....Using Profanity. :-/

[TherainED]

the Russian language is very rich in swear words

Hi, yes. Is this God? I got your message. I'm definitely studying russian now.

Now, I do have to say about this matter. I've looked some of the opinions here and I disagree with so many that I want to be disagreed with too.

The point of swearing, and I'm saying this as a person that swears like a fricking cossack, is adding empahis. "What the fricker-frackers are you talking about?" doesn't nearly sound as blunt as saying "what in the seven circles of F-uck are you talking about?". It's noticeable that the second one it's more attractive (in the sense that it does a better job in getting your attention) than the first one.

Swearing can also be used as a mean to offend, and it is the most common use. Y'all know the deal. "Sonova*****", "Piece of ****", "Arsehole" as per northamerican standards and "Tit" as per British standards... In this situation it's a lazy resource, but it works well. It doesn't require much thought and it tends to have the desired effect plus the extra relieving feel when you get that **** out of your system. Of course, there are people that just can't be offended by any of that and those may need some more elaborate insults, but for the common folk "I Frick-ed your mother" works wonders.

On the subject that swearing is lazy and silly as a general resource, allow me to quote myself:

what in the seven circles of F-uck is that?

I heard that the first time I went to Ireland and I was marvelled at it, I would have never though about using that permutation of words. Honestly, if you think only stupid people resort to sweaing, I'd recommend you to either hear Sir Stephen Fry's opinion on the matter or go to Ireland. I mean it, it's certainly stunning how the Irish can find a way to make "F-uck" the most offensive word on the english dictionary. Now now, don't tell me that Irish are stupid, because that would be fricken racist.

And, as a one last addition to my post to make my point clear, not all profanity is swear but all swear is profanity at least from my country's point of view.

For example, because examples always work:

a sword so big that Aphrodite used to please herself because [...]

That would be profanity but there are no swear words there. Profanity includes not only swearing, but also taboos of any kind. Cultural taboos, social taboos, religious taboos, etc... I mean, "niggehr"? That ain't no swearing, but it still is a profanity and a big deal in USA for what I know. There are many more examples of that. In Japan, four can be written as "Yon" and "Shi" but writing four as "Shi" is cosidered a profanity because it means death (that was explained to me by a japanese classmate I had in high school).

TL;DR

My opinion is pretty simple, really. Profanity does not limit itself to swearing and stating that swearing is only used by stupid and lazy people is stupid and lazy itself. Regarding whether to use swear words or not, that is personal choice and I know well enough not to get in that matter.

PD: also the textwall up there.

Spoiler

No offense

PPD: And if you think of yourself as someone who never ever and 4ever swears, I'd recomend a good, uplifting dose of Dark Souls.

 

[BlackLiquidSorrow]

Personally, it really doesn't bother me if people use profanity as long as it's used responsibly. For example, if it's used to show that a character is rude, then that's fine. However, if it's used just to be dark and edgy, then it's silly. I mean think about it, Final Fantasy VII had profanity and no one complained about that.

 

[_Shadow_]

@TheRainED yes of course, putting some emphasis is a well known usage of A LITTLE profanity. But do you emphasize ALL of your sentences?

It's ok with me for someone to use profanity. But it depends on how and why this profanity is used. 

F@CK I use profanity too. Don't get me wrong here!

But people who can't talk and use profanity to look cool, really should think if that is a good way to look cool.

It's as I said. Too much salt and you can't eat your food. But salt makes foods tasty.

About your PPD: I can't force you to read this wall of text I posted. But please don't come to conclusions for what I wrote and state, without even reading it.

I do swear as I already stated.  

How dumb, that wasn't personal. Sorry English is not my native language.

Spoiler

None taken PPD: Still none taken

 

[TherainED]

@TheRainED yes of course, putting some emphasis is a well known usage of A LITTLE profanity. But do you emphasize ALL of your sentences?

I'm afraid I do.

Ok, no. Srsly.

I'd rather not and I do believe that people who add f-uck after every single word don't get the value that it has if properly used.

