Dear Editor,
I would like to bring to the fore or put into perspective something which seems to have permeated almost every stratum of our society. I refer to the use of ‘cuss’ words, and more particularly the ‘eff’ word, as part of everyday conversation by almost every man, woman and child, regardless of age.
Unfortunately, as is manifested in the general use of the language, for the most part the use of the ‘cuss’ words is grammatically and syntactically incorrect. The words are just ‘dropped’ anywhere in a sentence or phrase. The ‘eff’ word in particular is used, as we say in Guyana, ‘for use sake.’ If we take the position that the basic form of the word is a verb, then it cannot be properly used as a noun (except in a particular context), an adjective or otherwise without adding the appropriate suffix such as ‘er,’ ‘ed,’ or ‘ing.’ In fact, the only way most seem to be able to use the ‘eff’ word correctly is when combined with ‘you’ or ‘off’ as an imperative!
I recall the first time I heard a former English colleague use the ‘eff’ word.
He used the past participle as a descriptive adjective and, having regard to my personal knowledge of his extensive vocabulary, I am sure that that was the only word he could have used to aptly describe his situation.
The foregoing is another manifestation of the extent to which our literacy level has deteriorated such that we don’t even use ‘cuss’ words properly.
Yours faithfully,
CE Housty
