Many foreigners still can't quite grasp that using the f-word, even as a modifier, may result in lawsuits for "public insult" (and yes, you can be sued for public insult in Taiwan). Another case was noted in the Taipei Times this week:The community director, surnamed Wu (吳), turned up with a locksmith, surnamed Lu (盧), to replace a broken lock on the lobby door. When an Australian resident asked them what they were up to Wu, whose English is limited, said: “Nothing.”It's nice to have a laugh at the mental image of the police diligently searching a dictionary, especially when you realize that Google will return the correct meaning right away:
The Australian reportedly shouted back: “Don’t fucken lie to me. I’ll get the police.”
Wu felt the Australian had slandered him by using an expletive.
When questioned, the Australian admitted to saying “fucken,” explaining that he had been suspicious of the pair and had used the word as a linguistic device to make his point more forcibly.
He said he was suspicious when Wu said they were doing “nothing,” because they were clearly doing something to the lock on the door. However, the Australian denied the word was meant as an insult.
When prosecutors checked an English-Chinese dictionary for “fucken,” they discovered that there was no Chinese translation.
While the word sounded like “fuck,” the Australian only admitted to saying “fucken.” Although it could be considered foul language, prosecutors felt there was insufficient reason to consider its use slander or defamation, so the charges were dropped.
Alternative form of fucking; Alternative spelling of fucking. Most common in Australian slang...with bonus reference to the Aussie usage. Luckily for our hero from Oz, the Court didn't have an English adviser. Most likely the prosecutor was looking for a reason to drop the incredibly stupid case.
The moral of the story is, as always, don't use the F word. It's a public insult and in a class full of students, is considered a form of sexual harassment. So don't go there. People can and will sue.
The other lesson is: be less paranoid. 99% of the time, your local neighbors aren't up to something nefarious; usually they lack either the English or the patience to discuss it with you.
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