The Nuevamerican, Miguel Tolteca:
"'...good ylem, Commandant...'" (I, p. 547)
"'By all creation...'" (p. 549)
"To Chaos with being a gentleman..." (VII, p. 604)
Science replaces religion as a source of oaths. "...all creation..." has come to mean just the universe, not the created order as such.
There may be other examples but that is my lot for this evening. Earth Real is providing us with enough excitement and drama for several sf novels.
8 comments:
That's not a likely evolution.
For example, as English moved away from theologically based swearing, it moved to obscenity and scatology. Which had always been present, but not as much.
French retained religious-based swearing much longer -- even into the 1960's and 70's, in Quebec, where "Calisse!" and "Tabernac!" were common.
But when they moved away from that, it was to obscenity and scatology, too.
Some Anderson characters say, "Cosmos!" Maybe in an interstellar civilization that calls itself "Technic," people will be more conscious of a scientific world-view and will swear accordingly.
Kaor, Paul!
Again, I agree more with Stirling than with you. I too don't find the idea of swearing by using scientific terms very likely. People are more likely to swear using religious concepts or obscenity/scatology.
And many people still swear using "G-- damn" or "Hell"!
Ad astra! Sean
People swear because it's emotionally satisfying. I doubt "Cosmos!" ever would be...
In THE COURTS OF THE CRIMSON KINGS I tried to imagine how an instinctually positivist human sub-species who'd never had a religion in our sense would swear.
The Earthman protagonist finds this frustrating. Because it amounts to muttering things like "EXTREME ANNOYANCE!" or "I METAPHORICALLY BOMBARD YOU WITH EXCREMENT!"
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Ha! I remember your character's frustration with Martian Demotic. I underwent something like that because my mother, a lady with strict standards, hated cussing. It ended with me habitually saying, aloud, only words like "Fiddlesticks!" in moments of annoyance!
Now I'm wondering how the remotely Earth descended Martian hominids of IN THE COURTS OF THE CRIMSON KINGS would respond to the religions and philosophies found on Earth?
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: basically with incomprehension. As I mentioned, they're instinctively -- genetically -- logical positivists.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
With bewilderment and incomprehension? I can see that being the case. Altho some Martian hominids might become interested.
Ad astra! Sean
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