And then you mentioned a point I kind of disagree with. Not really disagreement, it's just that is seems like an assumption. #STOPASSUMING

I wouldn't say that swearing has any kind of special relation to a persona more than the ones that are clearly obvious. It's clear that a teenager wants to feel like an adult, that's why most start swearing and smoking and drinking and all that bullcrap at those ages. However, stating that people that swear do it it to feel...uh... "kul" or "intimidating" or because they lack self esteem... I find it to be quite the assumption.

I mean, maybe it's been your experience and as i said in my PD on the last post "I know well enough not to get into that", but it has definitely has not been mine. (Not to mention that disregarding someone's argument because it may or may not contain swear words I find it a terrible mistake. The only situation where an argument should be disregarded is if it presents nothing new to the discussion [AKA circlejerk] or it contains/is based on a logical fallacy or many(.

There are many people on the world, all of them different. I may be talking to some illuminated britbong that constantly uses the word Frick because he doesn't know better and maybe that old madman is telling me how to solve the problems with the fricking international spanish debt.

Maybe that old madman knows better, but the matter irritates him so much he can't help to start swearing like it ain't ****. Maybe that old madman uses the word Frick because he really has nothing interesting to say about that matter. Is there any way I can know? Yes, but not the first time I speak with him.

Damnation, mate, I swear like a cossack and I do believe I know well enough. About emotional problems, I have depression and low self esteem but I know myself and I know I don't resort to insults and profanity to sound cool or edgy or any derivates. Maybe at some point I did, but I did it and that's it. TBH, I'm more interested on not sounding like a dicquebagge. If I swear it's mostly to give a sentence or paragraph a "me" feeling.

Hopefully I haven't talked when I shouldn't have and this is not entirely off topic.

 

[_Shadow_]

However, stating that people that swear do it it to feel...uh... "kul" or "intimidating" or because they lack self esteem... I find it to be quite the assumption.

Well I  focused on teenagers mostly to support why it IS an adult thing as asked by the OP.

What I said was MOSTLY (but not exclusively) people swear because they lack confidence or self esteem. Not self confidence. Just confidence.

What I try to say is you can emphasize your words in many ways. Swearing is a method used so people can make sure the emphasis will be noticed and will pass correctly.

Some people might feel weird dealing with foul language. I strongly believe that it's their problem. It is really hypocritic. There are people who get offended by profanity, but these very "kind" people steal or abuse their authority, or take advatage of other people. It's not only words that are vulgar. And I choose a sewaring honest good person than a kind snake anytime.

So please, if I sounded too critic, or too absolute, pardon me. I was speaking about people that use profanity as THE DEFAULT way of expression.

You don't. Honestly you just had a talk with me and you express yourself in a very nice way.

Also being depressed might have or might have nothing to do with profanity really. Just be yourself.

Don't take what I worte personal, I don't even know you, so I wouldn't be critic about you.

As for depression, for the record, psyxhologists can help you out, I had depression in the past and I know that.

 

[King Sangos]

For me, I take a different stance on profanity depending on what ways it's been/being used. If it's merely to emphasise someone's bewilderment or enjoyment on a game, I really don't mind it at all. That's just pretty much a common thing in some gaming communities. Now if the profanity is overly aggressive and directed towards someone, that's a different story altogether. In that case, I have just silently mute the individual in question, or play some music to blanket out the vile cussing.

And as for the use of profanity in the outside world, I react to it the same as how I'd react to it online, unless the vulgar cussing in directed to me. In which case, I just walk away. There's point in wasting my time with someone who's showing me little-to-no respect at all.

 

[Makio-Kuta]

As much as I myself am very nervous around foul language, I don't really buy into the whole "means you have a lower vocabulary" or whatever other nonsense people spout about people who -DO- use it. Yeah, there are some people who you think "can you use a little more creativity in that?" But as someone who honest to goodness throws the word 'like' a million times in one sentence when speaking - I don't really think less of someone who uses f*** the same way.

