View Full Version : Why are swear words, cussing, and other words...
baslisks
09-29-2005, 01:20 AM
So bloody annoying? I don't care if you cuss in front of me. I can think of hundreds of ways other then fuck damn and hell to express my self. Why make it a huge point in society to exterminate alternate ways of expressing annoyance? Like fuck it all to hell. Your exasperated. You've had it. So you decide just let everything go down hill. You utter the phrase mentioned above and you get glares and tuts from the "good" people of the world for using such language. People say "Would you say that to your mother?" I respond with "No but I probably would to my dad." I can understand the weight of racial slurrs and the bunch. Racism inspires deeper actions. The process I belive is since he got a way with calling him whatever I'm a bit better then I was before. That may inspire more then words. Actions do speak louder then words. You can jump, hop, flip and somersault. Thats all from the action of bending your knees and pushing off with greater upwards force then the force holding you down. This has been in my head for awhile and chance people I talk to about this understand what I'm saying. Maybe because its an abstract essay waiting to be ordered and sorted. Whatever it is I hope I get the point to some people.
Citizen
09-29-2005, 01:47 AM
Some people are just morons, plain and simple. They can't comprehend that words, even "zomg lolz ur goin 2 heck 4 say taht" curse words, are just words. People who think they are better than people who swear, as well as people who think that swearing is going to end the world, are unrealistic, pompous assholes. All there is to it.
p.s. People who go out of their way to swear are also morons. Just be yourself. If you swear, swear. If you don't, so be it. Nobody will be impressed if you say 'fuck' five times in two minutes.
Anubis Nine
09-29-2005, 01:47 AM
Usually when I'm stressed out I start saying things like "for the love of peanuts (or other inanimate object) But I swear in terms to enforce a point.
Ie: My brother is not merely *really* annoying. He's *really* FUCKING annoying.
And though I see what's wrong with all this, I only curb my language around teachers, small children and the elderly.
there's a time and place for swearing... well i don't like to swear, tho it does come out here and there as it is with all people.
as citizen said.. its those that go out of t heir way to swear that totally annoy me... no one's gonna blame you if you swear because someone scratched your car with keys while you were away etc... but then if you said something along the lines of
"I fking had the fking nicest fking pancakes this morning. I fking woke up at fking 10am. Can u fkng believe how fking well i fking slept?
you get the point..
Gather 'round, people suffering from Tourette's.
keitaidensha
09-29-2005, 02:34 AM
hay guyz wuts a social taboo?
Cybren
09-29-2005, 03:10 AM
What did you do to my exasperated!?
hay guyz wuts a social taboo?
Case in point on why people hate swearing. You get people like Jormungand who look like mindless wannabe tough guys who are trying too hard, at the expense of otherwise useful vocabulary, the lack of knowledge of which another member is demonstrating above...
Frankey-eh
09-29-2005, 05:24 AM
swearing was one aspect of English I remember it took the longest to get used to.
When I was in fifth grade, I was just learning English, and people all around me were swearing here and there. But whenever I ask for a definition, they would just tell me it's a bad word and I shouldn't be using it.
Once, after finding out the meaning of "shut up", I used it (not in an insulting way), and this guy said "oooh you said a bad word", so I stayed as far away from them as possible
Even now, they hardly come out of my mouth. I find myself being understood perfectly without having to use any of it. So I don't think swearing can be justified by emphasis.
Katiekoneko
09-29-2005, 05:55 AM
I dont swear
unless I quote ppl (and weirdly enough sometimes online I post it..but I would normally say crap or bum instead)
its just a choice. I find alot of ppl use the f-word for every OTHER word
I find that annoying.. Its like "um"
My boyfriend swears so much lately- he says its cuz hes in the military and "Everyone swears in the military"
But some guy was walking down the street drunk and was swearing and being rude (not TO us or anyone in perticular)
and my boyfriend tells him "Watch your language infront of ladies" or something like that.
WEIRD.
It all depends on the situation, I guess... I cannot imagine a hooligan or a drunk not to curse. I mean, people probably started swearing since they could talk. Even Romeo and Juliet starts with it.
keitaidensha
09-29-2005, 06:07 AM
Case in point on why people hate swearing. You get people like Jormungand who look like mindless wannabe tough guys who are trying too hard, at the expense of otherwise useful vocabulary, the lack of knowledge of which another member is demonstrating above...
psh w/e you fucking shitlick dicksnuff asscunt. bitchcock
h2orowe
09-29-2005, 06:18 AM
I cuss. Alot. Because I'm in high school and almost everyone I hang out with "Dude, did you see the uhh fucking Angels game last night? That shit was tight fool. When he fucking hit the ball all over the place and shit."
