Chugiak students: profanity-free?
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April 5, 2010 • Jacqueline Yang, Guest Contributor
Filed under Opinion
Everyday during passing time, you hear profane words blurted out of peoples’ mouths. What do you do about it? The answer for the majority of the time is: nothing. You really can’t do much about it. You hear it a lot: in your favorite TV shows; by your favorite actors; in the music you listen to; and possibly by one of your very own teachers at Chugiak High School.
Just ask Sydney Erickson, a senior at Chugiak. She admits to using profanity every now and then, but tries to avoid it by substituting less coarse language.
“Oh trust me. I know lots of people who use profanity much more than I do,” states Erickson.
It’s true. Everyday, from observance in the halls during passing time, a ton of students use profane words. I obviously can’t list them here, but we all know which words people are using.
According to Dictionary.com, profanity can be a word, gesture or some other form of behavior.
“It’s just a habit. I first learned profanity from people around here; it’s a hard habit to break and I know it’s not right to swear, but it’s hard,” says Erickson.
There are numerous reasons why people use profanity, from anger, surprise and even happiness. However, there are over 50 proclaimed “swear words” in the English language, and different words can be profane to different people. Words evolve over time, and words can become taboo through different eras.
According to Kyle McKinnon, a junior at Chugiak, there is a very simple explanation for choosing to use profanity, “You use profanity when you get pissed, or very upset.”
Many people say that when someone uses profanity, it shows that they do not have a broad enough vocabulary to express their emotions without curse words. An educated person should be able to describe their emotions without using a single “dirty” word at all.
“I try really hard not to [use profanity]. I like to use big words to make them feel stupid,” states Erickson.
On a poll from Ask.com, most people feel that it’s okay to let out a few curse words if you are by yourself and in a stressful situation, but that one should limit coarse language in public.
Like many people, McKinnon states, “Yeah I use it [profanity] in public, but I don’t use it around teachers because they’ll write me up.”
Studies show that younger people admit to using bad language more often than older people. However, by asking a few students at Chugiak, many say they encounter profane language and are not particularly disturbed by it.
“I know a lot of teachers here at this school who use profanity without realizing it,” says Erickson.
Even though names of teachers will not be released, not only do students at Chugiak use profanity, but teachers sometimes do as well. This shows how difficult it is to stop this fast-spreading urge to employ course language, especially in a really trying situation.
When asked if he used profane words around girls, McKinnon replied, “It depends on the girl and how familiar I am with the girl.”
Statistics show that more women than men typically encounter people swearing, as well as the fact that more women were bothered by the excess profanity. This lines up with the statistic that more men admit to swearing than women, from 54% to 39%, respectively.
However, many people are still offended by cursing or swearing. Many avoid using coarse language just to avoid possibly offending someone.
According to Sriana Chase, a senior at Chugiak, “Guys use it [profanity] to feel macho, and it’s degrading when they use it around girls. When girls cuss, they use it to feel like they have some semblance of control if their life is falling apart around them, and they can’t think of anything else to say. It shows vulnerability.”
Personally, I think it would be a smart idea to expand your vocabulary in order to express yourself.
“I’m not going to lie. Many people have the urge to use it. It’s kinda hard to stop yourself,” states Erickson. “[If they’re using profanity] I’ll deal with it. How could I yell at somebody for something that I do too?” states Erickson.
Profanity is proving to be a habit that is very hard to get rid of, and obviously no one is exempt from the urge to use expletives, but this hard-to-break habit can affect everything, even a scholastic environment.
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People use profanity because they think it gves them a certain maturity, too. I’ve heard curse words inserted into conversation where there’s absoutely no need for them. They’re not even angry- just trying to seem adult. In the end it just sounds idiotic.
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