American curse words are so overused, aren’t they?
“Cock” and “Fuck” don’t have the same incendiary power they once did – and at last glance, made up about a third of the dialogue of critical darling The Sopranos. “Dick” is our hawkish Vice President who seems hell-bent on bombing Iran. “bitch” is a popular Portland-based quarterly feminist magazine. “Tits” and “Cunts” are licked and sucked with reckless abandon – and sometimes cunts or tits are fucked with dicks. Everyone has to take a “shit” or a “piss” at some point in the day. If you don’t, you need to see a doctor.
As language evolves, words that once packed a powerful punch become antiquated and are discarded. Without the element of taboo, they are mere verbiage. Such is the sad state of our so-called verboten words today. If language can be a weapon, the seven dirty words are dull blades. They’ve crept onto television, pepper everyday conversations and don’t fill the utterers with Sunday School guilt quite like they used to.
We’d like to think it’s because there’s been a cultural shift away from superstition, but one look at any newspaper shows that this supposition doesn’t jibe with reality. Descriptions of natural functions only maintain the level of dominance they do because of their sheer pervasiveness.
Perhaps it’s time to stop treading the familiar paths of obscenity in the never-ending cultural wars. We need new weapons in our arsenal. Weapons it will take time for the enemy to adapt to, that in the meantime will deliver blunt force trauma to social mores.
But Americans are lazy – even revolutionary ones. One protest march on a weekend, maybe a hybrid car purchase if it’s affordable. We accept that. That’s why we suggest doing something as American as an artery-clogging hamburger: Stealing from other peoples cultures. It couldn’t be easier, thanks to youswear.com. Just grab whichever words or phrases sound good from cultures across the globe, start spewing them and the good ones will enter the popular lexicon.
Re:Generator will even fire the first shot in this latest skirmish with a few favorites of our own:
Icelandic: “Krakkmella” – Crackwhore
Cantonese: “Hum kah chan” – Death to your family
Welsh: “Drewgi siffilitig” – Syphilitic stink-dog
Sami: “Biru” – Fuck
Jamaican: “Buddy” – Penis
Jamaican: “Pumm pumm” – Vagina
Tunisian Arabic: “Nik rabbek” – Fuck your god
Romanian: “Capac” – Idiot
Kurdish: “Goo” – Shit
German: “Auf die knie, und heul’/winsel’ um Vergebung” – On your knees, and suck for forgiveness
Scottish Gaelic: “Deoghail bod” – To suck dick
Mayan: “Bish ap‚l?” – How is your pussy?
Hebrew: “Al ta’atzben otti!” – Don’t piss me off
Russian: “Bliatz” – Bitch
Armenian: “Jasht tam lezvit vera” – I’ll cum on your tongue
Hindi: “Backarchodu” – Goat-fucker
