F-word not vulgar in French: ruling

‘Does not have the same connotation’

MONTREAL• Oxford Dictionaries calls it“one of the most taboo words in English,” noting that it is typically replaced in print with such euphemisms as “the Fword” or “f--k.”

But Canada’s broadcasting watchdog has ruled that when aired in French, the word “does not have the same vulgar connotation.” Responding to a complaint by a listener of a Montreal French- language radio station angered by repeated airing this year of the F- word, t he Canadian Broadcast Standards Council panel ruled Tuesday that its ethics code had not been breached.

The issue first arose on Jan. 23 when the hosts of CKOI- FM’s afternoon drive show broadcast a clip of Madonna at an anti-Trump protest march. “And to our detractors that insist this march will never add up to anything ... f--k you!” the pop singer declared. An unidentified listener wrote to the council to complain.

Two months later, another CKOI host, Pierre-Yves Lord, took a listener’s call requesting a Green Day song. As the two reminisced on air about the band’s concerts, Lord asked whether she had ever seen Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong “lose it” during a show. He then played a clip of Armstrong after the band was cut off during an awards show, “What the f--k?! I’m not f--king Justin Bieber, you motherf-kers!” Armstrong cursed.

The same complainant wrote again to the council, persuaded the station was “doing it on purpose.”

In its response to the complaints, the station said the word had seeped into French parlance in Quebec.

“We acknowledge that some (sensitive) ears may be offended by that often-called ‘ four- letter word.’ However, in French culture, this word doesn’t arouse much reaction,” the station wrote.

It noted that on a recent episode of the popular Radio- Canada talk show Tout le monde en parle, the word was aired five times uncensored.

“This very word is pronounced several times every day on sitcoms, talk shows, movies, etc., on private TV channels as well as on national Radio- Canada,” CKOI said.

The council, created by private broadcasters to administer codes of standards, cited a 2016 decision that followed a complaint against MusiquePlus.

In that decision, MusiquePlus was censured for showing scenes of “some sort of rally where people were wielding dildos” without an advisory of mature content. But the panel cleared the host for using the F-word, saying it was okay in French if used infrequently and not to insult an individual or group.

“Language is evolutionary and reflects current society,” it wrote.

In t he council’s eyes, though, the evolution only refers to French- Canadians who have adopted and tamed one of the English language’s dirtiest words.

Last May, TSN was found in breach of the code of ethics for a CFL broadcast in which a field- l evel microphone caught players saying, “Hey man, call the f--king holding, man!” and “Give me some f-- king water!” The council ruled that the game, aired in the early evening, violated “a safe haven within which viewers are entitled to expect programming that does not contain ‘adult’ content.”

Even the headlines on the news releases announcing Tuesday’s CKOI ruling reflected the divide. In the English version, the council referred to the “English F-Word,” while in French it wrote the obscenity in full.