What makes a word bad?

Question

What makes a word bad?

Answer 1

"Badness" is an arbitrary variable imposed by society.

The Normans defeated the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 AD.  The Normans spoke Latin, and the Saxons spoke Anglo-Saxon.

So it's okay to say "copulate," (which is Latin) but not to say the Anglo-Saxon equivalent, "f**k," which means the same thing.  It's okay to say "excrement," or "f***s," but not the Anglo-Saxon equivalent, "s**t."

And so on and on.  It usually depends on who won some old battle.

Answer 2

Spelling it wrong.

Answer 3

There is no such thing as a bad word.  Good and bad are subjective.

Answer 4

Social taboos make a word bad, there is no power behind them.

Answer 5

'dirty' words, or bad ones, are only that way because the society we happen to live in says they are. there are no other reasons.

Answer 6

Swived if I know.

Answer 7

It's a combination of the intent of the speaker and the meaning that word has developed in the language, which is how language *generally* works.

The statement "society decides" is correct, but it is NOT the idea that this society's decision is  all very arbitrary, silly and not binding on me, is foolish.

First of all, this overlooks the whole NATURE of human language.  Language is a SOCIAL tool to begin with, and so society decides what ALL words mean, not just the "bad ones".   So you cannot simply dismiss assigned to SOME words by saying the "it's only bad because society says so" unless you are also willing to dismiss the meaning of ALL words.

Further, if you PARTICIPATE by USING that tool (that particular language), you and all the other speakers are ACCEPTING that tool and the basic "rules of the game".  

The point here is that, though a "four-letter word" COULD be used to mean almost anything, within a particular language its has come to be used to communicate a PARTICULAR idea and to carry out a PARTICULAR function (or sometimes a CLUSTER of ideas and functions, but still with boundaries).

So when you CHOOSE to use "the f-word", WHY do you use it?     Assuming you know the language and how that word is used you are choosing to use it because you INTENDED to convey that idea, feeling, etc. You choose it BECAUSE you wanted to express anger, to insult, to startle, etc.

So it is silly, at best, to say that "the word doesn't mean anything, so why does it matter?"  The better question, is "WHY did you use THIS word rather than another?"  Was it not BECAUSE of its social-meaning that you chose to use it in the first place?  

Even the satisfaction you might feel in shouting out a 'curse-word' when you are hurt or angry is based on what you understand the (social) meaning of that word to be!!  If the word had NO assigned or agreed on meaning, you wouldn't feel that way about it.  (Nor would you feel angry, sad, happy, etc. at ANY word someone used.)

Some folks try to say "the word means what *I* mean by it", not understanding that this turns most language into nonsense.  For a great send-up of this preposterous notion, check the classic exchange between Alice & Humpty Dumpty in *Through the Looking Glass*:

     "There's glory for you!"

    "I don't know what you mean by 'glory,' " Alice said.

    Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't—till I tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!' "

    "But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a nice knock-down argument,' " Alice objected.

    "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

    "The question is, " said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

    "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty. "which is to be master—that's all."

http://www.sabian.org/Alice/lgchap06.htm

Answer 8

no word is bad, but the context and usage may create an image that is not used in polite company.  In particular to those bodily functions.

Answer 9

A word can be good in one region of the country and very bad in another. It can also depend on countries definitions. Therefore it is not the word that is bad, but the way people use a word and the region they come from or are in.

Answer 10

I'm tempted to say the culture. But have you noticed that most (all?) taboo words are strong words? That is, they can be spoken with force. F**k is very satisfying to say and it feels powerful too - as do many other taboo words. Why is that I wonder? Clearly these words are more than just words that our culture says you must not use. They have power in themselves.

Answer 11

The intention behind the utterance of that word.