Feck that for a swear word!

And so the debate about swearing in the broadcast media rages on: this week TV chef Jamie Oliver joins Jonathan Ross in the ranks of TV personalities who are to be linguistically 'neutered'. But in the midst of the sea of language that is coming to be seen as ever more unacceptable, there exists a small island of tolerance... a final stronghold of mild expletive... a last bastion of semi-taboo language. Yes, I'm talking about FECK.

Immortalised by that fantastic comic creation Father Jack from the equally-fantastic 90s alternative sit-com Father Ted, 'feck' is an Irish word that suddenly found its way into common usage in British English slang. Whilst there's no doubt about the context in which Father Jack uses the word, in its wider and general use in Ireland it is actually not synonymous with the similar-sounding word that differs from it by only one vowel (he said, coyly). You can read what the OED has to say about the origins of 'feck' here, and its background and usage are also discussed in this article, which focuses on the word in response to a ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority that 'feck' is not a swear word and its use in a current Magners Cider advert (in which bees are told to 'feck off') is therefore entirely acceptable.

Well, that's one view. Another view, of course, would be that whatever the actual origins of the word, and regardless of its traditional usage, it has now come to be used in exactly the same way as its cousin 'f*ck' (largely - though probably not entirely - thanks to Father Jack), and therefore, the argument goes, it should be treated in just the same way. This is an argument, incidentally, that has been rehearsed with reference to a certain word used frequently on the new 'rebooted' Battlestar Galactica series (I know, I know, more sci-fi anorak references... but they're always so relevant!). This TV show is set somewhere out in space, sometime in the future.. or maybe the past (don't get me started on that one). Anyway, the writers of the show have managed to get around the stringent US censorship rules by inventing their own term to replace the F-word, and that word is 'frak'. Its use is exactly the same as the f-word that we know and love/loathe* (delete as applicable) and, to be honest, I'm surprised they get away with it on prime-time TV! Have a look at this compilation and you'll see what I mean.

Smut, filth and obscenity...?

I knew that would get your attention.

There's been a lot of talk about swearing in the media over the last month or so - prompted, of course, by the now-infamous 'Brand and Ross' incident. In case you haven't heard about this (where have you been?!), comedian Russel Brand and presenter Jonathan Ross have both been suspended from the BBC for making 'lewd' telephone calls to actor Andrew Sachs and broadcasting them on Brand's Radio 2 show. This has sparked a huge debate about the 'role' of swearing on the TV and radio, and quite a range of views have been expressed in one forum or another.

The writer of this article calls for a total ban on swearing in the broadcast media, observing that "it's just plain wrong". This view is supported by the writer of this article and, according to this report, by almost two-fifths of TV viewers. And as if it weren't enough that Messrs Ross and Brand have had their knuckles rapped for their bad behaviour, Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills and even the otherwise squeaky-clean Ant and Dec have got in on the act, each prompting their own flood of complaints in response to their 'smutty' language.

On the other hand, the writer of this article argues that there's nothing wrong with swearing, asking "should swearing sometimes be excused for the sake of its artistic merit?" (and answering his own quetsion with a hearty "Flip yeah!").

To look at things from a more academic perspective for a moment, American linguist Steven Pinker has argued that swearing is an inbuilt language characteristic and one which we revert to as a matter of pure instinct. You can listen to what Pinker has to say in YouTube footage here (click on the 'go' button once you've clicked the link), or in a Guardian podcast here.

So what are your views on swearing? Is it ever acceptable? Does it depend on context? Do any of the people expressing the views above have a point, or are they just talking a load of... well, you know what I mean. Post a comment and share your thoughts.