February 3 is World Abuse Day. For most people, this name is clearly and correctly perceived as World Anti-Obscene Abuse Day.
The fact is that «abnormative vocabulary» — is a slightly broader concept than just obscene language (swearing). It also includes concepts such as «jargon» and «slang», which, unlike obscene language, are not prohibited for use in public places, are not perceived as antisocial behavior, but, nevertheless, go beyond generally accepted norms of speech.
It's no secret that jargon and slang are characteristic of certain social groups, distinguished by age, professional affiliation, occupation or hobby. Certain slang expressions often become part of everyday communication, going beyond slang groups («don’t run over», «don’t slow down», «luser», «hackl», «hack», «hook», «not in the suit», «kich», tus, etc.).
Another thing is — that part of profanity that represents obscene language. This vocabulary is also called abusive or obscene vocabulary. Despite the fact that in the Russian language there are only 3 or 4 roots of swear words (linguists disagree here), they form a fairly wide range of words, the use of which is a violation of the current legislation of the Russian Federation. Such words are not allowed to be used in public places, as well as in the media and social networks.
Obscene (abnormative, obscene) vocabulary includes obscene, dirty, obscene, shameless, vulgar, dissolute expressions, the use of which not only contradicts the law, but is also an example of antisocial behavior that causes a negative assessment from society and condemnation.
The church also gives a clearly negative assessment of profanity, classifying swearing as a sin of foul language, promiscuity and permissiveness that destroys a person’s soul.
So why, despite the fact that obscene language violates all basic types of social norms: legal, moral, religious, is it confidently rooted in our language and there is no tendency to eradicate it yet?
The fact is that to answer this question one should look at the root of evil. It is known that three (or four) words, which became the roots of obscene language, initially reflected the essence of intimate life, sexual relations, which with the advent of Christian morality became a taboo topic, and during the period of paganism these words could have a ritual meaning and simply throw them « was also impossible. Many linguists and psychologists agree that obscene expressions are energetically and emotionally strong.
Some associate the dominance of speech with obscene language with the impoverishment of vocabulary, others associate — with promiscuity, permissiveness and the lack of effective regulators. However, most psychologists agree that most often obscene expressions are a spontaneous speech reaction to a non-standard or unexpected, unpredictable reality. That is, in such a case, the obscene expression — is a certain element of psychological release, an anti-stress reaction.
The trouble is that it is simply impossible to eradicate profanity by prohibition. We need strong internal self-control, the ability to express feelings or one’s attitude to the surrounding reality differently. The use of obscene expressions by teenagers, who literally « them in conversations with their peers, is also becoming a problem in modern society. For them, — is an unjustified attempt to seem older, more confident, more self-sufficient, stronger. Unlike adults, most of whom are aware that obscene expressions — are bad manners and, if necessary, use them only in extreme cases with a firm understanding of where and how, many teenagers use these vulgar expressions, without tying them to the situation at all, that is, « talk obscene».
So how to deal with obscene language? Along with educational measures, work on self-control, more thoughtful construction of the educational process in the family, support from the education system and government bodies, a targeted state policy in the field of family and culture is also required. It is impossible to do without the participation of church representatives in resolving this issue, conversations and explanations of which will be extremely important for religious families. Legal norms are also needed as a strong regulator for those who behave aggressively and neglect the rights of others, especially children and adolescents.
In Rus', by the way, at the legislative level, penalties were applied to malicious foul-mouthed people back in the time of Tsars Vasily III and Ivan IV the Terrible. Those who foul-mouthed maliciously in public places could even be flogged.
Therefore, in addition to the ban on the use of swear words, it is important to develop a collective awareness of the culture of communication and abandon obscene language. The first and important step should be to understand that knowing these words — is not a reason to thoughtlessly use them, just as having alcohol and tobacco in a store — is not a reason to drink and smoke... World Anti-Obituary Day will be one of the steps towards cleansing our language and soul if we consciously try to cleanse our vocabulary of shameful words.
Postcard «3 February — World Abuse Day»