It's the same with fiction and film, I feel uncomfortable with swearing that is clearly there for sensational effect and/or does not seem in tune with the context. It makes me bristle.
But I am not stupid. I know that many people do swear. It's part of their natural vocabulary, an element of who they are. And I have to admit that when angry, frustrated or self-flagellating in the privacy of my own home, swear words will often boil out of me like steam from hot water. I can curse with the best of them.
And with all of this in mind, I have just finished reading a novel by the Glaswegian author, James Kelman. It won The Booker Prize in 1994 and its title is "How Late It Was, How Late". It has sometimes been called a "stream of consciousness" novel. The central character and narrator is a working class Glaswegian who drinks and smokes and has been in prison for petty criminal activity. He is called Sammy and he swears like a trooper. Hardly a page goes by without a bunch of swear words to accompany his story telling.
But here's the thing. I did not mind the swearing one iota in "How Late It Was, How Late". It was "right" for Sammy. He's filled with anger, self-loathing and a strong sense of injustice. Good fortune never seems to be on his side. It is very appropriate that his narrative voice should include a lot of swear words. What is more, I was hugely impressed by James Kelman's rare ability to think himself into the mind of an anti-hero like Sammy. In my view the novel was a supreme act of sustained creativity built on the perceived reality of Glasgow's mean streets. Deprivation invariably impacts on the language that disregarded and unsuccessful people use.
As a reader, I think it was pretty helpful that I spent my university days up in Scotland. It made the process of "tuning in" a little easier I think.
Here's a taste of the language:-
Fuck it, he had to get going, he had to get going; he would get going, it just took a while to get started; it's no he was lazy, he wasnay lazy, he just needed time to sort things out; once he had that right he could move as fast as any cunt; in fact sometimes he moved too fast for his own fucking good; that was how come he was in this situation. Typical, fucking typical. Nay wonder he didnay like moving fast man see when he did, he fucking
he fuckt things man, he just fuckt things, he fuckt things up. (page 115)
I hope that in transcribing that sweary extract, I have not immediately lost some of my most loyal blog visitors...
Finally, I do not wish to give too much away about the novel but I will say that Sammy has unexpectedly become blind after an assault in a police cell. Let's just leave it at that.
A passionate Scotsman named Clyde
ReplyDeleteUsed the F Word for national pride
With a bonnie gay cheer
And 30 pints of strong beer
It rolled off his tongue like the tide.
I just watched a lovely video about two women in France.
Delete* Living my best Normandy coastal grandmother life. * YouTube. Neeintje.
The French say, Putain. Baiser. Foutre. Niquer.
Salope isn't as shocking as our C word which was properly hated by ladies.
Now there's linguistic bleaching ; women tolerate the C word.
I heard a boy say to his girl, * I was c***ed last night. * Drunk.
That looks like a cross-fertilisation from "munted."
DeleteI'm still laughing, Marcellous !
DeleteMy Dad never used the F word in his life, and really disliked dirty jokes.
He'd quote St Paul : * Put away all filthiness. *
But he said that occasional use of the F word by army officers had style.
The word must be spoken without venom, calmly, even softly.
The -ing suffix must be clearly enunciated. Think Noel Coward.
* Sir Noel Coward on his knighthood/ Dick Cavett Show. * YouTube.
When Australian troops turned up in "the old country" during WWI their tendency to say "bloody" was remarked upon and it became known as "the great Australian adjective."
ReplyDeleteAbout 100 years later my sister was running a band rehearsal in a North London school and after one particularly rough playthrough where (I'm guessing) previously identified areas for improvement had not in fact improved, she said "Well, that was bloody awful." She didn't think much of it or even that it expressed a particularly severe assessment/reprooof, but there was a shocked silence in the room before another teacher - presumably trying to smooth things over, said "That's very...[pause] Australian."
I am also outraged by the "c" word, it is vile and I never want to hear it or read it. Sadly, for that to happen I would have to become both blind and deaf and that's unthinkable.
ReplyDeleteBob gets a bit snarky doesn't he? Just like you do....
PS: when I am particularly annoyed about someone (generally a public figure) I like to let off steam by googling "XX [name of person] fuckwit." I can't say I get many useful hits from this (I must be seeking validation for my view from others expressing it) and it's kind of silly really, but there you are. Obviously I am potty-mouthed.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased you only self flagellate at home and not in public. We wouldn't want you arrested after all.
ReplyDeleteGlasgow...say no more.
Speaking of swearing, arse, once a common word here has given over
* Glasgow ... say no more. *
DeleteYou've given me the best laugh I'll have all week, Andrew !
Every day I walk past a still growing Glasgow University campus.
I see Chinese and Middle Eastern students who'll never use a profanity.
Modestly dressed Muslim women who'll never read James Kelman ...
To me Jim's a genius. He's for readers who like the beat & heat of words.
to continue, given over to ass and butt, to the point now where arse sounds like a very bad word, unlike it once was.
ReplyDeleteThere is poor Meike reprimanded by blogger and there is you using swearwords all over the place. Swearing doesn't really worry me, for the book it was part of the story.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I ever heard my mother curse, until her dementia settled in. In their middle 60's my parents owned a motorhome, a massive thing. Going across a bridge someplace in Tennessee a tire blew and so did she. My father described it as, "she explained in words I didn't think she knew, that she didn't like the motorhome and wasn't going any farther in it." They sold it that afternoon, and drove home in the car they were towing behind it.
ReplyDeleteWell, that was an absurd over-reaction on Mr. Slatten's part: a) you were quoting a book, with a clear warning of what was to come; b)people use foul language-grow up! Curiously, when I recently visited an old friend in Chicago, we both remarked that our language gets saltier the older we get. I will not abandon you for this, you old @#&%!
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of coming across as a goody-two-shoes (trust me, I'm not), I was raised in a home where there was no swearing, at least not in front of me. I was taught it was the product of a small mind. Like you, I can tolerate it in books (and films, though I gave up on those long ago) as long as it's not used gratuitously. It seems like modern literature is filled with it, though. I also see it all over the blogosphere (in posts and comments), so I've finally had to concede I'm just a dinosaur. I've never been one to cuss in front of people much, but will admit that things slip out when I'm alone. I've also learned that cuss words vary from country to country. I was just reading an Australian cozy/cosy mystery for my book club and the "C" word appeared three times in the first chapter. I gasped and laughed because that's a word my adult children despise. I was never offended by it as much as they were. Sorry.... I didn't mean to make this comment so long. I should have just left it at my agreement about gratuitous profanity.
ReplyDeleteI always have to apologize to my Mom's memory if I use the "f" word as she hated that word. But with the current state of my country, I have used the word more often. (Sorry, Mom.)
ReplyDeleteI would have less trouble with the swearing than with the Glaswegian dialect! But I agree with you on swearing -- I don't do it in writing (usually) and although I swear to myself quite frequently I try not to do it too much in public. Years ago I had a boss I quite respected who used to swear and it always sounded so jarring, coming from him. It sounded forced and it made me rethink swearing in general.
ReplyDeleteI never heard my dad swear and the worst my mum ever said was "Dammit!" So swearing is very foreign to me, I'm not happy listening to it or reading it. I have a good friend who uses the F word all the time, she even wrote it on my birthday card. I had to cover that part up with a sticker.
ReplyDelete