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Religion and language
January 30, 2015 at 9:06 am
(This post was last modified: January 30, 2015 at 9:06 am by Norman Humann.)
Apologies if this has already been done.
Religion has in many ways influenced the language, with phrases like "God forbid", "Thank God", "Good Lord" or a personal ironic favorite of mine, "Holy shit".
Atheists: Do you work around those phrases or do you say them anyway?
Theists: Do you think that falls under taking your lord's name in vain?
Non-native English speakers: Is your language similarly influenced by religion?
Personally I find saying these things awkward, so I try to work around them. There are multiple similar phrases like that in Polish, which I also avoid.
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RE: Religion and language
January 30, 2015 at 9:16 am
Eh, words aren't magic, and religion doesn't own them, so I use them whenever I like. I don't really feel uncomfortable or anything like that at all, since in my opinion they're simply alternative versions of other exclamations, just with more fictional words.
In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty.
- Thomas Jefferson
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RE: Religion and language
January 30, 2015 at 9:44 am
I'd say FSM instead of god, but people would stare.
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RE: Religion and language
January 30, 2015 at 9:47 am
I say them all the time  They are just expressions, they don't mean anything to me. It's like saying holy smokes batman! It does sometimes make me laugh at what I've said though, as I often don't think too much about it in advance. My repertoire includes:
Holy shit, Jesus Christ, fucking jesus, God damn it, for god's sake, bloody hell, smack my arse and call me Mohammed.
That last one was what I'd call an improv, I try to be creative sometimes
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RE: Religion and language
January 30, 2015 at 9:50 am
(This post was last modified: January 30, 2015 at 9:51 am by Alex K.)
Native German speaker, where these phrases are mostly identical or similar, I make no effort to avoid most of them, except that I never say Grüß Gott as a greeting even though that would be standard in the south.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
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RE: Religion and language
January 30, 2015 at 9:54 am
(This post was last modified: January 30, 2015 at 9:54 am by robvalue.)
I think that translates to, "Got grubby?" Yeah probably not a great greeting
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RE: Religion and language
January 30, 2015 at 10:00 am
A Christian co-worker of mine mocked me for saying "Oh my god!" He said this was proof that I believed even though I claim not to. I told him that I also frequently say "Holy shit!" but that doesn't mean I actually believe in halo-wearing turds.
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RE: Religion and language
January 30, 2015 at 10:01 am
Wow, what a compelling argument! When is his awards ceremony?
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RE: Religion and language
January 30, 2015 at 10:13 am
Portuguese speaker here...
Yes, we do have quite a few common expressions that require a god.
And yes, I do try to work around them, but, every once in a while, they still come out.
Example of working around them: when someone sneezes, it is customary to reply with "santinho", which means "little saint", a reference to calling a saint to help with whatever is ailing the person sneezing. It is seen as somewhat rude if you don't say "santinho"... so I just go for the french "santé" and don't even translate it! (it means "health") Sounds similar enough to keep people guessing.
Most other expressions manage to work out well with a FFS or a p'ó-caraças.
Often, people will tell me things like "god willing, you'll have a nice trip.", to which I like to reply something like "and if he's not willing, then I have to make it nice". No one expects it...
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RE: Religion and language
January 30, 2015 at 10:17 am
I like to respond to "I'll pray for you" with "Thanks, I'll go and make a voodoo doll of you."
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