CasualObservations

Design student | Sydney, Australia

[casual-observations]

100 posts!

[casual-observations]

Why we swear more now

Image by Cathy Wilcox

For our final project, we created a Children’s Book Of Compliments containing only profanities to illustrate the constant evolvement of language. The reason we have done this is to explore the potential for words we deem as offensive in our current society to eventually be regarded as acceptable. 

This is supported by an article by SMH on ‘Why there's more f---ing profanity these days’ that comments on The Project's Carrie Bickmore award acceptance speech where she mentions the word “shit”. The article continues in saying that her speech “didn’t raise an eyebrow” and that “shit no longer shocks.”

Furthermore, the article’s writer, Amanda Dunn notes how just as the word “fuck” has become more common it has become less shocking than it once was and that “cunt” may be heading in the same direction. C--- is a term that still offends a lot of people. The article also concludes that young people are starting to use it the way older generations used "bastard" on their friends, in an affectionate way, draining its venom along the way.

According to the article, a report in 2011 produced by the ABC on attitudes to coarse language in the media found  that older people and parents were most likely to be offended by crude language. For older generations, it wasn’t the way educated people behaved and that’s not how they were brought up.

RESOURCES

http://www.smh.com.au/national/why-theres-more-fing-profanity-these-days-20150514-gh1mgu.html

[casual-observations]

Nine facts about swear words

1. About 0.7% of the words a person uses in the course of a day are swear words.

2. Kids often learn a four-letter word before they learn the alphabet. By the age of two, most children know at least one swear word.

3. Some of today’s most popular swear words have been around for more than a thousand years though in those times the terms wouldn’t have been considered as impolite as they are today.

4. The ancient Romans laid the groundwork for modern day f-bombs.

5. In the Middle Ages, certain vain oaths were believed to actually tear apart the ascended body of Christ, as he sat next to his Father in heaven. 

6. The sexual and excremental words were not charged, basically because people in the Middle Ages had much less privacy than we do now.

7. Bourgeois people typically swear the least, this goes back to the Victorian era idea that you get control over your language and your deportment, which indicates that you are a proper, good person and this is a sign of your morality and awareness of social rules. The upper classes have been shown to swear more, however: while “social strivers” mind their tongues, aristocrats have a secure position in society, so they can say whatever they want — and may even make a show of doing so.

8. Hearing and saying swear words changes our skin conductance response, making our palms sweat. One study, also found that swearing helps alleviate pain.

9. They definitely are the best words that you can use to insult people because they are much better than other words at getting at people’s emotions. Swear words are also the best words to use if you hit your finger with a hammer, because they are cathartic, helping people deal with emotion as well as pain. Studies also show that they help people bond.

RESOURCES

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/10/nine-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-swear-words/

[casual-observations]

How has English changed over the years?

Over the years, language has constantly evolved in order to reflect human society, for example new words are invented when new things are invented such as microwaves or cars. Furthermore, words are often shortened as the term becomes more common such as text messaging eventually evolving to just texting since it is now common knowledge what the term implies.

Language is also used to determine one’s status for example certain cultural groups may use certain words to identify who is part of their culture and who isn’t. We constantly learn new words from the people we interact with which is perhaps why young people and older people often have trouble communicating since they use different languages. 

Moreover, around 500 hundred years ago the English language underwent a large vowel shift. This meant that the pronunciation of words had changed, this can be seen in the word “geese” which would have rhymed with today's pronunciation of “face”. However during the 'Great Vowel Shift' the ay sound (as in pay) changed to ee (as in fee) in all the words containing it, while the ee sound changed to i (as in pie). What’s interesting is how European languages spell the word “sounday” with an e (as in fiancé) and the sound ee with an i (as in aria), it's because those languages didn't undergo the Great Vowel Shift. 

According to The Linguistics Society there is no such thing as sloppy language or slang since each language has its own rules.

RESOURCES

http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/english-changing

www.speechbuddy.com

[adelaidedaycollett]

Experiment: 

When brainstorming what kind of images we wanted to have to accompanying the text in our children’s book, we were originally inspired by the old fashioned 1960s children’s books which I have referenced on my tumblr. We therefore played around with photography and effects on an app on Chelsea’s phone. This was one image which I believe turned out really well and perhaps could be used in the final document? I will experiment cropping around the figures to cut out the background. 

[adelaidedaycollett]

Collage inspiration: Adam Hale 

Adam Hale constructs these minimalistic, clean-cut but often disturbing and slightly confronting images from free magazines he finds in London. I like the delicacy and precision he uses to create cohesive and slick images. Our group would like to create images similar to this for our illustrations in our publication in order to support the text. 

