By Sharon Kirk Clifton
Author of Up a Rutted Road, released May 2013
I just closed the book I am
reading to come write this article.
The author is one I’ve read
before and liked. I’ve even heard her speak in person. She’s a well-known ACFW member and author of a prodigious number of
books—both fiction and non-fiction. Most of her works are published with CBA
houses, including the one I’m reading. She appears to be in her forties or
early fifties. I surmise that her critique partners and editors
are under fifty-five.
“What has age to do with it?”
you might ask. Perhaps a lot. It might explain some naïveté among younger writers.
It doesn’t take a lot of
discernment to realize that slang words and phrases such as gosh, golly, jeez (or geez),
cripes, judas priest, and the like are actually euphemisms for God, Jesus,
Christ, and Jesus Christ, and are therefore as profane as using the
actual names of deity loosely and without reverence—in vain. Other words are fairly
obvious: heck, shoot, darn, tarnation (a form of damnation), for example.
Then there are the words that
have insinuated themselves into common usage, even among Christians, including
the one that prompted this piece. Here’s where age comes into play. I’m over
fifty-five; I remember the original words and their meaning. The
enemy has done an excellent job of disguising some of that language—drop a
letter here, change a letter there, you get the idea—so that people either
really don’t know what they’re saying, have forgotten, or don’t give a flying fig.
(Did you catch that? Insidious, isn’t it?)
The word that sent me off to write this is ragging. If you’re
about my age, you may be blushing now because you remember its original usage. Today it means nagging, giving a
hard time, being downright hateful. As a woman with PMS might be? It was meant to be
insulting, crass, and vulgar. Do I think for one minute this godly author would
have used that word had she known what she was saying? Absolutely not! Further,
it was the Christian main character who said it. Ms. Writerly simply didn’t
know.
Oh, and in case you’re
wondering, any slang word beginning with the letter “f” –I needn't list them—probably is a euphemism for the great-great-granddaddy of “f” words.
Do you really want that in your manuscript? (Side note: when a student would
use that ancient word in my English classroom, I assigned them to do a thorough
etymological study. That deflated their sails quickly.)
My advice to writers is
this: If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit
indwelling. Listen to Him. Listen for that still, small voice. He’s really good
at waving red flags. Pay heed to those, and “if in doubt, CHECK IT OUT!”
Urbandictionary.com is a good
source, though
I don’t recommend it as recreational reading, since it has plenty of extremely
offensive content by nature of its purpose.Also, like Wikipedia, it's written by its readers.
Our words matter, and they have power. The Bible tells me so. With the help and discernment of the Holy Spirit, let's watch our language. For the Lord's sake.
“. . . keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings . . .”
~1 Timothy 6:20
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation
of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my
strength, and my redeemer.” ~Psalm 19:14
Write on!
Because of Christ,
Postscript:
ReplyDeleteI finished the book mentioned in the beginning of this article and am pleased to report that there were no other offensive words. It took me awhile to get into the book, but once I did, I loved it. You know it's a good read when you have to grab a box of tissues--to wipe away tears of laughter as well as grief. :-)
Such a very good point. Words are extremely important!
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed! Thank you for commenting, Karla. Write on, because of Christ.
DeleteAppreciate the post, Sharon. Such a different world today and some by-words continue to change in meaning. Still, I agree, a writer should be careful in their choices. Good post.
ReplyDeleteYes, the meanings of some words do morph over time. As long as there are those alive who remember the original usages, though, I think we have to be careful. The word jarred me enough to take me out of the book for a time to write this piece. My picky CPs are gracious enough to point out anything in a story that snatches them away from the flow, be it a bit of dialect, and anachronistic word, or a phrase that is out of character for my MC. Anything! Slang isn't such a problem for me because before I began following Christ as a teen, I walked along on the edges of the wild side, so, though I didn't use it, I heard and understood coarse language.
DeleteI clicked "Publish" too soon. Thank you, Caroline, for your comment. :-) Write on, because of Christ!
DeleteExcellent point, Sharon.
ReplyDeleteAnd the word you were alluding to with the letter "f" -- you're not talking about "food", are you? After all, it is a four letter word, especially if you're on a diet (which also is a four letter word).
I've critiqued a work where the author is pushing the envelope some in language and descriptions. She has a publisher in mind that is okay with it, but for me it's a little too daring.
And that picture of Barney Fife is great, though it's Gomer that I picture saying "Golly" all the time.
Jeff
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteLOL! I love your point about Gomer. That would have been perfect! The food comment is great, too.
In my WIP, which features a 10-y.o., I had to brainstorm slang words she could use on a fairly regular basis. AND the words had to be anachronistically correct for the early 1930s. Since many of the ones that were in common usage at the time fell into the categories I mention in this piece, I ended up having her use exclamations she made up, as a creative kid might. It adds to her character.
Thanks for your comments.
Write on!
Because of Christ
Excellent points, Sharon. It is shocking to me the supposedly-appropriate language that many Christians use today. And it definitely takes me out of a book.
ReplyDeleteYep. The ones that bother me the most are the euphemisms for God or Jesus. Not only do they profane His Name, but it's such an obvious thing. I taught in a Christian school a couple of years ago, and language was an ongoing issue. Such usage insinuates itself into their speech patterns (as do innocuous but annoying words such as "like" and "she goes," but that's a topic for another article), making them difficult to purge.
DeleteI appreciate your comment, Meghan.
Write on!
Because of Christ
Great piece! Great reminders! Great comments, too! Plus I learned -- never knew what r------ really meant before. . .
ReplyDeleteThank you, Millie. Regarding the "R" word, I was pretty sure I knew what its origin was, because I remembered its usage back when, but I checked it out at urbandictionary.com to make sure I was right. Sure enough.
DeleteWrite on!
Because of Christ