Swearing

Knight Joined: 18 Nov 2011 Posts: 442

Ive read "son of a Sithspwan" a few times in the EU or variations off....
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"You see that I was right, now, dont you?. The truth is written in blood"

It think it's inevitable that there will be some form of swearing. they're can't be a universe full of trillions of people with no offensive words in existance and not a single person using them haha. I'm glad thought that they don't use our swear words for the most part.

But also remember that the words are only as bad as we make them. the S word in our world is only bad because we have made it so; it could be that that word is acceptable but poop is considered a swear word because that is what we have been taught and grew up with.
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"Redemption comes to those who wait, forgiveness is the key." -- Tom Petty

I think it depends on what EU book is being looked at. It seemed that in the X-Wing series they tried to avoid swearing and pioneered things like Sithspit. Which I find ok but realistically I think people would go for a shorter word/phrase to express anger (plus that would be kinda hard to shout quickly). I appreciated that they were at least trying to be original in those books but to me it just didn't seem like something that would flow naturally as an expression of anger/frustration.

I do like more recent works such as the Republic Commando books that were being a bit more inventive by introducing swear words from other EU languages. I particularly like the Mando'a expressions such as chakaar that came as a result.

I'm not sure if they use it in SW too but the best replacement I heard for an f-bomb is Frak (Frakk) from Battlestar Galactica.
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Master Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Posts: 4421 Location: Korriban

@Salaris: With Sithspit I think its more of a combination word since Sith itself has many negative connotations to it. Thing about the 'eff' word. Adding 'mother' and 'er' to either side of it makes a new word, but its really long. Its just about additions.
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Perfection is a lifelong pursuit requiring sacrifice. The only way to get it quicker is to sacrifice the most.

First off, let me say that this was a really great idea for a thread. In order to really dig in to some Star Wars cuss words, we would be amiss to neglect Abel G. Pena's list:

http://blogs.starwars.com/abelgpena/5

Now I'm of two minds on Star Was swear words. First off, I've read so many Star Wars books at this point that the language is familiar to me. Star Wars without their made up cuss words just wouldn't feel the same. I actually like the word kriff now and will occasionally use it when I need a soft expletive. And most sci-fi shows make up cuss words and all of them are pretty silly. Frak is still a goofy sci-fi cuss word. It sounds like something a little kid would say. It goes right along with gosh, darn, and heck. They just don't have any bite.

And bite is definitely the crux of the matter. Cuss words are words that have impact. You drop the F word and it has meaning. Especially if your someone who hardly ever cusses. That word all the sudden has ten fold the meaning and impact. Cuss words have the extremely useful function of providing impact to dialog. They deliver a sound that can tear someone apart emotionally or truly touch upon their rage. A vocabulary that does not have cuss words is one that has less range.

So on one hand, I wouldn't want Star Wars to drop words like Sithspit, fierfek, shabla, and kriff. Yet by excluding cuss words, the authors are limited in the emotion they can express. I don't think it's the sort of handicap that's crippling though. It's just more of a challenge for them. Yet the softness of the made up sci-fi cuss words means that they can't really be used in the same way. In-universe they work, but out of universe it just hits the reader in a slightly comical fashion. It's something the writers have to keep in mind.

So yeah, the words are goofy...but I do like them in a way.
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Knight Joined: 18 Nov 2011 Posts: 442

The Mandalorians have a lot of swear words in their native tongue as do the Hutts. Ive never found any of it out of place to be honest. Emotions run high in these stories and if there were never these words used in would make the universe a bit more unrealistic.

I like the idea of swear words being used which are native to the galaxy.
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"You see that I was right, now, dont you?. The truth is written in blood"

I am with FateotJediFreak. They can't have a whole universe without some swearing, and I'm fine with it, as long as they know where to draw the line. I also like the idea of fake swear words, because as many of you have said, it's empty. As for the real words like hell, which is barely a swear word, they just have to know when to stop. It would be really bad if the people were swearing the whole time.
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To be angry is to be human. All mentors have a way of seeing more of our faults than we would like. It's the only way we grow. ~Padme Amidala~

Knight Joined: 14 Sep 2012 Posts: 202 Location: London

My favourite is fitch from the Ewok adventures.

Watch the first couple of scenes from Caravan of Courage. The Ewok day says it several times as a reaction to his children's misbehaviour.

"Ahh Fitch!"

Ewoks swearing = priceless.
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