Historically, the most awful words that would never be uttered in anyone’s home would have to do with the devil himself. Saying his name, calling “on” him, or mentioning hell, were strictly forbidden. They were considered dastardly words that make even the hearty, weak kneed. The Good Teacher Inga even blushed as she wrote them on the board. No respectable person would ever utter such things and I couldn’t even find them in the English/Norwegian dictionary (yet I found the American F word there.)
But now apparently, the effect of Satan’s name is starting to wear off slightly, and even though kids are still not allowed to utter it, the new generation has come up with even more repulsive swear words that have to do with “private parts.” Inga wouldn’t write those on the board, but I’m thinking they are similar to some English slang words.
Inga said it’s good we know some of the swear words just in case we hear our children saying them or if someone tries to teach them to us, so we will know just how socially unacceptable they are.
Kory laughs about the fact that the swear word that starts with “sh” in English, is just an ordinary word in Norway. Literally, it means something is soiled or dirty, but it’s also just a common expression that isn’t offensive. He said when they moved to America, his dad said that word at church while giving a testimony. He had to tell his dad afterwards that it was a swear word here, so it shouldn’t be used from the pulpit.
I had to try out my expanded vocabulary one day on Tobias, a neighbor boy that came over to visit our son. Tobias was 12 at the time and I asked him to verify if the word that sounds like “fawn” (the devil’s name), was really all that bad. His eyes opened wide. His jaw dropped. He stared at me in disbelief. After a few seconds he said with a shocked tone in his voice, “I’ve NEVER heard an adult say that word before!” Oops.
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