Strong Language in Books?

Discuss the August 2017 Book of the Month The Expansion by Christoph Martin.

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Toshia
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Re: Strong Language in Books?

Post by Toshia »

I don't believe books should be censored. If you were walking down the street and someone was cursing you could ask them to stop, but you can't force them to. You wouldn't be able to tell someone, "I restrict your choice of vocabulary!" So, why do it to an author? You may not be able to block out what you HEAR around you, but you have every right to put down the book if the reader objects.
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Post by gaporter »

Language should not be restricted in books, of course, but I think the use of "bad" language should be appropriate in the book's context and feel organic in the dialogue. In the case of The Expansion, a lot of the language seemed kind of thrown in just for the sake of being "edgy".
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Post by CommMayo »

I thing having strong language in a book is important if it is appropriate and pertinent. Cursing for the sake of cursing is a bad thing in novels as well as life, but strong language for emphasis or proper character development adds to the reader's experience and understanding.
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Post by Cheshire »

I personally find strong language appealing. However, it depends on the portrayal of the characters. In certain situations, using foul language is necessary to express one's hatred or feelings to show it to the readers.
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Post by Lincolnshirelass »

There are characters and situations where not using strong language would simply be silly and not believable. Having said that, some writers (and some films) just seem to use strong language (especially the F-word) as a form of punctuation or oral tic. That's really not clever and twelve-year olds on a school bus can do it.
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Post by thisisfinal213 »

I do think bad language should be restricted. Because it irritates the readers and waste their time and such writers are not good one or chosen one .....
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Post by inaramid »

Explicit language should be there for a reason. If the character is someone who'd really talk that way, then it's justified. It brings a little more "flavor" to the character's personality.
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Post by roua_o »

I feel like sometimes strong language is needed to make the book feel more real, if the characters don't use strong language especially when they're angry it seems not relatable and as readers we don't connect with the book
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Post by NoelleHollingsworth »

I don't think the authors should not be allowed to do it, but I do think that they should use it minimally. There are lots of people that read these books, including young adults that are not used to that kind of language. I am one of those, and I don't really enjoy reading that a lot. But like I said, I don't think that the author should be restricted from using it, but they should take into account the age range of people reading the book when they put those words in there. :eusa-think:
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Post by Samy Lax »

I, personally, have no problems with swear words used in books - except for those that are used unnecessarily just to portray one of the characters as being "cool." I am sure you know what I am talking about here. :)
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Post by DesireeRose »

I do not think that explicit language is bad in a book. It usually gives a realistic portrayal of life and what the character is like. However, I do prefer minimal swearing. Another alternative to actually putting swear words in your book is to simply say that the character swore.
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Post by joel27 »

It's termed 'strong language' which means it is believed to carry strong emotions or emotions, feelings, ideas and information that depicts difficulty or are tasking to some sects. And because it is so, why hide it or restrict it? If the readers are fit for the task it should not be a problem. Language as an aspect of culture describes the kind of people or characters in the book. Therefore, it gives reality of the story and the characters.
Also, when writing, the readers' interest should be at heart so if the target-audience is likely to forbid the use of language, why employ it usage in the book. Language in books also depends on depends on the readers
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Post by jvez »

I don't think explicit language should be bad. We hear people speak swear everyday. However, if an author uses explicit language it should be to the benefit of the story or for the readers to have a clearer image of certain characters.
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Post by Clinical1 »

Use of strong language in spoken or written word can be a good indication of strong emotion. When you drop a hammer on your foot, you typically exclaim a strong word. In a book, the character needs to do the same, or else the reader is left wondering if it hurt a little or a lot. pain scale of 1-10 wouldn't evoke the same emotion.
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Post by Elzaavdolli1 »

In my opinion, the author must be free to express emotion but in the same time the language used in books must be ethical, in special cases it must be different because the author has to express the character of persons but always in ethical mode,not ordinary one.
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