Friday, February 15, 2008

Oh GROW UP America- words may offend, confuse , confound.... but they're not lethal! - And the 80s classic "Proper word" song

I was going to sleep after taking my "nitey night" meds after a long and brutal week (especially Spanish class) which is why I didn't make the Anvil tonight- when I caught the talking heads issuing forth tremendous amounts of oral flatus reading Jane Fonda's use of the "C" word which rhymes with "bunt" yesterday.


Though you gotta love Letterman... another born and bred Hoosier who has escaped




I'm struck by the contrast... when we have real problems... when we've had several mass murders in the last few weeks, an economy showing signs of a recession, a dictator in Venezuela doing his best to win the "Crazy ass dictator of the decade award," and so forth... we get upset over THIS?!

Indulge me a moment, as I show why my high school nickname was "Dictionary Breath" (though in this case, maybe it should be "Etymology breath")

While we tend to conflate together "profanity" and "vulgarity" and use the former as the general purpose word, there is actually a significant and very important difference.
  • Profanity is properly and accurately only used of taking the name of God (any God) in vain, invoking it in an oath or swear, etc.
  • Vulgarity, on the other hand, is simply coarse or common language, most commonly referring to bodily functions involving elimination or copulation.

In English, we have the unique situation of having an entire group of words which are considered "dirty" or vulgar and another group of words which mean the exact same thing which are considered polite. This is a linguistic artifact of the Norman Conquest of England. Before then, they spoke Old English which grew out of Anglo-Saxon, a Germanic language. When the Normans assumed rule, they brought Norman French as the courtly language, which resulted in this two levels of language we still have today as the French blended with the Old English to create Middle English.

So its dirty and vulgar to sh-t or say the word, but its clean and proper to defecate or speak of defecation ... even though both refer to the same activity and substance. Either way, ya gotta wipe and spray some air freshener, especially after buffalo wings or a Chicago hotdog!

I could go on and on and cite many other examples- most of the forbidden monosyllables are of Germanic origin, and they all have French equivalents in English which are considered proper. Yes, the "c- word" is of Germanic origin. Should you care, the details can be read here.

But my point isn't to demonstrate my command of linguistic arcana, its just to point out how juvenile and asinine it is that we get so worked up over words relating to bodily parts and functions... they're just WORDS people, no harm is done by their utterance. If you don't like them, don't use them (fill in the double entendre of your choice here, *grin*) but it just speaks so well to my point that we're a nation stuck in adolescence that this is even a news story!

Now, a bit of fun on the subject. This song was done in the 80s in all seriousness as an educational tool. Below the video is the description from the youtube poster, so if your panties are too tight or twisted, or you haven't had a good sh!t in a while, you probably don't want to watch the video, much less read the lyrics. So if you are p!ssed off by such things... don't watch or read... but do DO your colon a favor, and get a bit more fiber in your diet!

(And yes, I knew of this song long before the Fonda flap... I was a huge fan of Dr. Demento in the 80s!)





From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DzS_hCg6bQ

This is a version of the "Proper Words Song" aka "Down In Front" performed by Chris Wallace in the cult '80's Video "Strong Kids, Safe Kids" with added fun of having the lyrics scroll along the bottom in case you want to sing along!
Here the lyrics outside the video in case you wanted them:

Penis. Is what boys have down in front.
Penis. Is the word though it seems blunt.
All boys have a penis, so no matter what you've heard,
remember that penis, is the proper word.

Vulva. Is what girls have down below.
Vulva, when shes naked it will show.
All girls have a vulva, so no matter what you've heard,
remember that vulva, is the proper word.

Both boys and girls have breasts,
each person recognizes.
They're found upon our chests,
and grow to different sizes.

Our anus, is a useful thing indeed.
The anus, gives relief in time of need.
We all have an anus, so no matter what you've heard,
remember that anus, is the proper word.

So don't be appalled,
'cause that's what they're called,
and each of them's a proper word!




7 comments:

SnarkAngel said...

Oh, dirtyword.net, Jane would be so proud! LOL. I don't get the hoopla, either. Is this an issue because of the FCC, or is it just something to whine, moan, and bitch about if you're an uber-right wing, nutball "Christian." She was speaking in the context of "The Vagina Monologues." When I heard this was on the news and the network "apologized," I just laughed out loud. Like anyone with a real brain or a real life would give two shits.

Listig said...

I think the latter, given that Bill O. was talking about her in the same tone and manner usually reserved for child molesters.

Of course, I'm not sure Jane F- could do anything the RRR crowd wouldn't have a massive sh-t fit over. After all, she is "Hanoi Jane" and so forth.

Not that I'm fond of Fonda by any means. I did think that trip to Hanoi when our soldiers were dying at the hand of the very people she was embracing was atrocious if not traitorous... it'd be like, say, one of the Baldwins going off and giving UBL a big bear hug.

And as for her "acting"- the only movie I saw her in was On Golden Pond, and when memories of it come back, so does my most recent meal.

But saying a good old Anglo-Saxon word... sheesh people, two words:
- MORE FIBER

and two more
- HIGH COLONIC!

Listig said...

Oh, and another site which blends free speech and fashion... with a decidedly kinky/phreaky edge, is T-Shirt Hell.

They once had a shirt about tattoos and Bodymod I so regret not having purchased, since they no longer sell it. It said Its all about the pain.... the ink and jewelry are just souvenirs.

val said...

I'm not a JF fan, either - especially since she showed her more caring side by doing the L'Oreal "Because you're worth it" ad, taking money for promoting a company that made a point of torturing extra animals when anti-animal-experimentation people asked them to stop in the '80s. But I LIKE our good Anglo-Saxon words. I get bored by their misuse by people with a lack of adjectives though.

Listig said...

I was hoping you'd weigh in from across the pond, Val!

Yes, South Park made that point (I bet ya'll were amazed I made it this long without a S.P. reference) in the famous "Sh!t" episode. These words are more fun when they're reserved for really deserving situations.

SnarkAngel said...

"Hanoi Jane" is a tag she deserved to get. While I am no fan of her personally, she has turned out some pretty terrific performances as an actress. For me, her most memorable was as a particularly "cunty" hooker, Bree Daniels, in "Klute" with Donald Sutherland. Also very memorable in "The China Syndrome" with Jack Lemmon.

val said...

I was going to say I quite liked Cat Ballou - but on reflection that was mostly because of Lee Marvin's horse that dozed leaning against a wall with its front legs crossed!