Difficult words

Working with teens at my library is, as it should be, a vast learning experience for me.  The teens who participate are thoughtful people who make meaningful comments.  And then I chew on those comments.

Today I'm chewing on how the effect of language is different for people based on their cultural background.  This has been widely discussed for words that are blatant epithets (as racial slurs, curse words, etc) but I am thinking about the importance of words that aren't necessarily epithets but that carry a strong weight of association.

( Teens know more about connotation than I do, really... )