It's entirely my own thing that swears wig me out. Based entirely how I was raised. They can be aggressive, they can be for emphasis, they can be for shock, happiness, etc etc etc - (Example: A customer escalating to using swears to try to be intimidating <- This is an actual TACTIC (though it typically has the opposite result) where by starting to use more profane words, they are starting to sound more angry and violent and they think they can cause the person they are dealing with to bend in fear. It's the shock factor. "I am using this kind of language now; what are you going to do?" However, someone yelling out profane words when they slam their toe against something is not aiming for fear, they are merely yelling out in pain.) Maybe some kids swear to sound 'cool,' but look at all the other things kids to do be cool? Everyone wants to be cool, just different groups of kids have different definitions and standards of what cool is. I tried to be cool by playing FF8; who cares if the kid next to me tried to be cool by uttering a profanity around his friends for a good giggle. (Actually, if I just swore once to be cool and not have had to play FF8... I digress)

When I was younger, I bought into the whole 'swearing makes you less smart' poop because that's what everyone around me kept on saying. That's just silly though; you can have a HUGE vocab and be an idiot, you can have a small vocab and be a genius, you can be pristine in your word choice as a snow angel on a clear winter morning after the first snow fall and be a nitwit, and you can be vulgar and crass but hold vast knowledge. Speaking is just a part of someone's personality and how they were raised and that is not indicative of the level of knowledge someone holds.

I'm still gonna cringe every time someone swears around me lol that'll never change.

 

[Hudell]

I said the F* word once when I was a teenager.

I was playing xenogears, nearly dying. Tried to flee to a town and got a random encounter right when I was going to enter the town.

My mom heard, yelled at me. Never happened again.

I got into some other similar situations because in portuguese, the word for "molten" sounds almost exactly the same as our F* word. And I used to use that word on the wrong situations.

These days, I feel very uneasy near people who swears too much. And there're many of those people.

I also hated the fact that GTA 5 used the F word instead of "You died" in our language. And that was one of the reasons I didn't pick that game.

 

[_Shadow_]

I got into some other similar situations because in portuguese, the word for "molten" sounds almost exactly the same as our F* word. And I used to use that word on the wrong situations.

Strictly talking about adults from now on:

I can understand your feelings, but as many people mentioned, someone who uses foul language might be a better person, than a "polite vocabulary user".

I mean, someone might take advantage of you, using polite vocabulary, or insult you for no reason, using polite vocabulary. Even internet trolls do that.

On the other hand, the person that uses profanity, takes the risk to be disliked by some people or make some people feel uncomfortable with them. That person might not even give a fart about how other people feel really. It is a risk they take and they will accept any consequences. 

I suppose you were really young when your mother yelled at you.

Being an adult I used profound language once, my mother (used to treat me like a child) yelled at me too, then I explained that I was 27 and I have the right to express myself however the FK I wanted. She was sad with me and angered. But that had to be done. Still I don't use profound language a lot. But when I do, I have a good reason.

I am against it if it doesn't come with genuine feelings. But still I just ignore that person so no beef really. Except if the foul language targets SOMEONE I care. The hell breaks loose and I open up the sewer of my profanity against him. And yeah, I don't give a fk about the consequences, if it is about defending someone I care about.

 

[Caz]

I work in a warehouse full of Welsh men who use "Frick" as punctuation, so swearing has slipped into my vocabulary pretty bad the last couple years. Regionally speaking, this part of the country is actually really bad for swearing to the point where everyone is fairly desensitised to it now? There are still a lot of men who come in, swear, and then suddenly apologise realising there's a female present, which actually has the opposite effect to what they'd probably like and grates my nerves pretty bad.

In that respect, I think swearing around people can add a level of comfort for me sometimes. Yeah, it can get too much sometimes and there are some people who really need to tone it down, but sometimes there's nothing more comforting than being in a tense professional situation and someone dropping the F-bomb. I can do professional pretty well, and the moment I pick up the phone then you'll never hear me swear, but god help my coworkers who have to put up with me..

I was raised in a house where swearing was strictly forbidden, unless you're my mother having one of her classic ragefits or my sister being.. well, my sister. I'd frequently opt for cuter alternatives like "oh sugar" and "fudge you." These days I'm a lot more earnest and open, so if I swear around you then I'm probably just really comfortable with you.

