THE DECAY OF SWEARING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11805, 16 September 1916, Page 2

THE DECAY OF SWEARING.

' There are three 'distinct <;laasos of t profanity—(a) tho iruorjectionai ;>r ex.- | clamatory. oath, e.g., Great Scott-1" ! or " Goodness gracious!" (,!») t!ie deminciatory oath, e.g., "Confound you!" and (e) tho assertive oath, e.g., "So help roe I" Practically everybody uses all these sort?, of oaths daily a 5 matters of ordinary conversation, without in tlie least realising thaiv the careless employment of such terms constitutes profanity. Jt is'very rarely in- > deed that tbo average person who ut- j tors an oath has the real meaning or I the expression in his mind. We swear I out of custom and carelessness, uncoil- I scions that we aro swearing. It in j largely because, as regards assertive j 1 oaths, v,'o feel a need of sustaining our J assertions; as regards denunciatory j oaths because our comrrionpln"c ■ voea- } bularios are as .short as on;* tempers, j and as regards exclamatory oaths because we desire to seem polit-o, and therefore to appear <.urpriKed. When one tells a jiieee of news ho a cultured lady she. is -Vt once C'onitrainrd by poiitenesN tr> rewaivi the. raconteur with an asßiimpii mof astonishment. Sbo says j " Dear me! how cxiaaordiiKiry." Sb.is absohiiely u.neon.-cioiif; (as. a, rule} J that sho has ready .said,*" "My God! I How extraordinary." Vet " J)e»r | me!" is a corruption of " i)io mio!" | and its proper meaning is *' >»y Cod " l>y dev.!" is a a very popular ex - ojamatory oath. It is a, curruj.ticn 01 Jupiter and Jehovah, m.d meanf; "By God!'' Jfc v/otild be difficult to cile a. more innocently sounding expression thiiji. " Jiminyl' It is a. corruption of "Gemini,'' the heavenly twins. Our forefathers used purer language with a greater boldness, but vye have to go back to tho remotest times 'to reaca the" uncorruptc-d oath. In pre-Elizab'etlian days men uwore framcly; "God's body," they sheared, and "God's wonnds!" A hundred years later - " God's body " became Odds-bodikins and "God's wounds' Gortcned into Zounds t T3 :eso word.- are .almost obsolete to-day, having been worked to death. The business of working strong words to decrepitude and death is a familiar reat«r» of .-<ll agt.'S. h Is

j prnoeoci'eg with j the c.p-ri'iU- time. A ;icod irsitmo ir, } provided deminciutory cla:..-> oi ortho by tlio word " damn." j tliiiVfl eortiirv ago d'anii! \v.\_- a veedly i pcwe;'t;ti invermve, the T'.hi<-i<> of miiitant and ngi}teou:s iiKiixmuion and unsparing conck'mnation. It is now a commonplace- subxerfugo of iho thirdrate i>iaywright who wtints to "TtiSo rt laugh, and. oil tho stage, a triSii.ijr expletive used mostly as a ~ynouy/u 2or *' voi-y I—e.g., 1 —e.g., ''ho is a dinar) -rood fellow." Little is the wonder thru w-iih the progressive- tlecav anri efiemination of the _ Koal<,tin-ifiv,. clend-ivpiiturie,- dciiunciatioß-; quity tho schookiris of modernity have ] invented a proi'auity of their' mui, i '' It!" U;ey exclaim. " G0:,r.0-ous ous !'' Horrible-!" " Lov-i.-iy !'' "-Splendid!" "Fiorce!" But <!r.cli'o!.'i I word they dray, into common »yw use j to do duty an oath h wo; ted so nu- | morcindly thai it soon- comes to, haio ! U(- meaning at- r»U. Gone, alas! tro iim i clays when swearing vr&a an -art. It is j 'now t-ho co:l''.a:oa occupation of tho | conversing crowd. The oath.:, tht;t to do thy heavy work of the people aro all vulgarised and broken down. They liave no sting, and their pristine capacity to produco shudders has h'sappeared. Even words of the. lowest social position such as "bloody" only continue to shock us because they have a sound as ugly as their crudo significance; yet it is worth noting that in America " bloody" is regarded as an innocent and inoffensive expression. The Americans pretend that it is a corruption of "By our Lady." In Australia we scout this affectation, and the terra is habitually employed for the

