Swearing is such a big curse

WHEN John Lydon used the f-word combined with the c-word for the first time on British television last year, on I'm A Celebrity, fewer than 100 people complained out of an audience of ten million.

How times change. Nearly 30 years earlier, Lydon was punk rebel Johnny Rotten. Together with the rest of the Sex Pistols, he scandalised Britain by swearing in a TV interview with Granada's Bill Grundy. "The Filth And The Fury!" was the Daily Mirror's splash headline the next day.

Lydon may be surprised that his ability to outrage has diminished so much.

Swearing, it seemed, had lost the power to shock.

Then along came Alan Large. No punk rocker, Mr Large: he is the headteacher of a Northampton-shire school, where he introduced a policy allowing pupils to use five swear words a lesson.

This policy of limited tolerance towards bad language has ignited a fierce new debate about standards of discourse and wider behaviour. Mr Large even felt it necessary to defend himself on GMTV yesterday: "It is nothing to do with telling teachers to f-off," he said.

"Some students are using the words without realising, while they are getting on with their school work. With a small number of students, we want them to be aware."

That cuts no ice with Nick Seaton. The chairman of the Campaign For Real Education, who lives in Westlands Grove, York, said: "It's madness. The head, all the teachers and the school of governors aren't really thinking straight.

"Youngsters need clear boundaries of behaviour, beyond which they shouldn't go. This middle way seems ridiculous."

As well as wasting teachers' time, as they are forced to keep a tally on pupils' cursing, it would lead to further indiscipline.

"You can look at this as the top of the slippery slope," Mr Seaton said. "Once standards are allowed to slip here, it's inevitably they will slip in other areas."

He acknowledges that swearing is on the increase outside school too. Once, only the toughest child would have dared say the f-word in front of adults.

Now it is not uncommon to hear an adult swear in front of their children in public, and the kids to curse back.

It is down to the parents to set an example and teach youngsters to respect them and other people, Mr Seaton says. And "the media have got a lot to answer for, particularly film and television".

Swearing on TV still makes headlines. While the recorded complaints about John Lydon's outburst failed to reach three figures, more than 50,000 protests were lodged with the BBC about Jerry Springer: The Opera in January. Someone counted 3,168 f-words and 297 c-words in the production, and Mediawatch UK, a group concerned about taste and decency in the media, helped coordinate the impressive campaign of opposition.

The BBC defended its decision to broadcast the Springer opera by pointing out that it was an award-winning musical which had been prefaced by "very, very clear" warnings about strong language.

By comparison with the Springer cast, Gordon Ramsay is a choirboy. The hot-tempered telly chef dished out a mere 111 expletives during one episode of his Kitchen Nightmares.

The regular use of swear words on small and big screen dismays comic Tommy Cannon.

"Sometimes you see a good movie and you think to yourself, 'why on earth have they used all those f-words in it; it was a fantastic movie, and they have spoiled it with the f-word'," said Tommy, who lives near York.

In a gritty TV drama, bad language can be in context, he admits. "Most of the time it isn't. Most of the time I can't believe it - 'why's he just said that?'"

This coarsening of language is reflected on our streets. "You have only to walk in the centre of York and you will hear young mothers and their husbands using the f-word in front of their children as if it doesn't mean anything."

While boys of 13 and 14 have always used obscenities to appear grown up in front of their peers, the young Tommy would not have dreamed of using offensive words in front of his parents or other adults.

During more than 40 years of showbusiness, Cannon & Ball only briefly incorporated the f-word into their act. When he and Bobby performed as part of stag nights in front of all-male audiences in the 1970s, they felt obliged to copy the other comics and do "a bit of blue".

It didn't work. They ditched the adult language and became favourite family entertainers. But this sort of comedy is unfashionable, believes Tommy. All the TV executives have been scouring the Edinburgh fringe this month looking for new stand-up talent, many of whom pepper their acts with profanities.

"The way society is going, it seems as though the f-word is going to become a normal, everyday word. I think it's terrible."

Efforts are being made to clean-up our language. England football hero Wayne Rooney's was dropped as the star guest at a school match in May, because his foul-mouthed assaults on referees meant he was not a good role model for children. That inspired the FA to order a crackdown on players who swear at officials.

More recently, the Institute Of Directors said that swearing in the workplace, "particularly with subordinates, would be very bad".

In contrast with the Northamp-tonshire school, obscenities are not acceptable in York classrooms. We reported in June that 209 pupils had been excluded from city schools for verbal abuse in that academic year.

Meanwhile, figures for violent crime have increased in North Yorkshire partly because verbal abuse is now included in that category. This suggests the police are taking it more seriously. Last November, Inspector Colin Moreton of York police told the Evening Press: "It's not just the violence that concerns us. It's the disorder. If people are going around shouting and swearing in a disorderly way we will tackle it."

Mark Botham, chairman of the North Yorkshire Police Federation, said officers are increasingly subjected to four-letter words. "It's a sign of the increasing breakdown of norms and values in society," he said.

What to do about it depends in what context the f-word is used. "It can be a humorous word. It's a good old fashioned Anglo Saxon word.

"But if you combine it with other problems, such as binge drinking which is another hot topic for the media at the moment, that can be a problem.

"Combined with alcohol it does tend to be used in an aggressive manner. Once someone starts using it in that way, it's a disaster."

Police officers will apply common sense, warning someone first if they are being offensive, and arresting them if the continue to offend. Mr Botham cites a case dating from the Mod revival when a man arrived in Scarborough wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words: "F*** Pigs FC". After ignoring repeated requests to cover it up, he was arrested.

"That to me is offensive. But what's the difference between that and FCUK?" he asked, referring to the controversial logo of the French Connection fashion chain.

As a York paramedic, Glen Gears' motivation is to help save lives. Yet the people he tends to, or their friends and family, regularly subject him to a deluge of abuse.

"You certainly get a lot more verbal aggression. A lot of it tends to be alcohol related," said Mr Gears, who is also north area secretary for Unison.

"It's not uncommon to turn up to a scene and for the patient to tell you to f-off.

"As much as you try to be professional, it does grind you down. It tends to be more at night time. You do get that feeling, 'what are we bothering for?' sometimes.

"You try to do your best and get nothing but verbal abuse."

There is often a short fuse between verbal and physical abuse, as health staff learn while being taught techniques to diffuse patient aggression. Mr Gears' personal view is that increased swearing is a sign of disrespect for society, and it is not helped by a school which tolerates bad language.

Perhaps we should all try to think of something else to say for a change. As Mr Botham puts it: "It's just a shame that people's vocabulary isn't extensive enough to use other words."

Updated: 09:29 Wednesday, August 31, 2005