[adelaidedaycollett]

Further collage inspiration: Anthony Zinonos 

Zinonos uses secondhand books and magazines, often found at garage and car-boot sales. He carefully selects which images to use and I appreciate the purposeful positioning of the images. It is subtle and minimalistic which is still visually engaging and tells a story. 

[adelaidedaycollett]

Development of the ‘Bastard’ image: 

In our ‘future world’ bastard has changed meaning to mean: “to refer to someone who possesses loyal qualities.” 

I chose to incorporate a hand-drawn element into the work because I thought it would make the look more cohesive through linking it to the first page with the hand-drawn clown. Initially I used a cut-out of the vintage style picture of Ellen and I but found it did not compliment the eye and looked awkward. 

The text is an important element because it references the old meanings and origins of the word ‘bastard’ whilst also encapsulating the new. Through history bastard has had religious connotations surrounding marriage and a breach of abstinence. So I decided to include one of the 10 commandments which promotes the message to tell the truth -  thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 

The last two images are the final pages and are included in the PDF. 

[adelaidedaycollett]

Development of the second image: to accompany the word ‘shit’. Our new definition of the ‘shit’ is: to be brave or courageous. I collaged the image from the ‘Alphabet Wings’ picture book and the Financial Review magazine, where the spiky part is actually the side of a shoe! 

The first version of the image is on the left and the right image is the final one. I decided to make the spiky part more 2D like and block coloured because it didn’t look cohesive. I also ditched the work ‘shit’, originally collaged from letters of the book, because I thought it was unnecessary and too obvious. The last two images are from the final PDF. 

[adelaidedaycollett]

The first couple of pictures are from our secondhand book hunting session at Ampersand. We found this beautiful book with watercolour sketches of strange creatures. We decided not to use it because we thought the style was too specified. 

The book we used prominently in our work, which we found at Ampersand, was called ‘Alphabet Wings’ by Ilana M. Kresner. We cut several things from the book and experimented with collaging parts of them together. 

[ellenodonnellcofablog-blog]

FINAL WORK

We have created a book for children to explain to them the meaning and usage of certain words. In our eyes these words may appear to be rude, derogatory swear words but in the future, we propose, that they will all be compliments. In creating out pdf our target audience was always going to be children, hence the poem at the end and the pictures. The line that runs through the work makes allusions to handwriting lines for the children to practice writing their newly acquired words. If you view the pdf by scrolling down vertically then you will notice that the line is continuous and always matches up with line of the previous page. We have also included sound recordings of the pronunciation (they won’t work on Preview though!! Try Adobe!!!!) to make it clearer and easier for the kids to pick up these new words! Words change all the time and we have linked the change to the current day meanings by contrasting the words future meaning in gender or harsh/softness.

[adelaidedaycollett]

The final work: ‘The Children’s Book of Compliments’ by Adelaide Day-Collett, Chelsea Lin and Ellen O’Donnell. 

[adelaidedaycollett]

Summing up

I think it is important to bring our work, entitled ‘The Children’s Book of Everything’,  back to one of the main inspirations for creating the work, as drawn out of the 2015 Venice Biennale. A common and perhaps indirect theme we came across when initially researching the exhibition was the way several exhibited artists had used everyday objects in an interesting and innovative way in order to make a comment about ‘All the world’s futures’. I think it is often easy to fall into the misconception that to constructively demonstrate and creatively imagine the future something completely new needs to be created. 

One work, exhibited at the Venice Biennale, which aligns with our work and this concept is Monica Bonvicini’s ‘Latent Combustion’. The work features old machinery and labour equipment which have been coasted in black paint and hung in bundles like chandlers from the ceiling. She simultaneously makes a comment about the absence of manual labour, with the advancement of machines/robots whilst also turning something masculine into a more feminine and quaint object. 

Instead of using physical objects like Bonvicini, we explore the evolution of language throughout history. We aim to demonstrate the infinite possibilities surrounding the future of language; proposing that crude, harsh and often derogatory swear words, which are ultimately just ‘words’, could be taught learned by children as complimentary adjectives. 

Source: http://labiennale.org/en/mediacenter/video/56-46.html

[casual-observations]

THE CHILDREN’S BOOK OF COMPLIMENTS: SNEAK PEEK

Here’s a snippet of our final assessment where we have created a book of compliments for children. Upon reading the book you will discover how it is full of swear words. That is on purpose.

Throughout our research of works from the Venice Biennale, we discovered that we didn’t need to create a whole new future, just a new way of looking at it. Throughout history, humans have evolved enormously and this is reflected in our language. Language is all about how you perceive their meanings. Therefore if you change the meaning of e.g. fuck, is it still as offensive?

