Question

Why is a cuss word considered a cuss word? Who decided it was a cuss word? If a 2 two year old says "damn" when they drop a spoon on the floor, are they cussing? Is "damn" a cuss word? How many cuss words do you know? When did you learn them? When were you old enough to use them? Am I a bad person if I know dirty words? Or only if I say them out loud? Is it different to hear a man cuss versus a woman? Do we cuss more than people in other countries? Do words have meaning, or do we, as individuals, give them meaning? (This is the REAL question, but what does it mean?!!!!)

Answer 1

Language can be conceptualised as a socially shared code. Languages develop through people collectivel defining meanings, notions, or connotations that are assigned to objects and events in the environment and to people’s notions of their relationships to and interactions with these objects. These include the meanings associated with cuss words. From childhood, we are discouraged by various of socialisation from using cuss words as they are socially perceived to have a negative connotation. However, this is highly contextual as a word only has significance when it is understood in terms of the language.