Faen

There is a store in downtown Stavanger prominently situated at one of the busiest intersections that has the word SHIT® plastered all over the windows. I finally managed to do a bit of research into what went on behind its otherwise nondescript exterior. It houses a skateboard company. Granted, skateboard companies can probably take marketing liberties that would cause most other companies to crumble.

Perhaps the larger issue is how words of a taboo status are so culturally specific. The Norwegian media uses English words that would never be used in polite conversation in the US. Despite being a church-state, Norway has been untouched by the heavy hand of puritanism. Also, these profane English words also don't really mean anything to a population that didn't grow up watching their classmates having their mouths washed out with soap for their mere utterance. They are just words that hold no more weight than Robin saying "Holy Astringent Palm-like Fruit!" in the 60s Batman series.

When I watch the text captioning of translated "profanity" in American movies, I find it odd how benign the Norwegian words appear (like in poorly dubbed out editing of American movies on TNT). I have asked if the words have been watered down as a subtle form of censorship, but I have been told that "we really don't have a word like that." Since most profanity is not meant to be taken literally anyway, I would guess that all sorts of logical absurdities could arise in translation. But maybe it is because I haven't grown up learning the values and subtle nuances behind the proper use for these Norwegian words. My primary exposure to pure Norwegian profanity has been at the fotball game- not the classroom.

I have never heard my wife use profanity in Norwegian, though occasionally something will slip out in English. Maybe she is just happier speaking Norwegian, but more likely, the English words probably mean nothing to her, while she fully knows the meaning carried by their Norwegian counterparts.

Just to clarify, it isn't my goal to learn how to swear like a native. Learning a foreign language has shown me how ridiculous profanity is, but furthermore how pointless censorship is.