By Daisy Johnson
The word ‘fuck’ retains its official status as one of the foremost ‘taboo words’ in the English language, ranking third after those real stinkers that you aren’t allowed to have in print. However, since making its debut on BBC television in 1965 the word ‘fuck’ has become so popular that you wouldn’t bat an eyelid at its use. Having said that, I did recently hear a girl say to her friend in a scandalised whisper, “You can’t say ‘fuck’ in the British Museum!”, but really, even recourse to it in a tutorial would not cause much of a stir. What explanation can be given for ‘fuck’s’ paradoxical position between profanity and popularity?
In terms of profanity, ‘fuck’ is one of the oldest words, maintaining the vulgar meaning of its earliest usage. The OED holds that its roots are Anglo-Saxon, though its first identified written use in English was by the Scottish poet William Dunbar. In his delightful poem, “In Secreit Place”, a real love story about a liaison between a kitchen maid and a smooth-talking city boy. In the line “Yit be his feiris he wald haif fukkit”, ‘fuck’ is used in an almost identical context to its primary meaning today. Not to spell it out too explicitly, the kitchen maid has thus far withheld her favours from the city boy, and he’s getting a bit impatient, because “by his fire, he’d like to…” etc. Earlier even than this, the bastardised Latin ‘fuccant’ appears in a coded poem written in Latin and English some time before 1500. Attempts to translate the code have yielded “non sunt in coeli, quia fuccant wivys of heli”, which is “[the monks] are not in heaven, because they fuck the wives of Ely”. Notably, even in these very early uses of the word, ‘fuck’ is associated with severe impiety and bawdy behaviour, and was regarded even then as a taboo word.
So what typically constitutes taboo words? And why does ‘fuck’ remain one of them? Swear words, which exist in almost all languages and cultures, are certain words considered to be vulgar, usually because of their association with a corresponding social taboo. In English, swear words are largely related either to blasphemy, and particularly the defaming of Christianity, or, as in the case of ‘fuck’, related to obscenity. Quite logically, the more improper the action associated with a swear word, the greater the impropriety of uttering it. Lesser taboo actions, such as burping and swearing which, whilst considered generally impolite behaviour in public, and thus linguistically unsophisticated rude, are not actively offensive, and so do not rank as ‘swear words’. One might imagine the consequences, however, of performing ‘fuck’s’ associated action in public. This comparison is sufficient to explain ‘fuck’s’ classification as a swear word.
Of course, references to the naughty and socially inappropriate things we do are frequent and sometimes unavoidable, but a separate language exists for describing sex (‘sex’ itself being an example). Words such as this are hardly considered swear words. It must be concluded then that ‘fuck’ is so offensive not because of the physical action it describes, but because of the intent with which it is spoken. It is certainly the case that the word is rarely said without an indication of contempt and crudity. In fact, there is almost an element of self-aggrandisement about the use of ‘fuck’ – swearing, after all, is cool. There’s no denying it. Using ‘fuck’ suggests promotion of free speech and sexual liberation, which places you in the camp of ‘fuck’ pioneers like D.H. Lawrence, whose battle in Lady Chatterley’s Lover to use ‘fuck’ and ‘cunt’ as parts of every day speech was finally won when the novel was published in 1960, three decades after its completion. In fact, the sixties saw the real beginnings of the widespread use of ‘fuck’ in the public and media spheres. It is certainly appropriate that the first man to say it on television, the critic Kenneth Tynan, became a pornographer in the ‘70s. The use of ‘fuck’ finds you upholding trendy sixties principles of freedom and radical thought. Super cool, right?
Right. Except it would be foolish to suggest, in 2007, that every person who utters ‘fuck’ as the Tesco carrier bag on their handlebars swings dangerously close to the spokes of their bike wheel is demonstrating their support for the free love movement. Realistically the reason that ‘fuck’ is becoming more common has little to do with its role as a symbol of anti-establishment subversiveness. In fact, it is mainly because ‘fuck’ is being progressively dissociated from its literal meaning and finding a place as a mere linguistic expletive. ‘Fuck’ and its associated parts of speech are rarely now used to really swear. Instead it is most commonly either a descriptive word, or an interjection of anger, surprise or even delight.
‘Fuck’, and particularly ‘fucking’, has considerable power as descriptive speech. ‘Fucking’ with its freedom to be classified as an adjective or adverb depending on context, can be used as an intensifier with a greater force than a simple ‘very’ or ‘really’. Consider the difference between saying “not fucking likely” and “not very likely”. The two are going to get very different reactions, and certainly have different meanings. The former is much more forcerful and negative, thanks to the power and shock-factor still associated with ‘fuck’ Also, as an interjection, ‘fuck’ is a surprisingly meaty and satisfying utterance. It opens with a fricative consonant, ‘f’, which is formed by forcing air through the channel made when the lower lip and the upper teeth come together, and closes with an aggressive ‘ck’, formed by stopping airflow in the vocal tract. This combination works to create a very definite and harsh sound, which can alter in tone to deliver a strong impression of a particular emotion. For example, the typical loud use of ‘fuck’ to express anger or frustration comes out like a verbal punch; it is a cathartic utterance which embodies and goes some way to exorcising the anger of the speaker. Alternatively, a ‘fu-uck!’ which goes down at the end and has a drawn out vowel is a verbal image of surprise or disbelief. ‘Fuck’ with a smile is a kind of happy, feelgood expression. A recent survey by a professor of management at the University of East Anglia has found that swearing in the workplace as a means of diffusing tension and high emotion in fact boosts team spirit and morale, so long as it remains in the form of interjection and not personal insult, because it can foster solidarity amongst employees and encourage them to share their feelings. The professor, Yehuda Baruch, hopes the survey will encourage people to re-evaluate the role swearing can play in our lives.
In an attempt to do that, then, it should be acknowledged that ‘fuck’ may have lost some of the taboo present in its literal use as it has become more prominently employed as a simple space-filling interjection or useful intensifier. The danger now, perhaps, is that linguistically it will move the other way, and become a clichéd form of speech, requiring us to formulate new taboos for our own time. Since I am rather fond of it in speech, I would counsel avoidance of excessive over-use of the F-word, for fear it will diminish even further in impact. For tips and tricks in this matter, perhaps consult the wiki – ‘How to stop swearing’, which demands that you punish yourself for excessive swearing, and reward yourself each time you manage to substitute ‘flip’ for ‘fuck’. “Don’t think you’re not cool when you don’t swear! You’re cooler!” On second thoughts though – fuck it.