Man, I honestly wish I didn't cuss. It's good, in context, and can be used to express an anger certain words can't; my favorite being the angry Bastard with a fist shake.
But I get in trouble for cussing, or just feel bad. I hate cussing in front of girls, but do it sometime on accident. I just hate doing that, because I was taught to be a gentleman, and besides that, I'm pretty much the perfect gentleman. The other day I was talking about music with my class/history teacher and he brought up 50 cent's new movie and I replied "Man, 50 cent has been around for what... 3 years at the most? and people are calling him a legend and shit." (My teacher's young so he knows ther music of today) ""Joey..... what did you just say? Get on the floor and give me 25 push ups (he's also a football coach)"
Cussing is ok in context, but it is still rude. I'm all for using it in context but never if you're just like
"Hey fool, lets fucking what's that shit called? Let's gol ike to fucking ummm damn it whats that shit called, yo? 7/11! Let's fucking go to fucking 7/11 cuz I gotta get some shit."
Cussing shouldn't be so taboo, and shouldn't be censored, but if people can't use it in context than it should be.
I swear and frankly, I couldn't care less. It's not like I use fuck in every sentence I speak or type (don't point out the irony there please...). But at the end of the day, they are just words. Words alone can't possibly hurt someone, unless that person is an idiot... which there are a lot of in the world today.
But I think my favourite commentary on the whole swearing issue is the famous scene of "The Knights Who Say Ni". Well, at least that's how I've always looked at it.
And on a side note, I find I very rarely swear on the internet. I guess it's just a side effect of spending a lot of time on another forum where swearing is filtered.
more cheerios
09-29-2005, 01:22 PM
People tend to resort to swearing if they don't have anything else to say, at least, this is what I've noticed. They run of out ideas, they are defeated; you can tell because they start popping off f-shots every two seconds.
And on another issue, I think swearing completely ruins music. I think as a lyricist, you should be able to find other ways to express yourself.
Starting off with I don't care much if people swear and have let a few cuss words loose, it isn't the words per se that are offensive but the inherent lack of respect for those around you. You've obviously little regard for anyone but yourself if you let a stream of swear words rip around people you don't know or know don't care for that language. It is just a matter of courtesy just like addressing someone by "sir" or "ma'am" when you don't know their name is courteous. It beats "hey you" with a stick for certain.
It is a matter of courtesy and respect. That's why people ask "would you say that to your mother?" They want to know if you'd say that to the one person you can expect most people to show courtesy and respect.
What I do find exceptionally aggravating is children cussing and people who don't even make an effort to clean up their language around children (by children I mean 12 or so and younger). There is little else so disgusting and annoying as hearing a 10-year-old lacing every conversation with a liberal dose of "fuck shit damn hell fuck fuckity fuck." I find that even more demonstrative of the increasing lack of respect for others in society. These 10-year-olds are the same ones who disrupt classes, are bullies on the school bus and run around unsupervised everyday.
raydude
09-29-2005, 01:54 PM
I prefer to swear only when I'm truly upset or angry. Very angry. As such, when people hear me say "God fuckin dammit" it shocks them to the core because they almost never hear me say that. In my opinion its good to have words that communicate my sense of feeling in such a strong manner. But if I swear every day or in every conversation I no longer have that power.
RDClip
09-29-2005, 02:48 PM
I tend not to drop the F-Bomb anymore. I usually replace it it "Bloody Hell!!!" for exclaimations and "Bloody" in the adjective form.
I say "shit" a lot. I was never really taught that it was a real swear, per se. My common language is laced with the not so bad swears that one can say on TV nowadays(bitch, asshole, goddamn, etc.) I try to stay away from the dirty swears if possible because most of my friends are girls and I don't want to give the impression that I am some perv.(although they probably already think so)
But, as with most normal-minded people, I control my language in time were it is not acceptable.
Trump
09-29-2005, 05:25 PM
I think the words used to mean different things than they do now. They would conjure mental pictures of things people really didn't want to think about. But now the associations of those words are not nearly as vulgar and the words are becoming more commonplace.
For example, bastard (child out of wedlock) used to be a huge insult back when family lines meant everything, but now... shrug, its just another explitive.
The words used to really offend people but now people use them without even thinking about the meaning they have, so they really aren't curse words. People are just sensitive about them because they "should" be.
