Abusive Language...
Jimmy and Tommy (two five-year-olds) are playing together in the block area. When Jimmy won 't share a block that Tommy feels he needs, Tommy calls Jimmy a "poop head." Ms. Smith, Jimmy and Tommy 's teacher, overhears the exchange. What should she do? Ignore the bad language? Give Tommy a warning? Put Tommy in timeout? On a more philosophical level, Ms. Smith wonders if calling another child a "poop head" is really all that bad. After all, there are much worse words that Tommy could have used.Language values clearly vary from one community to another.
Language values are also influenced by social and economic forces. Parents in religious communities may want more restriction on profane language than parents from non-religious communities. Rural dwellers may resent city speakers ' slang. Northerners may disparage southerners ' dialects. In-groups may make ethnic and racial slurs about out-groups ' members.
Communities often have conflicting child-rearing values. For example, some parents believe that children should be physically punished for bad language, while others may refuse to use physical punishment in any situation. Parents often expect teachers to use the same discipline techniques used at home. Some parents teach their children to defend themselves from bullies by fighting or cursing. All of these issues complicate the problem of young children using bad language and the range of solutions that the early childhood professional can use to solve bad language problems.
Language Styles
The terms cursing and dirty language are used broadly to refer to several categories of offensive speech: name calling, insulting, profanity, slang, vulgarity, obscenity, epithets, slurs, and scatology. Each of these categories represents a different speaker intention and each intention presents a different problem for early childhood professionals (Jay, 1996).
Cursing in public settings has been increasing in America, including in child care settings (Jay, 1992). Similar
Language values are also influenced by social and economic forces. Parents in religious communities may want more restriction on profane language than parents from non-religious communities. Rural dwellers may resent city speakers ' slang. Northerners may disparage southerners ' dialects. In-groups may make ethnic and racial slurs about out-groups ' members.
Communities often have conflicting child-rearing values. For example, some parents believe that children should be physically punished for bad language, while others may refuse to use physical punishment in any situation. Parents often expect teachers to use the same discipline techniques used at home. Some parents teach their children to defend themselves from bullies by fighting or cursing. All of these issues complicate the problem of young children using bad language and the range of solutions that the early childhood professional can use to solve bad language problems.
Language Styles
The terms cursing and dirty language are used broadly to refer to several categories of offensive speech: name calling, insulting, profanity, slang, vulgarity, obscenity, epithets, slurs, and scatology. Each of these categories represents a different speaker intention and each intention presents a different problem for early childhood professionals (Jay, 1996).
Cursing in public settings has been increasing in America, including in child care settings (Jay, 1992). Similar
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