_"Pussi" naiznanku_ ["_Pussy_ Inside Out"]

[Victor Steinbok]

Several TV shows have been letting curses in languages other than
English slip through with no attempt to cover it up. FCC does not seem
to care--of course, they don't have the power to regulate cable TV shows
the same way as broadcast shows.

One of the most notorious shows of this kind has been Burn Notice that
airs originally on (NBC's) USA Network. But there is a twist--the show
is also in syndication and airs on broadcast channels as well. I have
not had the opportunity to review the syndicated broadcasts, but, I
suspect, they air unedited. Best I can tell, the vulgarities are
unimpeded in Russian and Spanish. English is tempered somewhat, but
dialogue includes "shit" and "bitch" with some regularity, so I am
wondering if that gets excised in syndication while the Spanish and
Russian remain untouched. I have very limited knowledge of expletives in
languages other than Russian and English, but I can spot some Spanish
and French ones that would not survive the censors if they were in
English. I've heard some shows use French expression to get around the
censorship issue, although that's usually limited to "merde". You can
also occasionally hear "Scheiss" or "Scheisse" (even in otherwise
heavily censored TV versions of Die Hard I and II). I can't point to any
specific instances with any certainty as I have not been keeping track
of it before. If I notice further use, I'll note it here.

VS-)

On 7/5/2012 12:22 AM, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:
> On 7/4/2012 11:53 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>> May be of interest to those who can make out what it's about in
>> Russian. There exists a a Russian punk-rock girl-group that calls
>> itself "Pussy Riot," currently in the news and on trial for breaking
>> into the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and singing a song called,
>> _Bogoroditsa, Putina Progoni_  "Mother of God, Get Rid of Putin."
>> Anyway, the obscene meaning of _pussy_ as used in the group's name is
>> well-understood and is presenting a linguistic problem. Russian media
>> have been leaving the group's name in the original English, without
>> even transliteration. But, since everybody already knows what _pussy_
>> as used in "Pussy Riot" means, well, you know, like, WTF? Is there any
>> point? But the polloi aren't ready to see/hear _p…da_, i.e. _pizda_
>> [peezDAH], in/on the news.
>>
>> http://mn.ru/columns/20120704/322076140.html
> --
>
> For comparison, rude Russian presented (worn) by a Russian girl-duo on
> US TV a few years ago:
>
> Russian Wikipedia page with photo:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/7mmrryk
>
> (English Wikipedia page exists and can be accessed from the Russian page).
>
> -- Doug Wilson

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org