Daily Language

The way we talk and the language that we use is heavily influenced by the people we are around all the time. Due to our diverse culture, our population consists of many people who act and do things differently. This affects the way we talk to each other whether it be with friends or family. A person who grows up around a group of people who are very proper and speak eloquently tends to incorporate that into the way he or she talks. If a person grows up around people who curse constantly, obviously that person is going to grow up to use vulgar language. This is true in the case of Weaver, a M.F.A. candidate at George Mason University, who refers to his use of profanity in terms of self-identity, proclaiming, "So I grew up into who I am" (182). Scott Weaver grew up around his dad's baseball team who constantly swore at every chance they got. Because he was around them all the time, the vulgarity that he heard everyday was incorporated into his language. Scott Weaver said, "I speak English adequately, Spanish horribly, and Profanity fluently. I thrive on it. I live through it. I'm only comfortable in class if the professor lets some curse words slip. Vulgar language is my home" (182).

In a way I sort of grew up with the same kind of peers that Scott Weaver had. I went to school at La Salle Academy which is predominantly comprised of African Americans who have no problem saying the "N-word" to each other in practically every sentence. It is also happens to be an all boys school so with no girls for anyone to impress, the amount of cursing is out of control. Since I went to that school for four years, I have gotten used to all the cursing and have used it in my vocabulary as well. Although everyone around me would say the "N-word" it has never caught on with me. Since the word was so popular, Hispanic people would say it as well as white people who would try to "act black". But no one would have a problem with it particularly because it is "cool to be black."

I don't live or thrive on curse words myself like Scott Weaver but I use them a fair amount. Some even say that my cursing is multilingual. I speak English and slang fluently because most of my peers speak a lot of slang, as well as all the television and music that I am exposed to everyday. I am also fluent in Tagalog, the native language of my country, the Philippines. I can curse really well in Tagalog; I even mix my English and Tagalog into one big vulgar sentence.

The community that I live in is mostly comprised of Filipinos and most of my friends are Filipino as well. So my mix of "Taglish" cursing can really only be understood by my own ethnic group. I can attribute most of my Filipino vulgarity to my uncle who is an immigrant from the Philippines. When I was growing up I would always see him holding a can