语言学专家称，说脏话正被越来越多的人接受

过去二十年里，粗话的使用变得越来越被接受，因为人们在对话中用它来强调重点或建立社交关系，而不仅仅是用来侮辱他人，语言学专家指出。

据学术研究者称，英国最常用的两个粗话“****”和“Shit”经常被用来强调对话中的重点或者建立社交关系，而不是特意去冒犯他人。

这些评论发表之后，BBC主持人Mishal Husain在对内政部长James Cleverly的一次采访中，不到一分钟就说了七次粗话。

该主持人在周二的Radio 4 Today节目中质问他近期被指控说过的一些话，包括他是否曾把某人或某地形容为“shit-hole”。

伯明翰阿斯顿大学的英语语言讲师Dr Robbie Love表示：“和所有语言的使用一样，粗话完全依赖于上下文环境和特定情境。词语的不同用途，以及如何运用，决定了它的接受程度。”

Love指出，研究发现，人们在日常对话中常常用粗话来表示惊讶、创造幽默、和同伴表达团结，或者侮辱他人。

但是，他说，Husain并没有这样做。“相反，她提到了[Cleverly据称]使用过的这个词，并询问他是否说过这个词。在这种情况下，我认为这更可能被认为是可以接受的，而不是她在故事结束时突然说，‘那就是一堆屎，不是吗？’”

他进一步指出，最常见的粗话由于人们的使用方式，变得越来越不成为禁忌。比如，“****”这个词越来越多地被用在一些通用的短语中，如“oh, for **** sake”，或者“what the ****？”这样的短语，减少了其冒犯性。

Love还指出，粗话在日常对话中还有其他作用，如在朋友或工作同事之间形成社交纽带，其使用表达了一种团结感或与群体的社交亲密度。

南安普顿大学商学院的管理学教授Yehuda Baruch称，他的研究发现，像律师、医生和高级经理等专业人士使用粗话来增强团队凝聚力，缓解压力和强调重点。

Baruch还说，粗话也被用于有计划地吸引注意力，例如亿万富翁Elon Musk在纽约时报DealBook峰会的一次访谈中使用了F词。

他补充道：“我确信Mishal这样做是因为她想强调这一点，以便所有人都会听到。四十年前，她绝不会这样做。但不幸的是，这是有效的。这就是新语言，我们必须接受它。”

Swearing is becoming more widely acceptable, linguistics experts claim

Swearwords increasingly used for emphasis and to build social bonds, rather than to insult, say academics

Swearing has become more widely acceptable over the past two decades because it is increasingly used for other purposes than to insult people, linguistics experts have said.

“****” and “shit”, the two most commonly used swearwords in the UK, are frequently used to emphasise a point in conversation or to build social bonds, rather than with the specific intent to cause offence, according to academic researchers.

They made the comments after the BBC presenter Mishal Husain swore seven times in under a minute during an interview with the home secretary, James Cleverly.

The broadcaster questioned him on Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday about things he had recently been accused of saying, which included whether he had described a person or a place as a “shit-hole”.

Dr Robbie Love, a lecturer in English Language at Aston University, Birmingham, said: “Swearing, as with all language use, is entirely context dependent and context specific. It’s what you do with the word and the various functions, as far as performed, that informs the perception of how acceptable it is.”

Love said research had found that people commonly swore in casual conversation to express surprise, to create humour, to show solidarity with their peers, or to abuse someone.

But Husain was not doing any of these, he said. “Rather, she’s referring to the word that [Cleverly allegedly] used and asking whether he said it. In that context, I would argue that it’s more likely to be considered acceptable, than if she suddenly said at the end of the story, ‘Well, that was a load of shit, wasn’t it?’

“The choice to say it might be part of a strategy to rattle James Cleverly, and not to euphemistically replace that term to force him to acknowledge the reality of that word. But I’m not sure if anybody would genuinely be offended by hearing that word in that context.”

Love, who has published studies on swearing trends in informal conversation between the 1990s and 2010s, and the use of the F-word among British teenagers, said most swearwords were becoming less taboo due to the ways in which people were using them.

For example, the F-word was increasingly being used in generic phrases such as “oh, for **** sake”, or “what the ****?”, which had lessened its impact to offend, he added.

“If you break it down and think, if I say, ‘who the **** did that?’, as opposed to ‘who did that?’, what does ‘****’ actually mean? It’s just emphasising the general sentiment,” he said.

The academic added that this use of the word was happening a lot more now than a few decades ago. “That’s good evidence that the specific meaning of that word is falling away, because when people use it, they’re using it in these kind of generic ways.”

Love said swearing performed other functions in casual conversation, such as forming social bonds between friends or work colleagues, where its usage signalled a degree of solidarity or social intimacy with the group.

Yehuda Baruch, a professor of management at the University of Southampton’s business school, said his research with professionals such as lawyers, doctors and senior managers found swearing was used to create team cohesion, relieve stress and emphasise a point.

Baruch said swearing was also used in a calculated attempt to gain attention, for example, he believed, when the billionaire Elon Musk used the F-word in an interview at the New York Times DealBook summit.

He added: “I’m sure Mishal did it because she wanted to emphasise the point, so that everybody will listen. Forty years ago, she would never do it. But unfortunately, it is effective. This is the new language and we have to live with it.”