Learn English – Redundancy in American Usage

Am I right in saying that in the US the primary usage of the word is for a man to call a woman a cunt as an accusation of reprehensible moral standards, as well as it being laced with undertones of misogyny and sexism? In this context, extreme offensiveness is very much the intent.

In the UK it’s not really used that way; rather it’s just another generic insult that, while still regarded as the strongest of our swear words, is losing its impact over time. As well as occasionally being thrown at each other by antagonists in an argument, it’s quite widely used between friends (men, predominantly) – either towards each other in a playful sense, or to refer to other people of whom the speaker disapproves.

So I’d suggest that different reception of the word in the two countries is down to these different predominant uses.

Yes. The most stereotypical example is Ebonics and is a somewhat touchy subject due to the racial implication of calling African-Americans a lower class. The term seems to have officially become African American Vernacular English.

Most other examples I can think of are things like hick or valley girl. The terms are shifty and ill-defined because of the nastiness implied by the overarching terms. But each of those examples have their own vocabulary, mannerisms and idioms.

The Ivy League also has a stereotype associated with their speech but as far as I know it is nothing worth studying beyond humor or general classism.

(By the way, I apologize for all of the Wikipedia links. I am hoping this spawns a few interesting paths through the web.)