Besides, I don't think there is a single person who could take "Frick you" in a posh British accent seriously.

 

[Ms Littlefish]

Context means everything. Yes, swearing loudly in public, in professional environments, to new acquaintances, in front of children, like it's punctuation, or in derogatory fashions probably show some degree of lacking social tact and etiquette. But there are many ways nonexclusive to swearing to flub that all up. 

I swear. But you'll never see me swear heavily on the forum. Why? I consider it public and filled with many people who have varying degrees of tolerance for some for the language I might use in private. There are also children as young as 13 years old here. There are also people here who may want to work with me. 

If someone doesn't swear themselves or I know for a fact express a dislike of it, I won't do it around them. I adjust myself to the social situation I'm in. When, what, where, who, and why matter more than yes or no.

 

[Kes]

As someone with a posh British accent, I'm told that when I swear (which is rarely in public) the shock value of hearing it with that accent said the way I do, is quite substantial.  It's how you say it, rather than the accent, imo.

But back on topic.  Swearing is often used as a weapon (see Makio's post above about abusive customers) and I see no reason to be more accepting of that weapon than of any other.  But as Ms Littlefish has just said, context is all, and intention is massively significant. However, for those who want to use it to insult and offend - maybe the deeper question is:  Is that the best way to resolve conflict?  Because presumably the desire to insult arises from some conflict.  Maybe swearing is a way of avoid having to do the hard work of conflict resolution.  It's just easier to throw a swear word and walk away.  Sometimes, it is true, that is all that can be done.  But I think those instances are rare, if we are honest with ourselves.

 

[Makio-Kuta]

I think the best way to counter someone who is using swearing aggressively, is to not react to it. (Which is extremely hard for me) It's a manipulation of shock value and if no one is shocked, the offender is instantly put in a position where their weapons didn't work. Swearing back or giving in to whatever this person demands only makes their attack successful. It's like any other form of attack - by deweaponizing the opponent, you weaken their blows.

Errrr. Will the f-bomb be super-effective or did you build your resistance!? (My resistance to swears stat is set at 0, but I use the "Summon Manager" spell to help weaken the blow.)

 

[Indrah]

There are only two people in the world who I can stand to hear use that word without making me cringe up, and that is just because being around them using it so much made me grow accustomed to it from them.

Dat moment where you realize you have unwittingly been second hand stressing poor friend Makio. I'm so sorry! (but I'm not stopping, u never said anythinggg ;A

Eh...I swear a lot. Around 90% of my daily communication with the world is by the internet, and I've gotten into the habit of using swearwords as punctuation. I don't dislike it, and I often tell people it means nothing and few have raised any real issue about it. I'm fine with people swearing around me as long as A-we are close, or B-we are not close but they are not swearing AT me. I don't swear in verbal conversation on the streets so much (I mean I do, just not SO often), it's mostly an online thing for me.

 

[Caitlin]

I don't curse a lot, but when I do, it's normally when I am really upset at something from my computer, politics, or any issue.  I have to be really upset, other than that I might use a** to describe someone, occasionally.  In my writing, however, I am trying to create a wide variety of characters from the characters, who never curse, those who rarely curse to the people, who curse all the time.  In my opinion, it's more important to train people when to use curse words than just making them off limits.  Trust me, I've looked up old curse words and shocked myself to see we've had curse words that are no longer curse words.  It's something we're always going to have and it's important to know when to curse and when not to.  My opinion only.

 

[Amysaurus]

Most of my friends swear pretty frequently, so I guess I've never been bothered by it. I almost never swear at people (unless they've made me go full-dino), though I do tend to drop a few choice words when they best convey how I'm feeling at the time.

Or whenever I fall over​

When I'm okay with cursing:

>With most friends:

Friend A: "'Sup (naughty language)?"

Me: "Not much, how you doin'?"

Friend A: "Not bad. You ever gonna tell me where you hid those bodies?"

Me: "(Naughty language) no!"