We were also inspired by artists such as Adam Hale whose Instagram features surreal compositions of magazine clippings. This paper cut out aesthetic was integral in our project to enhancing the target market of our book. We also incorporated different styles of illustrations to reflect our collaboration and used a blackboard style background to allude to classroom learning environments. Furthermore, the handwriting style font softens the harshness of the swear words.

P.S The final project includes media where each word is pronounced to teach children how to say them however it only works on Adobe PDF reading programs.

[casual-observations]

The evolution of language

So for our final group project, we wanted our pdf to explore the evolution of language as a form of communication. We were inspired by how language has changed over the years and how this has influenced society. For example words such as gay used to refer to one feeling a sense of happiness however it now refers to homosexuals and also has negative connotations.

Hence, we decided to compile a short book of compliments for children that would redefine the meaning of “swear words”. It is through this that we contemplate how language have the potential to change along with society and over time. This idea was also inspired by artworks that we research in the Venice Biennale that explored how the purpose of objects could be altered in the future rather than being completely abolished(these works can be seen on my Tumblr and my group which I will link below). Furthermore, the learning of language begins at an early age which is why we decided to create a children’s book. 

Below are the words that will be included in our book and other info:

FUCK

Current definition: 

1. have sexual intercourse with (someone)

2. damage or ruin (something).

Possible definition:

1. to refer to a person, place or thing that makes you laugh 

2. funny

History:

-Came in to english during 15th century

-Initially meant “to strike” or “to hit”

-Might not have been recorded before 15th century because it was too rude to record

BITCH

Current definition:

1. a female dog, wolf, fox, or otter.

2. a spiteful or unpleasant woman.

Possible definition:

1. used in reference to males to compliment their appearance 

2. handsome, good-looking

History:

- Early uses refer to a promiscuous woman

- Which is why “son of a bitch” is so offensive because it connotes that the woman has slept around

- In 1915, most of the books refer to “bitch” was a female dog however by 1930 most referred to “bitch” was an insult against woman

- This linked to the roaring twenties when women were feeling more daring and were fighting for the vote hence the new definition of the word

-Feminists have fought to redefine the word “bitch” to be positive such as Meredith Brooks song, "I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint, I do not feel ashamed."

BASTARD

Current definition:

1. a person born of parents not married to each other.

2. an unpleasant or despicable person.

Possible definition:

1. Someone who is loyal.

2. the act of being loyal, faithful, trustworthy

History:

- It originated from Old French from medieval Latin bastardus, probably from bastum “packsaddle” which can refer to “packsaddle son” (i.e. the son of a mule driver who uses a packsaddle for a pillow and is gone by morning).

- The meaning of the word hasn’t changed much since it’s use which dates back to early centuries.

SHIT

Current definition:

1. faeces.

2. a contemptible or worthless person.

Possible definition:

1. excellent, marvellous, cool

History:

- Used since at least the 14th century, and is derived from the Old English noun scite (meaning dung)

- scholars believe it was used by preliterate Germanic tribes in the time of the Roman empire, meaning that the word "shit" is, quite literally, barbaric.

CUNT

Current definition:

1. a woman's genitals.

2. an unpleasant or stupid person.

Possible definition:

1.  cultivated, cultured

2. having good manners, courteous

History:

-  One variation is "Cuneiform", the most ancient form of writing, derived from "kunta" meaning "female genitalia" in Sumerian of ancient Iraq. 

- In several parts of Africa the word “Kunta” refers to a woman

- Originally meant queen of inventing writing and numerals

- Another variation is "quern," which referred to a hand-mill used by ancient women to grind grain into flour

RESOURCES:

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/02/how-gay-came-to-mean-homosexual/

https://solongasitswords.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/on-the-origin-of-fuck/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zoe-triska/post_4332_b_2526243.html?ir=Australia

http://mentalfloss.com/article/26955/intriguing-origins-indelicate-words-shit

http://www.vdaysouthbay.org/originsofcunt.htm

ELLEN’S TUMBLR: http://ellenodonnellcofablog.tumblr.com/

ADELAIDE’S TUMBLR: http://adelaidedaycollett.tumblr.com/

[casual-observations]

Looking at children’s books

Part of our research involved looking at old children’s books for inspiration on our design layout and the relationship between text and images. We decided to visit a second hand bookstore that had lots of old children’s books with different styles of illustrations.

[ellenodonnellcofablog-blog]

How ‘Gay’ Came to Mean ‘Homosexual’

Today I found out how ‘gay’ came to mean ‘homosexual’. The word “gay” seems to have its origins around the 12th century in England, derived from the Old French word ‘gai’, which in turn was probably derived from a Germanic word, though that isn’t completely known. The word’s original meaning meant something to the effect of “joyful”, “carefree”, “full of [...]