Dirty Southerners

[A. Maberry]

On Wed, 6 Oct 1999, Grant Barrett wrote:

> So, my point: There's a slough of words they will use and a
> whole nother set they won't use. I can remember my father using any
> variation of "fuck" once and only once, while "sonufabitch" and
> "bastard" and "shit" are like old friends to me when he says them
> now.
>
> And my question: are obscenities regionalized? Could we put pins
> in a map and show usage contours?
>

Personally, I don't think that they are, although I cannot prove it
statistically and haven't the time or skill to attempt it. Like Grant, I
can't remember my grandfather or uncles or father using any variation of
"fuck" in my presence (of course, they might have refrained because of my
presence). But again, like Grant, they would say just about anything
else.  My grandmother and mother never said anything stronger than
"Damnation!" and that, only in extremis. I think it's probably more a
question of generation, gender (and perceived propriety) and company that
determine what one will/can say in a given situation.

When I go down to visit my son in Jackson MS, I don't think I hear any
more swearing than I do here in Seattle, in fact, I'd be inclined to say
that I hear less, but then again, I'm not not really in a situation where
I could make an estimate.

Allen
maberry at u.washington.edu