>Online:

Friend B: "Draw anything purdy lately?"

Me: "Sure did! I drew your beautiful face you (naughty language)(naughty language)(naughty language)(naughty language)!"

When I'm not okay with cursing:

>Around family:

Mother Dearest: "Amy, can you empty the dishwasher while you're here?"

Me: "(NAUGHTY LANGUAGE) NO!"

>Around shy friends:

Friend C: "Ummm, does this jawline look okay to you?"

Me: "LOLNO - that's the (naughty language) worst thing I've ever seen!"

 

[Warpmind]

Most of my friends swear pretty frequently, so I guess I've never been bothered by it. I almost never swear at people (unless they've made me go full-dino), though I do tend to drop a few choice words when they best convey how I'm feeling at the time.

Or whenever I fall over​

When I'm okay with cursing:

>With most friends:

Friend A: "'Sup (naughty language)?"

Me: "Not much, how you doin'?"

Friend A: "Not bad. You ever gonna tell me where you hid those bodies?"

Me: "(Naughty language) no!"

>Online:

Friend B: "Draw anything purdy lately?"

Me: "Sure did! I drew your beautiful face you (naughty language)(naughty language)(naughty language)(naughty language)!"

When I'm not okay with cursing:

>Around family:

Mother Dearest: "Amy, can you empty the dishwasher while you're here?"

Me: "(NAUGHTY LANGUAGE) NO!"

>Around shy friends:

Friend C: "Ummm, does this jawline look okay to you?"

Me: "LOLNO - that's the (naughty language) worst thing I've ever seen!"

For me, I would add "when I have a client in the printroom at work" as an inappropriate scenario.

The sound doesn't carry well into the hallway, thanks to the "barrier" produced by the printer's constantly humming fans (we're talking something roughly the size of two regular photocopiers here), and I generally don't have reason to swear unless the printer starts another Bob Marley performance, jammin' on every page...

 

[cosmickitty]

I came across this the other day: http://www.scarymommy.com/9-rules-of-swearing-for-my-children/

I have a 5 yr old and I swear.... a lot, I've taught my child that profanity like any other word has its place.  There are things you do and say in different social settings and profanity is one of them.  It's not an age thing, it's a respect of etiquette thing.  At school where you need to show respect to your elders, no, it's not appropriate.  In anger towards another person, no, it's never appropriate.  When you stub your toe.... yell $&(@#)*$#()$%*#() all you want

In my house saying "ain't" or dropping -g's is a much worse offense than profanity

 

[Bastrophian]

Haha....i love all these comments.

Im not gonna say ive never used profanities....cuz for one thing, it would completely contradict my original post lol, but mainly cuz its not true. I have a hand full of time through out my life, and every time it didint sound right coming out of me. But now, i just dont....i dont like swearing. I dont like saying it, and i dont really like to hear it either. HOWEVER! I dont have anything against people when i here them cuss...i grew up in a house where my dad cussed alot, dropped the f-bomb all the time....and...back when i was still a small child, alot of the time he said REALLY stupid, unfair things to/about us....the word "Frick"....is not the worst thing ive ever heard him say, in fact there are things you can say to someone that are worse than cussing them out. (how ever, that was the past. He's still in our life, and im glad he is.) But anyway....mostly if i hear someone cuss....like alot, i just ignore it. I dont see anything else i could realistically do. (like what? wag my finger in his/her face, all "shame, shame".) I mind my own business, and only get vindictive when someone actually attacks my loved ones with their words...all of their words. 

 

[Espon]

I usually don't swear unless I'm really, really upset with someone.  I don't mind hearing profanity occasionally, but I don't like it when people use it beyond excessively.  Maybe I'm just so used to hearing it in my family that kind of conditioned myself to not add to the foul language party.

I find it weird how more often it shows up in movies and games these days, particularly when it doesn't seem to fit the setting.  In a game like GTA5 I can understand since all the characters are thugs and criminals, but in DA3 it seems out of place, especially since the previous two games didn't have any.  Then you got movies based on comics such as the X-Men, and they'll drop the f-bomb once or twice for no reason.