No, most of them still are offensive. Being a bitch is one of a few thing things: a mean, nasty woman; a weak, pathetic man; a whiny complaint or a female dog. None of which is complimentary to the person being called a bitch. Even the dictionaries label it "offensive:
A female canine animal, especially a dog.
Offensive.
A woman considered to be spiteful or overbearing.
A lewd woman.
A man considered to be weak or contemptible.
Slang. A complaint.
Slang. Something very unpleasant or difficult.
The only time that word is not demeaning is when it is used to actually refer to a female dog. Of course, that pretty much only happens in breeding/coompetitive arenas. It is a given that the person yelling "Yo bitch" on the street is not calling his dog.
A bastard is not just a child born out of wedlock, but has always carried the connotation of a lower status in society along with it. Being called a bastard carries with it a condemnation. Saying someone's parents weren't married doesn't. Look at the alternate meanings of bastard:
A child born out of wedlock.
Something that is of irregular, inferior, or dubious origin.
Slang. A person, especially one who is held to be mean or disagreeable.
Two of the three have perjorative meaning. The seemingly bland first definition is colored by the other two. Referring to a bastard child implies that the child is somehow of a lesser quality than that of a child of a married couple. Do you honestly think that walking up to someone whose father is not in the picture and referring to them as a bastard will get you anything less than a punch in the face?
Don't kid yourself. Swear words are offensive for a reason. Their intent and meanings are base and insulting. While I tend to not care much one way or the other save in my home and around my child, that in no way diminishes that they are disrespectful and vulgar. Who wants to be eating and have images of fecal matter creeping into the conversation?
Masa the Masta
09-29-2005, 06:21 PM
It's funny because in other languages, there's very little to no swear words at all.
It's just that there was a story behind how swear words came about...something 'bout them anglo saxons and how when they were oppressed by some people, their basic words of survival became taboo (copulating, women, excrement, etc. Dunno how these are survival :p ) and ended up turning into "cuss words" or whatever.
Fuck is just the most awesome word in the english language.
Fuck the fucking fuckers.
Varia
09-29-2005, 08:39 PM
Alright, look at the title of this thread.
Why are swear words, cussing, and other words...
Just analyze those words right there and you'll get the answer.
In case some of you ar idiots, the answer is..! Because they are swear and curse words! They don't call them that for nothing.
Whenever I see a person who uses those kind of words a lot, my opinion of them is significantly lowered. They can express themselves perfectly fine without using those words.
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Masa the Masta
09-29-2005, 08:47 PM
Alright, look at the title of this thread.
Why are swear words, cussing, and other words...
Just analyze those words right there and you'll get the answer.
In case some of you ar idiots, the answer is..! Because they are swear and curse words! They don't call them that for nothing.
Whenever I see a person who uses those kind of words a lot, my opinion of them is significantly lowered. They can express themselves perfectly fine without using those words.
My personal opinion is that if the person is edumacated well enough, and is very literate, then swearing is A-OK, seeing as how they have the capability to express themselves with or without them, and swearing can add power to your words, if used sparingly and appropriately. (Though I'm not exactly too sure when swearing is appropriate...certainly not with your mother. ;) )
hidethedrone
09-29-2005, 08:58 PM
Who wants to be eating and have images of fecal matter creeping into the conversation?
Fecal matter is funny... where shit is not. I wouldn't mind if fecal matter DID come into the converstation ALL the time, because i'd be constantly laughing...
THen it'd get old, and i'd be over it.
That's kind of how the cursing works. It's a junior fascination with "adult" words. Kind of like "When I grow up, I'm going to eat cereal all day everyday!" If your parents didn't let you, you will. Not excessively. Because after a while you'll "hear" how you sound and realize why your parents actually DID tell you not to do that.
And trust me, I ate Cinamon Toast Crunch breakfast lunch and dinner for two weeks. I don't look at ANY sweetened cereal the same way again.
Trump
09-29-2005, 09:14 PM
My point was 90% of the people who use swear words have no clue why they are offensive to people.
I'm also fairly convinced a good percentage of the people who claim to be offended by the words don't know what they mean either.
Shamu
09-29-2005, 09:35 PM
I have a three year old that likes to say EVERYTHING that I do, so I try and be careful about swearing around her and other children and also people I don't know and the elderly. It's just common curtesy, otherwise, I don't really mind swearing. It's hard not too sometimes, especially when you're driving on the expressway and the prick in the mercedes almost hits you because he wants to go 120 mph...That's another topic altogether.
