Swearing overload

[EzLife]

Perhaps showing my age, although I’d like to think I’m really sharing/showing my personal values.

Swearing has sadly become so commonplace, including in forum posts, I can only guess it reflects how the person would normally speak, but tbh reduces the impact of the writing (for me anyway).

Real shame as the English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 language has so many alternative options…

My parents used to say swearing was a sign of a limited vocabulary.

Reckon I’m going to be on the receiving end of some soon…

Completely fucking agree babes, it's so shit, isn't it? xx

I completely agree. There are a couple of current threads with very sweary OPs and I find my empathy quickly wanes.

Thanks @youreactinglikeafunmum your post has answered all of my observations/questions, sadly.

I like a good cuss, but agree there’s too much swearing in public places etc. I don’t agree that it’s always a sign of poor vocabulary. Billie Connolly once said:

“A lot of people say that it's a lack of vocabulary that makes you swear. Rubbish! I know thousands of words but I still prefer ‘f**k’.”

(Asterisks to suit your preferences OP 😊)

I think what has changed is the word used. So using the word c**t for instance was less used, so when you did hear it you knew the speaker really meant it.

😭😭😭 omg

People who swear dont lack intelligence, i'm afraid, its a great source of tension release

Lighten up!

I don't agree that it reflects a limited vocabulary.

But saying 'my parents always said xyz', shows a lack of imagination.

I think it can emphasise stories, make things sound funnier, release emotions, be used to make a point.

For example, saying 'oh fiddlesticks' if you stand on an upturned plug, is just not going to cut the mustard now is it, despite what your parents said.

I don’t like swearing but I did laugh when an op said she didn’t like the swearing on MN and the reply was fuck off then cuntychops.

There’s a reason why swear words or even simply rude words have fricative consonants or explosives consonants - gets the anger out! Releases the energy!

I swear. More than I used to aswell.
But I generally only swear when I'm by myself - which is quite a lot. And I don't use swear words when I'm typing/ writing.

I hate to hear parents swearing at their children. It's very common round here to hear some parents using the F word routinely at their children from a very young age.

And some conversations where every other word is the F word are almost laughable. That's not using it to get rid of anger or frustration. It's just plain habit and actually renders the word totally impotent.

MN has always been sweary. Long may it fucking continue.

My parents used to say swearing was a sign of a limited vocabulary.

In actual fact, the opposite may be true.
This article talks about studies correlating swearing to verbal fluency, intelligence, creativity and more. One study suggests swearing may help pain tolerance. So swearing can actually be beneficial. I suspect it helps with emotional pain as well as physical. It can serve as an effective form of emotional release.

edition.cnn.com/2021/01/26/health/swearing-benefits-wellness

If you can't abide swearing, tell your friends and family you would prefer they not do it in front of you. There's nothing you can do about swearing outside of your intimate circle. It's widely considered acceptable now.

Try to remember that a word itself can't be inherently bad, it's about the intent behind it.
If I stub my toe and say "Oh f###!" it would be entirely different from me giving you a glare and saying, "F### off!"
Aggressive swearing can feel threatening to some people, but casual swearing is not perceived that way.

Why? It was obviously meant as a joke. Do you lack a sense of humour? By that I don't mean you have to share the same sense of humour as anyone else, I mean recognizing humourous intent.

😄

There’s a reason why swear words or even simply rude words have fricative consonants or explosives consonants - gets the anger out! Releases the energy!

But people don't swear to 'let their anger out'. They use swear words as punctuation and it's so frequent it loses all meaning and just becomes boring.

Or they use the c-word when its entirely unjustified. (Is it ever justified?) I remember a thread where the OP's child's teacher had said or done something OP disagreed with. One response: She's a c*. Horrible.

If you don’t swear then your vocabulary is more limited than a swearer’s vocabulary. It’s simple logic.

Thanks for reading and responding, some of which has caused me to reflect on our wider society and societal issues which I will keep to myself.

I do swear (shock, horror!).

However it tends to be an instant reaction to pain, not in public, and certainly not in forums.

@ColinOfficeTrolley 'my parents always said xyz', actually reveals their values, such positive role models, and not a lack of imagination on my part, but respect for them, and surely using a wider vocabulary suggests thinking creatively?

@fatphalange actually quite illogical; when you over-rely on swearing, aren’t you ignoring other options?

Some infantile posts, which I won't respond to, they say so much more about you than me.

Finally, I cannot accept that swearing has become more acceptable; simply more signs of our dumbing-down as a nation.

😂😂😂😂

It doesn’t limit language, it is language.

Nothing wrong with swearing. It’s just words and has nothing to do with having a poor vocabulary or similar. So it’s quite an ignorant thing to say. Also do you know what’s worse than swearing? Judgy people. Especially hypocritical people who judge others incorrectly for minor things, like whether they swear or not, whilst doing it themselves. Bane of society.

I like a good swear sesh and after standing on ceremony all day with my true feelings with professional emails, constantly being polite to people I have to spend 40hrs week with. It's cathartic.

When you over rely on swearing, aren’t you ignoring other options

I’ve never really understood the logic behind the idea that swearing must be linked with a limited vocabulary, because I don’t think it’s replacing that many different words.
For example, I think a lot of the time people use “fuck” in place of “very” or “really”, eg “It was fucking annoying” “it fucking hurt”. If they didn’t say fucking they’d probably say “it really hurt”, not “it caused me great affliction and torment”. I don’t think people are unaware of the words they are using fuck to replace. Or when you use “fuck” as an exclamation, like you drop something, it breaks, you say “fuck!!”, I don’t think people who say a different thing in those situations (“bother”, “urghhh!” “Oops”, or just an angry huff etc) are showing a wider vocabulary here.

@ColinOfficeTrolley 'my parents always said xyz', actually reveals their values, such positive role models, and not a lack of imagination on my part, but respect for them, and surely using a wider vocabulary suggests thinking creatively?

That doesn't make any sense. By not swearing, you're using a more limited vocabulary than some one that does.

"You're being ridiculous " vs
"You're being fucking ridiculous, you self-righteous arsehole."

See. Much more creative 😀

There's a brilliant comedy piece where the comedian is on about learning English and finding out how Shit is such a versatile word

How "he's shit" and "he's The Shit" are different etc

@EzLife

when you over-rely on swearing, aren’t you ignoring other options?

Maybe, but it doesn't mean you don't know what the options are. It could just indicate you prefer the swear words.
As I posted and you conveniently ignored, research has shown a link between swearing and high verbal ability. So please stop trying to claim it indicates a poor vocabulary and lack of imagination, seeing as that has been factually shown to be codswallop. I could have said bullshit there, but I know lots of other words which mean the same thing. I just happen to prefer bullshit sometimes. It's more emphatic.

Finally, I cannot accept that swearing has become more acceptable

So you cannot accept reality then? Good luck with resisting it.