One of the first things many people do when they embark on a language learning journey is to find out how to swear. We’ve all done it I’m sure, especially when we were younger. I remember flicking through a French dictionary at school looking for words which were considered even mildly crude or funny. No word was safe: Knickers and breasts were more than fair game, and guaranteed to raise a chuckle out of the room in French class. This is all just good juvenile harmless fun, and seeing as I never saw myself even using the French I was learning at school it didn’t seem a problem. To be honest I can’t even remember the French word for boobs (although derriere strangely sticks in the mind).
So what is the problem? Well with this– absolutely nothing. The problems begin when people think it is extraordinarily funny to learn more grown up words, curse words if you will. I have met people who are going on holiday, or travelling, and consider it a humerous idea to learn curse words and slang expletives of the native language. Somehow they believe that it will endear them to the locals who will think it funny that a foreigner learned their most taboo of language, and of course they can use it to the taxi driver who overcharges them the price of a small lollipop.
It is never a good idea to learn curse words in a new foreign language until you have a good grasp of the language already and have many years experience within the culture of the country. You see it is very difficult to gauge how offensive a swear word will be to a local person and you may think what you are saying is mild and funny, until the recipient turns around with a scowl and a machete. For example, in Indonesia it is very offensive to call someone a dog; in Thailand you can offend someone with a simple ‘buffalo’, and get beaten up with an innocuous ‘water monitor’. These are not exactly terms that would offend in English, and that is the point: Until you know the language and the culture, steer clear of learning curse words. It may get you in more trouble than you expect.