Anyway, sometimes I slip and I'll say something in front of my daughter, which she promptly repeats over and over again, because she likes to sound things out...and it's hard to explain to her that it's not good to say those things or that there sometimes when it's sort of ok to use them.
I try to avoid it altogether, but it's hard to do.
DarkFire168
09-29-2005, 09:53 PM
How does cursing show disrespect to those around you? Because they don't like it when you use those words? Well in that case I find it offensive when people use the word "when". It's offensive to me and you must respect my right to tell you what you can and cannot say. :P
Stephy
09-29-2005, 10:20 PM
I don't mind people who swear around me, I just don't do it myself. Since I am in high school there is never a day I don't hear the F-bomb, the A-hole word and B- word being used. The only cuss related words I would say is something like "damn" or "crap."
I wouldn't want to start swearing and then happen to get use to it, then accidently say it in front of my father. This will only lead to me receiving a nice smack to the face.
DarkFire168
09-29-2005, 10:43 PM
^^^^Points Up^^^^^^
Nice avatar. Rawr.
Eh I tend to swear a fair bit with my friends, it's just the way we are really, we don't go ott with it but when something big happens...yeah, don't be around if you're easily offended.
That said we do try and watch our mouths when there are children around, that's just not right, swearing in front of a kid.
How does cursing show disrespect to those around you? Because they don't like it when you use those words? Well in that case I find it offensive when people use the word "when". It's offensive to me and you must respect my right to tell you what you can and cannot say. :P
You're a kid, aren't you? If you behave in a base, crude way around someone, it shows either excessive familiarity or contempt for them. You don't hold them in high enough regard to show even a modicum of respect.
Of course there are exceptions for close friends, but it is rude to talk like a toilet in decent company. It's inappropriate in the workplace, school and most other professional/social situations. When was the last time you heard a successful lawyer, doctor, businessman, professor or teacher talk that way? They don't.
When you talk trashy around people, you show that you don't care enough about them to be polite or considerate.
When we interview potential employees, if they swear in the interview, they are out. They obviously don't know how to behave in a professional environment and have no place in a customer-oriented business.
baslisks
09-30-2005, 01:32 AM
You're a kid, aren't you? If you behave in a base, crude way around someone, it shows either excessive familiarity or contempt for them. You don't hold them in high enough regard to show even a modicum of respect.
Of course there are exceptions for close friends, but it is rude to talk like a toilet in decent company. It's inappropriate in the workplace, school and most other professional/social situations. When was the last time you heard a successful lawyer, doctor, businessman, professor or teacher talk that way? They don't.
When you talk trashy around people, you show that you don't care enough about them to be polite or considerate.
When we interview potential employees, if they swear in the interview, they are out. They obviously don't know how to behave in a professional environment and have no place in a customer-oriented business.
But I know a ton of succesful engineers and muscians that talk that way. I do know good teachers that talk that way just out of school. Lawyers have a bad mouth out of the court room and meetings with clients. Doctors have tons of foul praise for their assholish patients.
Stephy
09-30-2005, 02:27 AM
But I know a ton of succesful engineers and muscians that talk that way. I do know good teachers that talk that way just out of school. Lawyers have a bad mouth out of the court room and meetings with clients. Doctors have tons of foul praise for their assholish patients.
I am not sure about that other stuff, but about the Doctors...
They may or may not swear, but I am sure it would not be about their "a$$holish patients" because of a confidentiality rule and the demontrations of professionalism and respect.
Dead Sexy Vocab
09-30-2005, 02:38 AM
You should see how people talk in my school.
"Man, this is fuckin' boring."
"No shit, school is fuckin' pissin' me off."
"So, what the fuck did you do today?"
"I don't know, man, fuck.."
"Fuck, I'm late for my bus!"
"Jesus fuckin' Christ! I forgot to get my fuckin' jacket!"
"FUCK IT, MAN, LET'S JUST FUCKIN' GO!!"
Ignorace. I think I'm the only one in school who doesn't use "fuck" in every setntence I say. DAMN.
Kusoyaro
09-30-2005, 04:47 AM
Same here, Vocab, school is ghettoer every fucking day.
...
I used to live in a place called Rexdale, it was fairly interesting (in the Chinese axiom way), and everyone used to swear, but I moved to mississauga a while ago and OMG they have no idea what they do. They speak so badly it made me want to kill them all. Thankfully I had begun taking my medication a month earlier so I didn't.
Honestly, let those who swear, swear. I don't really care. If you don't want to swear, or if you don't want your children to swear, that's your problem, you have to instill in yourself and your kids the beliefs you want to hold.
