Hindi profanity

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

The Hindi language employs a large number of profanities across the Hindi-speaking diaspora. Idiomatic expressions, particularly profanity, are not always directly translatable into other languages, and make little sense even when they can be translated. Many English translations may not offer the full meaning of the profanity used in the context.[1]

Hindi profanities often contain references to incest and notions of honor.[2] Hindi profanities may have origins in Persian, Urdu, or Sanskrit.[3] Hindi profanity is used such as promoting racism, sexism or offending someone. Hindi slurs are extensively used in social medias in Hinglish, although use of Devanagari script for throwing slurs is on rise.[4]

Public reception[edit]

Although Hindi profanities are often used colloquially, few censorship attempts have been made. The Indian Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairman Pahlaj Nihalani reportedly sent the Producers' Association and Regional Officers a list of censored words that could not be used in films. This has sparked a lot of controversy.[5]

Examples[edit]

  • Madarchod (मादरचोद; English: Motherfucker), sometimes abbreviated as MC, is a Hindi-language vulgarism.[6][7] It is a form of the profanity fuck.[8] While the word is usually considered highly offensive, it is rarely used in the literal sense of one who engages in sexual activity with another person's mother,[9] or their own mother.[10]

Rather, it means that the target of the swearword is so inept that only his mother will offer them sex in charity.

  • Bhenchod (बहनचोद; English: Sisterfucker), also pronounced as behanchod is sometimes abbreviated as BC, is a Hindi-language vulgarism. It is a form of the profanity fuck. The word is considered highly offensive, and is rarely used in literal sense of one who engages in sexual activity with another person's sister, or their own sister.
  • Randi (रंडी; English: Prostitute, slut), is a Hindi-language "gaali" (a profanity pronounced in a low voice in front of a select audience). It is a derogatory term for a woman who is considered to be a prostitute in the literal sense, but is usually applied as a term for women who are considered too promiscuous, flirtatious or who dress casually. In Hindi cinema, it usually refers to a woman with multiple sexual partners.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Varma, Amit (2008-04-29). "On Hindi Swear Words". India Uncut. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  2. ^ Daniyal, Shoaib. "Why dogs and puppies are swear words in India: A short guide to Hindi profanity for the BJP". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  3. ^ All, Aakar Patel | Reply to (2010-05-21). "The complex origins of our favourite 'gaalis'". mint. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  4. ^ Jha, Vikas Kumar; P, Hrudya; p n, Vinu; Vijayan, Vishnu; P, Prabaharan (2020-01-01). "DHOT-Repository and Classification of Offensive Tweets in the Hindi Language". Procedia Computer Science. 171: 2324–2333. doi:10.1016/j.procs.2020.04.252. ISSN 1877-0509.
  5. ^ "Here's a list of words banned by the Censor Board of India". Deccan Chronicle. 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  6. ^ Chronicle, Deccan (2017-03-28). "Watch: When Matthew Wade asked Ravindra Jadeja what 'm*******d' means". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  7. ^ Desk, India com News. "Facebook is translating M*d*rc**d to "Muslim", explains about times we are living in | India.com". www.india.com. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  8. ^ Swaddle, The; Prasad, Pallavi (2019-07-12). "From 'Cunt' to 'Careerwoman': the Many Ways in Which Language Propagates Sexism". The Swaddle. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  9. ^ "madarchod". www.definition-of.com. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  10. ^ vlad (2022-04-28). "What does Madarchod mean?". AZ Dictionary. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  11. ^ Lal, Shrinkhala (2023-01-09). "What Is The Genesis Of Derogatory Hindi Gaalis Based On Women?". shethepeople. Retrieved 2023-06-17.