pi«rpo:<o of t\y fully half the popid.uiu,!;. I'nduuhtcdly die most interesting and 'inertia!;; feature ol twentieth century e<vivers vtion is 11 if need thnt is almost nniversaJJy experienced tv rciiuoree simple .stateirien ts wilh more or !»•..* viident expletives of emph;>F:s. " i)id you enjoy your breakfast tills morning:'' " By Gad, I_did," or " I couldn't, oat a tiling !*' Hardly anybody would be content viiji an uHs.ijnporti.Hl ''Yes" or " No." The consequence is' that a simple" as-' ;;:ruoa nowaday?-. hats become so unusual thai/ it involves a yngeystioH of mystery. and vrlicii a i:ia» displays thrift in speech )s". is apt to 1)0 Kfcaro.cl at—so Htrangely forceful "do his sontencva appear u> persons daily accustomed to eito non-human evidence in .support of their nlo«fc casual j» (formations. If. tho practice of .swearing !.k> clese'ty analysed-, it is not J'ound to emanate from the inadequacy of words to express thoughts, lint from a. combine den <d persu a I shortcnm-. I:!;- Jv<>.!c»tio'!.:»!isi!s v. ho hrivo investignti'd '!h<> r.- ihot tbe M'-:v.ivf!r: ro: : .beh:.,y. :'<y .-'ehon! eraee::tc-».v. t;.' a : ; i;r •;> a.- a ..h"nv:t;>d or.' Sue): h:o.\p'o t/ur-lvr 'd 'terms *«• .•.l.viou r!y insufficient to «:iti:-;y iiv ebullient of ! iL;.'ti. ci.. I'ci.};•!.? .iiav.iraHy res; n; i'h ■ re-trrY; i. a •' I having »cry «-\m.-v-.:.ed *ti«dc »i row convr...l.ional cu'-ii ,m, i;i search of forcible! (.rie;i-, s hey see prone to adopt ui: «-.t:di» iroui th;> gu'i ter. ih:t • tho vailing poverty of vueabidavy ir r -.avde.aiTd by » : Mi):, a' - -nC <•: :-•••' dcr-rc'-lslier!. 'fin- a. >':.i?. ,% :t is :?;■"«to. stv rr.odevi. find r! ire .-r<mi- a.'-w- ' ••o.:sMndlv '•nr.'eus Mi ;.;i; r- . . f ?•-. . ■ < r r.iaiv « him d'e-uK.-.ii<;i ui Ir- •• a|a." ; t;» : • <•: Inrb credit ; rr ■■ r.d r- - acted v.pon by }•' • M i -i'-.y ;o iiui)re:-;s, lur- M!st-:>ins his :ia.^n tc-!.!Ti\; on;t»ha- '*•. -• <n'. 11.-M : ( :rtiii "s it. Vt'ilii .-.T":- /:">;•.•!> oi oa i In this la-.h.'cfn is i;n,- ~:ni,.-err-:diy pri/var.rd, th■■ /•:!nv. i r.;:nio!» o> ? i tho pyot)lo c):ok(d v;;i: ; \ph ;:ivcs r.ad j •exclaiaat-ion.4 wnio]> have httlo mcait- • ing, ur.<L are Jiicr.dj "'i'.v i.tri"-; !' >r tlioupht. It is a ■v): r. pity that profanity should bo thus menaced with the destruction of overwork, for has a real value, and a.s good a right, to bo protected and conserved from sweating as any worker in a fnctory. The oath is the proper instrument of the emotional crisis. To use it on any other occasion is as foolish as to employ a sledge-hammer to crack nuts. But the people of to-day will not rcaljj! their, stupidity: The nutcrackers of conversation no longer please them, j

They insist on wi< Mi'ifS fbe ylfflr/"**hanuner and ibe result i:i tho average nwm is no longer nb'e to denounce tho beating of his wife by <.' i perfect si.rj*i)t'<T wi'h a greater foreo of verbal indignation than I" 1 would naturally expend on tho t-.anm lady for M'tiing 1 »rffii-o him a 1 on;;li pi»eo of nuiHon for Ins dinner. (ly Saint/ Gin goulph I that in to say. Uy .Hn;-ro ! ihero ik need for the Government (...) proclaim, a close bob son Jor profanity. Otherwi'-o it xvill iK'rish n'( m the dodo, and the power to rv<r«e efiee--1 i\-r;ly will vanish from tho worl<!.