• Mobiuthuselah@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    As I understand it, shit, piss, and fuck were common words in Old English. When the French-speaking Normans invaded the Anglo-Saxons, they made the people and their language lower class, crude and dirty. Defecate, urinate, and fornicate were substituted as the proper way to speak. This was a way to continue oppressing a conquered and occupied group of people. These views have persisted for hundreds of years and been adopted by various groups over time. Something to consider when you find yourself viewing the words others use as crude.

    Based on this history, you might also see why saying “pardon my French” is ironic as fuck.

    • Dasus@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I mean there’s was a difference in the language of the rulers and the ruled, which is why this difference came to the language.

      That’s why the foods you eat are mutton, pork, beef, etc whereas the animals are sheep, pig and cow.

      The former words only refer to the meat of the animal, because that’s what the French rulers were served.

      So I’m not disagreeing with anything you’ve said, just elaborating on the cause-effect relationship.