Verbal expression that affects the listener negatively.

The term "undesirable language" refers to words and grammar that: (a) are judged to have a negative impact on listeners or (b) cause listeners to make negative evaluative judgments about speakers. In common, everyday language "undesirable speech" is more specifically understood as speaking "dirty words" or "curse words." "Curse words" are an important aspect of emotional expression, but they create problems for children when they use them in the wrong context.

Undesirable speech encompasses words categorized as obscenity, profanity, blasphemy, name calling, vulgarity, epithets, insults, slang, sexual harassment, and verbal abuse. Undesirable words in American English tend to relate to sex (fuck), religion (hell), deviance (whore), body parts (prick), body products (piss), disgust items (pus), ethnic/racial/gender discrimination (nigger), cultural taboos (motherfucker), and animal imagery (cock).

Speech Standards

Communicating with others is grounded in a set of standards...