Another Battle Star post?

Instead of the f--- (read F-dash-dash-dash) word on the show they use "frak." It's used freely on the show and clearly as a one to one substitute. But SyFy never had any trouble getting their shows on the air.

SyFy is cable of course and it might not have flown on broadcast, but it is an interesting study on how puritanical we remain about language.

"Bad words" are only bad because society says they are. If you were to use another synonym for the above vulgarity you would sound silly but not profane. Witness, "make love you!" or "make love off!" or "mother love maker." You are communicating the same thing, but you aren't using the magic word, so it's alright.

According to the internet "frack" or "frak" isn't a word at all except in the Battle Star universe. "Fracking" is short hand for hydraulic fracturing, a way to extra pockets of natural gas from shale.

So SyFy has made up word that is clear from the first time you hear it meant to make you think of one of the most vulgar words in the English language, but it is 100 percent ok on TV.

Language has fascinated me since I read 1984 as a senior in High School. The addendum on New Speak was just as interesting as the book. The words we  have limit our ability to express thoughts and emotions.

Language is under assult from both ends in the U.S. right now. At the vulgar end, text messaging is taking phonetics to a whole new level. At the professional end buzz words are coined at an alarming rate. Both are lazy and in the final equation have us saying things that are less meaningful.

With this dual assault on the language of Shakespeare, I am happy to see that inventing new expletives something we are spending some time on.