Sometimes, though, vulgarity is more a matter of laziness in language (and in thinking?). In LineagAG's example of the hypothetical professor who says "Your thesis is a bunch of shit.", only the prof's disapproval is communicated. If he had bothered to make actual criticisms, something useful would have been communicated, and the prof would not have lowered his own dignity.
well i believe lineagAG was pointing out that the word used is irrelevant if the only message is that the thesis was not any good, the fact is he could have said "this paper lacks meaning" but that wasn't what the prof was wanting to say, saying its shit means its shit in the most clear way
Does one encounter the phrase "infra dig." anymore? It used to be quite common but I've not seen it recently. It's short for "infra dignitas" and refers to something that would lower one's dignity, or entitlement to respect, if one did it.
it depends on if you consider the words people use to harm their dignity or not, or if the message is more important
I haven't seen any studies, but my impression is that societies with careful manners are also those with high population densities (eg Japan). I wonder if there is indeed a good correlation there.
sorry but this is not true, japan is starting to shrink
I merely prefer elegant writing, that's all. If someone else doesn't, it isn't that important.
why would how people write or the word usage of a person matter if they have nothing to say?
word use is only meaningful if everyone agrees it is, if only a few do, its a waste of time to worry about
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