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Video Commentary

We live in a time when traditional social values are being re-evaluated and changed, which raises many moral and ethical issues. One of them is whether to swear, i.e. whether using rude, insulting, abusive words and expressions is good or bad. Klāvs Sedlenieks, an associate professor at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU), a social anthropologist and Head of the Social Anthropology masters’ study program, explains what swearing is.

People usually use swear words to attack others or try to offend, position themselves against others, reinforce their place or boundaries, or try to protect themselves.

‘If you are in a setting where everyone swears and this is the normal, accepted style of speech then you should most likely also speak like that, otherwise you will be giving the wrong signals about yourself. In an environment where it is not normal it would of course not be right to swear,’ says Sedlenieks.

Moreover, ‘the meaning does not lie in the words themselves, but rather they gain meaning from the social context. Curse words and what is considered rude changes significantly over time.’ For example, there are words that were considered rude and obscene a hundred or fifty years ago that are nowadays quite common words. ‘In my grandmother's day words like “trousers” or “armpit” were considered too sensitive and vulgar to be used by a polite lady.’