Vulgar Language

I have several thoughts about this subject.  First of all, it seems that the current generation uses "vulgar" language more than my generation.  When I was a kid growing up, you could get into a fight for using vulgar language in front of ladies.  "Nobody uses that language in front of my ... Mother, Wife, Girl friend, Daughter, etc." 

Many years ago I recall overhearing my two young teenaged sons playing with some neighborhood young teenaged girls.  The language was terrible.  I called in my two sons and chastise them for using such language in front of the girls.  They exclaimed, "But, dad the girls use worse language than we do!"  I re-admonished them to never use that kind of language in front of their mom. 

I once worked with a young lady at IBM.  She had been an IBM branch manager, a coveted position.  We were chatting about this subject.  She was raised in Texas with several brothers and said that she was grown and away from home before she knew that men talked different when with women than they did when they were among themselves.

With that said, why are the "four letter" words considered vulgar?  My understanding is that most of the words we consider vulgar and not to be used in mixed company or to be proper, at all, have their origin in the Anglo-Saxon language.  It seems that when the Normans invaded Britain, they wanted the conquered to use their language and declared the Anglo-Saxon language as vulgar. 

Shakespeare said, "What's in a word?  A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet".  So, what if we say spit instead of expectorate.  They mean the same, yet spit is so "Vulgar" sounding. 

A final thought on words.  "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me."