Verbal Pitfalls of Asperger

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Hi, I'd like to discuss the verbal pitfalls of Asperger. Most notibily using words that you've heard in general converstaion incorrectly.

The story!

In primary school, when I was about 11 years old, I was forced to stand outside waring a white sheet with a head hole cut into it. I had paint slattered all over me from art class, and we where made to stand in a line holding up our drawings. When the teacher came up to me, he said "how are you Daniel." and I replied to him, "I feel like a Prick in this Sir". I was baffled when the teachers face became angry, and I was given detention for a week.

Now the only reason I had used the word is because a few other kids where using it around the schoolyard. I'd picked up the word it the context of "I feel like an idiot" in which it definately was used. However what I failed to understand was that the P word itself was a swareword.

It was about 10 years before I finally told my mother what had gone on, I was rather attached to the old teacher, and the new teacher was just that, new. So people assumed I was acting out because I disliked the new teacher, in actual fact it was a simple misunderstanding of the word itself.

Conclusion.

In conclusion, I've noticed alot of people using words like "n****r" without realising it's a highly racist and insulting term. I can see why people are using it. You get alot of friendly "what's up my n****r" on TV between black friends, and sometimes white to black friends. So it's easy for someone with Asperger to walk up to a black guy and say these words. The point is that if you don't fully understand what a word means, you should not use it, even if you are mimicking the context in which it was used. If you do ever use these words, only do it with people you know closely, try to avoid colourful expressions around strangers you don't know. Because if you've just picked up something from general context, you are likely insulting that person.

Last thing I want is to use a new word incorrectly and get a completely off impression of what I'm saying. It's annoying how people at my school throw around a bad word every five words in their sentences so casually. It sounds so stupid, their tongues should be falling off. But no, they keep talk swear talk all the time. What a sad world. I say you should look up unfamiliar words before you use them so you don't mess up when using them and end up insulting someone. -Power Girl

I know it's like they use swaring as punctuation because it's "cool". I save these words for releaving extreme bouts of emotion. Like something heavy just landed on my foot. And even then it's not usually my first choice!

yeah really. I"m not a swearer. I just use my made up words or talk in Latin to express annoyance, stress, or other stuff. Or my giberish which is a combp of all the latin, german, italian, and japenses i know. Which isn't much at all, except for latin. People are strange. Oh, wait, I'm a human too. Wait, no i'm not! I'm an Alien with human DNA to survive on Earth! Go us! -Power Girl

I refrain from using words or phrases that I don't know the meaning of.

I learned my lesson one too many times.

You can say that again..... Some of us have to learn the hard way. -Power Girl

I say the word penis about 30 times everyday.

Just the word.

I find that I stutter, when I'm nervous or tired.

I called my teacher barely a year ago 'asozial' (German). I figured it would just like English 'antisocial' and wanted to express that his behaviour was not helping to solve a situation, but preventing any communication.

The problem with German 'asozial' is just that it is a banned word today as the Nazis used it to discriminate against all the people they killed. Today it's a heavy insult and it actually means that someone is uneducated, gross, stinky, just about anything you can imagine.

No idea whether the teacher had heard, but I guess so.

Until someone explained it to me, I didn't know why my schoolmates made faces as if I'd just killed God or something... geez, I didn't know, it's not my fault people keep giving valid words different meanings. 'Asozial' literally means that someone is not social, just like English antisocial, but nooooo, someone was so clever as to change that and not tell me.


Anyway, I am a big swearer. My swearwords tend to be somewhat funny if they weren't so bad, because few of them are in the right context. My mom's always threatening to wash my mouth with soap - which she fortunately doesn't mean literally.

I know I sound really old-fashioned, but I hate when people swear. I had to put up with it (and hip-hop, too) all through college. I know pretty much all the words, but I think intelligent people can come up with better ways to express their feelings--though I freely admit that in times of stress, it can't be helped.

I once wrote a company-wide memo about the use of pornography on company computers...

It included a line where it says

the company condones this sort of behaviour.

(I figured condones was like a legal form of condemns).

I sent it to my boss who didn't read it very well and sent it out to 750 employees.

Their responses were very funny.

I know what you mean, dcforeman. I have been in situations like that myself, though not as extreme as yours.