Abstract
The presenter of BBC Radio 4's Sunday and Feedback programmes, reviews what is permissible and what is not in the media in terms of language. "Words still do offend" he writes. "Indeed, survey after BBC survey on what causes offence reveals that it is "'bad language', not explicit sex or brutal violence, that most offends viewers and listeners. The trouble is that it is almost impossible to compile a definitive list of words that cause offence. Language is, of course, fluid and new words and phrases are continually entering the vocabulary. And, to complicate matters, old inoffensive words suddenly become newly offensive."
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