Adolescents and preteens are swearing more publicly than ever – especially at school, experts say.
It's conversational swearing – in the hallways and in the classroom – that is on the rise, says Timothy Jay, one of the leading scholars on cursing in the United States.
Teens are more likely to drop casual expletives, or "fillers," than the generation before them and have more trouble adjusting their conversation to fit their audience. That means adults – especially strangers who cannot sanction the teens – hear more of the same language that the teens' friends hear, says Jay, author of "Why We Curse" (John Benjamins, $35, 328 pages) and "Cursing in America" (John Benjamins, $66, 272 pages).
He estimates that the average adolescent uses roughly 80 to 90 swear words a day.
The solution, says Jay, is for parents to teach the etiquette of swearing.
"Kids should know about the power of language. Parents should remind them about how important words can be and when you should use them," agrees Leahy.
P.M. Forni, author of "Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct" (St. Martin's Griffin, $12.95, 208 pages), sees the comfort teens have with cussing as a result of parents and teachers opting not to address the issue.
"Many parents have decided not to fight this battle, and one of the reasons is because they often swear themselves and hear it at the workplace," Forni says. "Parents should ban swearing in the household in the same way that they've banned smoking in the household."
Source: Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/727392.html
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