any language people don’t understand. I’ve seen shows where a character will go off on a tirade of vulgarities, but because it’s in Spanish, no body gives a damn.
I dunno about “bloody” not being offensive in America. I’ve said this before, but sometime in the early '80s, I saw an episode of 60 Minutes where a South African man had to have been saying “bloody”, but they bleeped him every time.
For a brief time in college, I had a European roommate. She would constantly use the F-word (I can’t type it out in the Cafe, right?), even to the point where it offended me. And I think some of you know how fond I am of that word! Then one day I said “bloody” and she piped up, “Why do you use that HORRIBLE word?”
I saw an episode of the British show “Cold Feet” broadcast on the American cable channel Bravo. One (Irish) character said “shite” and wasn’t bleeped, later another said “shit” and was. Go figure.
Well then, Rilchiam, maybe I can bring some light to that. In Sweden we start taking English at age 9. However, the big exposure is not from 3 hrs a week of English in School, but from TV and Movies. The Scandinavian countries and Holland, are pretty much the only countries in Europe, where English Language movies/tv is not dubbed (and England/Eire… doh!). A lot of the movies contain an abundance of f-words. And the rating system here has nothing to do with profanities. Sex and violonce, but not swearing.
So a lot of kids here the F-word all the time when growing up and naturally assumes that it’s the normal way of talking.
My first time in the US, I tended to use profanities way to much, but my room mate set me straigt.
I remember when the film “Fucking Åmål” (“Show me Love” in English) was just released. An English friend of mine was very shocked about the title and he was not happy that his daughters would read it all around town. I tried to explain to him that to Swedish teenagers the word did not have the same ring as at had to him, but to no avail.
I have never heard anyone being shocked by the use of “bloody” in America. If anything, it’s used as a euphemism (!).
To semiquote (from memory) from my “enhanced edition” of George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” : “When they made Pygmalion into the musical “My Fair Lady” they found it necessary to change the line from one containing “bloody” to one containing “Arse”, because “bloody” shocks no one in the U.S.”
I know I (American) am confused about how offensive “bloody” really is. I hear it a fair amount in the British TV shows I’ve seen, some of which are 20-30 years old (e.g., “Fawlty Towers”), when you would think the guidelines would be more conservative. And Ron Weasely says it in the Harry Potter movie, I’m sure of it! I remember hearing it and thinking, “well, it can’t be that bad a word if they’re letting a kid say it in a kid’s movie.”
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What about profanity on the radio? I’m shocked by what people get away with now – asshole, goddamnit, etc.
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In one episode, Spike does the UK version of flipping someone off (the backwards “V”) – not only did that make it in, I believe they put it in the opening credits.
You know a lot of worldy folks, because I doubt very many people I know know that “wanker” means “masturbator”.
In my social circles, while “wanker” is well-recognized as a British putdown, most assume it means something on the order of “nincompoop” or “ignoramus” or “pain-in-the-ass”.
It’s much like how few around here know that the Yiddish “putz” means “penis”, or that “schtup” means “fuck” (right?). The literal meanings of Yiddishisms are probably common knowledge in the Northeastern U.S., though.
