This is interesting and something I can relate to.
I am bilingual. Have been since I was a child. I know that among this list speaking two languages is nothing compared to some who are able to speak 4, 5, or more.
As a bilingual speaker, there are terms in English that have no value weight for me outside of a tool to make a point stronger.
I struggle with people’s sensitivity because of this. In some contexts, people don’t care but others people are, well, perhaps a tad oversensitive. Some words just fall in the popular use or common use, I shall say while others remain, well taboo. But how are we supposed to express something if the right word can’t be used? I am not writing this as a way to excuse obscene language or harmful or hurtful language. It is that sometimes people get tripped out by simple terms.
Some time ago I met someone who said that in her house the word butt, as in the derriere, was not allowed. I was able to contain my gut reaction but I kept thinking of it. Why? It is a word used in children’s books even. So, her children had a big problem when reading stories out loud because of the word. I had another moment there but I proudly convey I remained composed, at least on the outside.
I would say that even in my won language there are words I feel can’t be censored because simply put, they fit. But then again, we have issues there. To be clear, I am not a potty mouth and I have never been or state or say things without discipline.
This is a topic I jump on because, well, dealing with two languages at the same time, words and worlds just merge at times. I refer to myself as a living-breathing and walking Venn diagram.
Thought I would share that.
Alma
Alma Hoffmann
Assistant Professor
VAB 348
501 North University Blvd
Department of Visual Arts
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL 36688
p. 251-461-1437
> On Mar 23, 2017, at 3:25 PM, Gunnar Swanson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Some people voiced their discomfort and disapproval of Don’s use of what many would call "a barnyard expletive." It *is* worth noting that standards vary around the world but neither Don’s use of the term (bulls*** (is that the bowdlerization we’ve settled on?) nor his amusement at a university email system censoring his email is an affront to decency or a show of disrespect to everyone outside the borders of San Diego County (the well-known hotbed of libertine lingo.)
>
> I am personally made uncomfortable by euphemism. It creeps me out. I disapprove of it. I also expect that statement to have nearly no influence on anybody. I almost typed "damned near no influence." I would be surprised if anyone were offended by that phrase but I know some people are. A few years ago, I would have been less surprised. Reactions to words, deeds, and images change over time.
>
> The meanings of words change, too. I checked to see if bulls*** (in deference to the more sensitive robots out there) was in my computer’s dictionary and, of course, it was. Apple officially tells us that it means "stupid or untrue talk or writing; nonsense." Maybe that definition will remain but many of us now reserve the term to Harry Frankfurt’s definition. Frankfurt’s use may coincide with "nonsense" part but not "untrue" in the sense of false or a lie. Frankfurt uses the term to describe communication where the categories of "factual" and "lie" are undermined.
>
> Politics is, of course, a major home of verbiage that is meant to dazzle us. (It is hardly the exclusive source.) By Frankfurt’s definition, the term means something that functionally denies the notion of truth and lie; a lie is a tacit admission that something can be true. Much of the recent communication from the White House repudiates truth or factuality as a category. Universities are another big source, by the way.
>
>
> Gunnar
>
> Gunnar Swanson
> East Carolina University
> graphic design program
>
> http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cfac/soad/graphic/index.cfm
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Gunnar Swanson Design Office
> 1901 East 6th Street
> Greenville NC 27858
> USA
>
> http://www.gunnarswanson.com
> [log in to unmask]
> +1 252 258-7006
>
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
> Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
> Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|