Agadir - It is strange how youngsters learning foreign languages seek to break the “ban” on the use of taboo words and expressions. They know they are there but nobody would introduce them to the realm of the forbidden so they resort to their own ingenuity to find out. At this stage in life they may think the more foul and obscene language they have in their repertoire the better they are equipped with “verbal weapons” they could use on their rivals to settle differences. They may as well falsely think of learning taboo words and expressions as a sign of adulthood and freedom.
This can be understood as a manifestation among others of the transitional period of adolescence. What may not so simply be understood is when some grown-ups either consciously or unconsciously contribute to spreading “linguistic pollution” through using offending language in their inter-actions with people who hold opinions, beliefs or ideas not necessarily the same as their own.
I started this article with this instance of youngsters learning another language other than their mother tongue as the new language being learnt would put them in the same situation as small children trying the effect of foul language on their entourage and being curious about the outcome. The same, to some extent, could be said about illiterate people operating in a foreign environment and coming into contact with a foreign language for the first time. Taboo words and expressions are shunned and very much looked down on in anyone’s mother tongue but curiosity and the sense of discovery will always be there to unnecessarily fuel the need to try them in a different environment.
Incredible instances of showing off one’s “linguistic competence” in degrading foul or offensive language can be witnessed every now and then on the net when some people respond or comment on others' ways of looking at things; religious, political, cultural or otherwise. It is so unfortunate that the etiquette of using the internet is not always observed or taken into account.
It is high time we learnt to effectively manage our differences; it is high time we learnt to disagree without being disagreeable. For healthy and effective communication in oral exchanges as well as in written inter-action, certain rules have to be adopted, observed and made use of on an ongoing basis. These are the rules to keep in mind:
- Respect your interlocutor.
- You may consider your interlocutor as an opponent or a rival but NOT an enemy.
- Respect your audience
- Keep an open mind when discussing a point
- Practice good manners all through discussion
- Talk/participate only when you have a contribution to make
- Argue against ideas rather than against people
- Avoid interpreting difference of opinion as a personal attack
- Wait for evidence before you reject the broad statements of others
Positive rational behavior in communication has always proved to be very effective and very much rewarding while emotional and irrational communication behavior has always failed to achieve much except communication break-downs to mention the least.
I round up this article with this beautiful quote from Jalal Eddine Rumi’s which states the following: “Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers not thunder”
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