It is common knowledge that language changes over time, and we can easily see that it is not immune to the effects of globalization. Nowadays, the use of swear words has become more standardized: on TV, in movies, in sports, etc. These are areas that reflect the way people actually talk. There are certain channels and stations- as there are certain individuals- that prefer not to use them, as well as websites that filter out the “dirty” words.  I think the list of words we aren’t allowed to use will seem a bit ridiculous to us in a few years, as they’ve stopped being “bad” (like others that have survived this charge) and become more common. Of course, they will most likely be replaced by new ones. And with any term, it will still be hard or unpleasant to call certain things by their name… and so the euphemisms will go on.

I think kids will continue to search out those words to see what they mean or confirm what they know or think they know, just like we’ve all done at some time (although they probably won’t look in Webster’s, but just check the internet and then giggle about the words through text messages or over Messenger). They will continue to do this because it’s an intriguing subject, because words- all words- are necessary, and because learning about them are a part of growing up. And now that we don’t get our mouths washed out with soap, we continue using these words, perhaps adding a whole new set in a different language, even though we are now grown up and more “polite.” And professionally, we will continue trying to learn about bad words in another language however we can (because most of them aren’t in the dictionary), looking for their meaning and translation of bad words we need to put into our language.

In a piece known as “Bad Words,” Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano tells the story of a little girl who was running raucously through the house and tripped and fell. Instead of crying however, the little girl got mad:

What’s this shit doing here?
Her mother corrected her:
No dear, people don’t say that word.
And from the floor Ximena wondered:
Mom, why do words that people don’t say even exist then?

Bad words, swearing, cursing, taboo language, four-letter words, or in Spanish- las malas palabras, puteadas, obscenidades, groserías, palabrotas o el lenguaje soez- are a part of language and are considered a sociolinguistic custom.  These words vary in meaning from one country to another. In one country or area they may be considered vulgar, while they are harmless in another. They generally involve something society deems sacred (religion, family) or something considered taboo or prohibited (sexy, body parts, bodily functions) or are used to insult someone personally. They usually slip out without a conscious decision, when you hammer your thumb or stub your toe on the table in the middle of the night…
Argentinean author Roberto Fontanarrosa said that these words “are not bad because they hurt others or because they are of a lesser quality,” but rather because they mark the person saying them as “foul-mouthed” or crude. As authors, we can avoid using these words when writing or speaking by employing a euphemism (a more politically acceptable or less offensive word or expression substituted for something considered vulgar, in poor taste or offensive. But when we are translating something that has “curse words,” there’s no avoiding it: we have to find the bad word with a similar tone and meaning, even if it’s a word or phrase that we find in poor taste or is against our morals. Searching for the word or phrase that matches the original may not be an easy task, but it does present an interesting challenge professionally.

There are a number of Spanish and English “swear word dictionaries” and glossaries online, some that even tell which countries use them. They aren’t exactly scientific and there may be a meaning that is not quite true for a given country or area, but it’s better than nothing: We’re certainly not going to find them on formal sites. There are also a number of blogs and forums where writers and users have taken an interest in the subject and come up with lists of approximate equivalencies between multiple languages. Although the sources are not very academic and we may not all be linguists, this topic is so linked to social and cultural norms that we can all contribute because we all use them, know what they mean and how they are used, at least in our environment.