Holy shit, it’s been four months since our last sweary link roundup. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do, so settle in with a mug of something hot and spicy.
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Why do the French love “fuck” so much? (via The Local)
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How to translate Emanuel Macron’s swears? (Via Prendre Langue blog)
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Meanwhile, in Australia, “a Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union delegate sacked for abusing and physically threatening his co-workers has won his job back after the Fair Work Commission found the expression ‘f–king c–t’ is common across all walks of life and the employee was ‘talking out his hat’.” (Via Financial Review)
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Northern Ireland, on the other hand, is not so tolerant: a Belfast woman could face hate-crime prosecution for waving a banner at Belfast’s Pride parade reading “Fuck the DUP” (Democratic Unionist Party). (Via The Guardian).
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And, needless to say, the U.S. remains true to its Puritan roots:
- State prosecutors in Connecticut are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate a 25-day jail term on a woman convicted of upsetting public order by “flinging disgustingly vile insults” — cunt appears to have played a starring role — at a grocery store manager. (Via Courant.com; hat tip Jesse Sheidlower.)
- In Texas, a driver could be facing criminal charges for driving around with a FUCK TRUMP sticker. (Via The Cut; hat tip, once again, Jesse Sheidlower.)
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When actress Elisabeth Moss accepted an Emmy for her role in The Handmaid’s Tale, she uttered an audible “fuck” (bleeped, of course). Turns out profanity has special significance in the Church of Scientology, of which Moss is a member.
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Adventures in advertising #1:
Hey, @stronglang folk, icymi. pic.twitter.com/n4SWzjkDNj
— mikepope (@mikepope) October 12, 2017
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How well do you know your global swears? Take this survey, created by University of Aberdeen graduate student Kelsea Stewart, and try your luck. The survey will remain online through early January. (Via Emily Nordmann)
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Doing some holiday shopping? Strong Language co-founder Stan Carey has recommendations.
5 good books on swearing:
· Adams, In Praise of Profanity
· Bergen, What the F
· Hughes, Swearing
· Mohr, Holy Shit
· Sheidlower, The F Word— Stan Carey (@StanCarey) November 7, 2017
And so does BoingBoing.
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😀 @stronglang “@Capital_Trans: Hyphens matter! #xl8 pic.twitter.com/FxXrMMRFUI“
— Everyday Language (@EvrydayLg) October 30, 2017
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Is it ever OK to use “fuck” in the classroom? Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in Washington, D.C., says hell yes. (Via NPR)
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AI researcher Emma Byrne on why the swears in Philip Pullman’s new children’s book, La Belle Sauvage — “bollocks,” “bastard,” and “fuck” — aren’t bad for kids: “The biggest advantage, from my perspective as a parent, comes from studies dating back as far as the 1930s, which show that swearing quickly replaces biting, hitting, and screaming as children develop. To which I must say, thank fuck for that.”
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Swearing is fundamental to language, even if you’re an AI. (Via Wired)
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Adventures in advertising #2.
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Juli Briskman, the cyclist who flipped off the Trump motorcade in Virginia on October 28, (1) was fired from her job (2) received nearly half a million new job offers and (3) raised more than $100,000 through GoFundMe. “‘I don’t have any openings, but I’ll find a place for her anyway,’ said Darlene Ranalin, founder of a public relations firm in Boston. ‘I guess President Drumpf [sic] was right after all, he really is creating new jobs’.” (Hat tip: Rebecca Roache)
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A brief history of swearing on Star Trek. (Via AV Club)
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Hello swear fans. @swearclock needs your help with some new swears. Please add them to this google spreadsheet.https://t.co/y8ZycgrvVS
— Rob Manuel (@robmanuel) October 18, 2017
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Breaking with long tradition, the New York Times published an un-asterisked “fucking” in a quote from late-night TV host Stephen Colbert. (Via Language Log)
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Ad agency BBDO Canada introduces Time$hits, a time-saving way to get employees to complete their timesheets … while on the toilet. (Yes, it’s a parody.)
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I’m not surprised that the guy jumping off this ship is saying merde… #maps #sardinia pic.twitter.com/CXLbEkMovz
— HarvardMapCollection (@HarvardMapColl) November 16, 2017
(Hat tip: John Mullahy)
Strong Language 
“The French are just a bit more liberal with cursing than the Brits or the Americans, similarly to how they’re more liberal with their sex and nudity on TV (the new French show Versailles has been called ‘primetime porn’ by the British media).”
Oh, so what was True Blood or Spartacus?
Anyway, The Local is not what I would call a good newspaper, and definitely not a good source of linguistic insight. It’s pitched at anglophones who live part-time in France, as in those who are physically situated there, but who want to create for themselves a little anglophone bubble, and who like to feel a little bit cosmopolitan by learning two or three phrases of badly pronounced French.
Well, that’s my fucking opinion, anyway.
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That google sheet, wow. I cannot immediately think of a way to USE “Newcastle-upon-Fuck,” but it cracked me up. I’m saving it for later.
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