Using the F-bomb landed me a stern lecture!

In the home that I grew up in, the use of vulgar language was never tolerated. Even the use of descriptive terms to identify bodily functions would result in a strong verbal reprimand. We used numbers instead to describe those functions.
As I grew up, other words came to our attention and I brought them into my vocabulary. It wasn’t until I used the quick four letter word in an expletive curse too close to my mother’ ear that I suffered any severe consequences. By then I was too old to have my mouth washed out with soap as had been an earlier consequence.
On that occasion I received a strong lecture on the use of English. The basis of the lecture was that my vocabulary was severely lacking and that I had better improve my language skills. That was all that was said, and from that point on, those four letter words were banned from the house.
There have been times when I think that I would feel a whole lot better cursing using those words to criticize myself for squarely hitting my thumb with a hammer, or not paying attention to details and finding that I have made a mistake in cutting and expensive piece of wood. The cursing just seems to help the pain disappear.
For a long time Webster’s Dictionary and The Oxford Dictionary both refused to include the word F---K in their books. That has now changed. And the interjection of “Holy f—k!” meaning terror, awe, surprise, shock appears and has over 100 synonyms, many probably being more exacting and descriptive to what one is feeling or seeing.
Some dictionaries today have multiple pages showing the variances of the use of the word and their synonyms. So instead of learning 100 alternatives for the word, only one word is used. I suppose that learning only one word and using various voice fluctuations is the easier, but the nuances of the English language seem to be lost.
And around many homes, while parents might feel completely comfortable using the language in their everyday conversations, many will insist that their children substitute the word “fudge” or “Sugar.” Of course we all know what word the substitute is being used for.
In the normal course of a day I seldom hear much cursing or crude language in our business. But I have been a little shocked walking down Scott Street behind young people and over hearing their language. It has been a little crude.
It used to be that crude language was seldom seen in movies. Today it is common language and I wonder if movies are the leaders in changing the language of the streets.
Maybe I should not be so shocked and taken aback by the language. Maybe we should just accept it as every day common conversation.
But I think my father, and first editor were more correct in that if we can only use one word, then we had better improve our vocabulary skills by expanding our knowledge of the English word.

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher