LL-L: "Language maintenance" LOWLANDS-L, 08.MAR.2001 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 08.MAR.2001 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachean, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian, L=Limburgish
LS=Low Saxon (Low German), S=Scots, Sh=Shetlandic, Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: Colin Wilson [lcwilson at starmail.com]
Subject: LL-L: "Language maintenance" LOWLANDS-L, 07.MAR.2001 (04)  [Ap/E]

At 17:12 07/03/01 -0800, Reinhard/Ron wrote:
>In which culture, which country, which region, which language variety, which
>social class, which social context, which generation?  Should we not specify
>this before rushing to generalizations?

If we're to generalise, isn't it better to do so on the basis of as wide
a range of evidence as possible? Even so, some of the basic matters at issue
above I would expect to be clear from the earlier part of this discussion.

>Personally I have have experienced a whole range of tendencies in this regard,
>though on the whole it is my experience that females "swear" less frequently
>and less offensively, certainly in the presence of males.  However, I have
>come across many an exception (and I do not mean in red-light districts and
>the like).

I think we may be in danger of losing sight of the issue at stake.
This isn't, basically, about whether there are women who swear. Of
course there are.

My argument is that, within a community of people who speak a
particular language-variety, there are those who swear more, those
who swear less, and those who even have an overt aversion to it. On
those grounds, I conclude that swearing cannot be correctly described
as an intrinsic feature of a language-variety in the same way as, for
example, the use of double negatives which one would expect to be
used by everyone who speaks the language-variety concerned.

My reason for pointing to the difference between the sexes, was that I
thought that this would be recognisable to all as evidence that
attitudes to swearing vary (widely) even with a particular speech-
community. If there is any difference at all, then I take this as
evidence in support of my argument as stated in the paragraph above.

Sincerely,

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  Colin Wilson                  the graip wis tint, the besom wis duin
                                the barra wadna row its lane
  writin fae Aiberdein,         an sicna soss it nivver wis seen
  the ile capital o Europe      lik the muckin o Geordie's byre
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