rara-avis@icomm.ca wrote:
> Language is contextual. Many of those words may have
lost their
> universal bite, but with the right tone, inflection
and situation,
> they can still hit just as hard as they ever did
(fights continue
> to start with the phrase "What did you say about my
mother?" no
> matter how many times we laugh at "Your mama's so
fat . . ."
Her nickname is "DAMN!" ?
I agree, of course, about language being contextual. But the
very fact that we know add qualifiers about when and where
the N-word and other hate words have the traditional venom
demonstrates to me that they've lost some or much of their
power.
> What bothers me is its gratuitous use to appear hip
or street.
> Anthony pointed out a very important distinction
between narrative
> voice and dialog. Nasty words could be well put in
characters'
> mouth to express anything from friendship to anger
depending upon
> context. They may even be very effectively used in
portraying a
> character as a phony, someone not nearly as hip as
they would have
> you think, just as the misuse of a high-falutin'
word may expose a
> social climber. It's fine, just part of the story,
if I think a
> character is a phony. It's another thing entirely if
I believe the
> narrator is.
Bad writing is bad writing, regardless of the language
used.
jess
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