Explain to me the illogic of "rude words" please.

This follows on from a conversation I had with a friend yesterday.

We were puzzled about the use of certain words that are classed as "rude", particularly the "big 3".

If I may use the words:

Shit - Fairly self explanatory and while the substance is gross, the word to me does not seem particularly offensive.

Fuck - Just a slang term for an act most of us enjoy and want to carry out on as regular a basis as possible.

Cunt - Another slang term for part of a womans body that most men quite like.

The thing that puzzles me is that words that have worse actual implied meanings are used more commonly and are classed as being less offensive such as:

bugger - another way of describing sodomy.

So why are the big 3 classed as serious insults/profanity? Is it due to centuries of ingrained concerns over sexuality due to religion? If so, then why isn't bugger on the list as most of the major religions seem to frown upon this act (unless it happens to be with choir boys then they turn a blind eye).

"Bugger me sideways!" is term of jocular incredulity where I live, but I don't think there are many choir boys round these parts.

See, that's just what I mean, bugger is funny and not at all offensive. But arguably the act it describes is worse than the others (or at least 2 of them).

There's no logic to what we find offensive as far as I can tell.

It's only funny when it's happening to someone else... unless you like that sort of thing!

I cant help either, although I'm glad you have asked, as this has often puzzled me.

I imagine if I called my boss any of the bellow, I'd me in more trouble than calling him a silly old bugger.

Fhit

Cuck

Sunt

"Cuck off you fat sunt !"

I think my point is the words have an aggressive sound.
Unlike bugger, which just sounds like a rude word's cuddly grandma.

I think that's the reason. The swear words that tend to be the most offensive are all Anglo-Saxon or Norse in origin, as far as I'm aware, and sound more aggressive. Bugger comes from Mediaeval Latin, and is a corruption of "Bulgarus" (Bulgaria, after the Bulgarian church was branded as being particularly fond of sodomy). Romance words don't sound as harsh as those deriving from Anglo-Saxon.

Thanks CRSP, that has a certain logic to it, they are all single syllable words with a harsh sound. You may be onto something.

I think it's less the words themselves than who the words are used by. It seems that slang used by the lower class has always been criticized as being crude more often than more erudite language describing the same things.

Though I have no particular insight onto the subject, it may prove worthwhile to consult Steven Pinker's The Stuff of Thought, in which swearing, and the grammar of swearing, is discussed from the perspectives of cognition and neuroscience.

Quote:

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Originally posted by CRSP

I think that's the reason. The swear words that tend to be the most offensive are all Anglo-Saxon or Norse in origin, as far as I'm aware, and sound more aggressive. Bugger comes from Mediaeval Latin, and is a corruption of "Bulgarus" (Bulgaria, after the Bulgarian church was branded as being particularly fond of sodomy). Romance words don't sound as harsh as those deriving from Anglo-Saxon.

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There are swear words in every language, and while we can maybe find some vague phonetic similarities between them in English, you won't find that these generalizations hold in other languages. Besides, "shit" is a swearword while "chit" and "ship" are not. "Fuck" but not "buck" or "funk".

I think it's basically a historical accident which words referring to private/taboo acts themselves become taboo and which ones don't. But having a suite of taboo words at ones disposal is probably universal. And I imagine that in almost all languages the most taboo words include references to fucking, cunts, dicks, or shitting.