bastard 復習

　Hopes that the 44 crew of a missing Argentine submarine might still be alive have been dashed after the navy said an event consistent with an explosion had been detected.
　The "abnormal, singular, short, violent, non-nuclear event" was recorded in the south Atlantic by a nuclear test watchdog last week.
　Relatives of the missing crew reacted with grief and anger at the news.
　It follows a US report of a loud noise in the same area.
　The ARA San Juan disappeared last Wednesday. More than a dozen countries including the US, Russia and the UK have sent assistance. …
　One man whose brother was on board the ARA San Juan was quoted by Clarin newspaper [in Spanish] as shouting: "They killed my brother, the bastards. They killed my brother because they take them out to sail [in a vessel held together] with wire.” (Skip the rest)

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-42100620

　今回取り上げる語は、bastard /bˈæstɚd/ です。
　この語は、LDOCEで確認すると、“taboo a very offensive word for someone, especially a man, who you think is unpleasant. Do not use this word.” とあるように、かなり侮蔑的な言葉です。この語を使っていることを考えると、かなり感情的になっていると言えるでしょう。
　意味を確認します。『ジーニアス英和大辞典』(大修館)をみると、「(1)私生児、(2)にせ物、粗悪品、(3)雑種、(4)[しばしば怒り・不快を示して]くそったれ、あの野郎、あやつ」とあります。
　次に使用に関してです。Oxford Dictionary of English (2nd Edition Revised)をみると、“In the past the word bastard was the standard term in both legal and non-legal use for ‘un illegitimate child’. Today, however, it has little importance as a legal term and retained today in this older sense only as a term of abuse.” となっています。上記の(1)の意味で使う場合は、illegitimate child を使った方が良いと言えます。(OkaUchi)