Posts Tagged ‘varieties of English’
Profanity
Hello Pals!
Generally Americans tend to watch their language carefully in every place like business, formal situations or in informal places, even if it is obvious from watching the average Hollywood movie that Americans can be pretty rude when they want to be. So it is considered to be best to save more bright language for more informal-moments, if you feel logically confident that none of your listeners will be affected by your speech. It is also significant and you need to keep in mind that while most swear words are equally the same in all varieties of English. At the same time, there are some differences between British English and American English.
Generally, Americans do not use the words wanker, prat, tosser, opting for something like jerk or asshole. One such word that may cause confusion and offense is the word fag, which is an offensive term for homosexual, but it is considered to be slang for a cigarette. The variant faggot is also equally offensive. Other terms that are likely to get strange looks in the United States are sod off, bollocks, and shag, although the latter may make it into common usage after featuring highly in the Austin powers movies. When expressing disapproval or abhor of something, Americans do not use the following words or edifice. It was a shit, crap, shite movie, instead they are more likely to say something to the effect of “It was a really shitty, crappy, bad movie” or “that movie really sucked.”