Btw, I don't swear in Real Life, amazingly, just in The Net. Also, there is a verified correllation between swearing and verbal acumen.
Which is why people like me know so many big words. Big words help us say more in less. That's right.
Benaire
09-30-2005, 05:06 AM
I work in a workshop where there are tradesmen The C*nt word get used alot and the F word too. I don't swear much at all because I feel that when used too often it loses its true meaning. When I swear people know that they are in trouble or something truly terrible is happening or about to happen.
Swear words are offensive there design is to offend people or they are used in very negative expressions. They are very common place now and have lost some of there power.
A true master can learn to offend people without the use of swear words they are people to be feared.
Dead Sexy Vocab
09-30-2005, 06:36 AM
Cunt get enough of that Sugar Crisp.... :D
Yeah, I agree, Kusoyaro, swearing does make you stupid.
And that, I, the insipid semi-mind-blocked child, shall always fall under orders of the Matriarch, Shamu. :D
baslisks
09-30-2005, 04:20 PM
I am not sure about that other stuff, but about the Doctors...
They may or may not swear, but I am sure it would not be about their "a$$holish patients" because of a confidentiality rule and the demontrations of professionalism and respect.
read the darwin awards sometime and wonder how they get all those good medical details.
DarkFire168
09-30-2005, 07:10 PM
You're a kid, aren't you? If you behave in a base, crude way around someone, it shows either excessive familiarity or contempt for them. You don't hold them in high enough regard to show even a modicum of respect.
Of course there are exceptions for close friends, but it is rude to talk like a toilet in decent company. It's inappropriate in the workplace, school and most other professional/social situations. When was the last time you heard a successful lawyer, doctor, businessman, professor or teacher talk that way? They don't.
When you talk trashy around people, you show that you don't care enough about them to be polite or considerate.
When we interview potential employees, if they swear in the interview, they are out. They obviously don't know how to behave in a professional environment and have no place in a customer-oriented business.
I know it's innappropriate in a professional setting. I've never sworn while at work (cept that one time I nearly chopped my hand off removing the blade from the bagel cutter cause my coworker is a dipshit, as it was I got a nice 5 inch scar on my right wrist now.) or at an interview. But in school, I've never understood why other students being offended by cursing mattered so much. Teachers I can understand, because they're your teachers and you should be respectful to them. But students are just students, it's not my job to make them happy.
ZMarie
09-30-2005, 09:59 PM
Teachers I can understand, because they're your teachers and you should be respectful to them. But students are just students, it's not my job to make them happy.
But why would you respect a teacher and not a fellow student? I've known students who don't swear, and I've also known teachers that could hold their own when it comes to swearing.
Just playing devil's advocate, here.
more cheerios
09-30-2005, 10:03 PM
But why would you respect a teacher and not a fellow student? I've known students who don't swear, and I've also known teachers that could hold their own when it comes to swearing.
Just playing devil's advocate, here.
They're older than you, have more experience than and have taken a role of responsibility for you.
D-pad
09-30-2005, 10:06 PM
My friends say I cuss too much.......I tend to say damn and fuck alot.......
Whothefuckispink
09-30-2005, 10:16 PM
"Fuck" is really only a cussword when its used as an interjection, otherwise it is a quite useful word for emphasizing, since it has since long lost it's status as a "bad" word. It has simply been too overused.
DarkFire168
10-01-2005, 05:31 AM
But why would you respect a teacher and not a fellow student? I've known students who don't swear, and I've also known teachers that could hold their own when it comes to swearing.
Just playing devil's advocate, here.
Because the position of teaching should be more respected and revered. These people are passing knowledge onto the youth, a sacred duty. Any teacher that is treated disrespectfully should have the right to bullwhip that student.
ZMarie
10-01-2005, 01:54 PM
Because the position of teaching should be more respected and revered. These people are passing knowledge onto the youth, a sacred duty. Any teacher that is treated disrespectfully should have the right to bullwhip that student.
I agree. Teachers should be respected. Some of peers, however may have a higher sensitivity to something such as swearing or cursing. So why are they not afforded them the courtesy and respect as a person as well. I'm not talking about calling them sir or ma'am. Are their wants just not worthy of consideration is what I'm asking.
Jynx_lucky_j
10-01-2005, 03:17 PM
Would you say that to you mother? is differant than, Would you say that around your mother? For instance, i would not call my mother a a b*tch, but i very well may call some one else one with my mother around. Of couse if i get to the point to deem some one a b*tch, chances my mother thinks the same thing. I don't swear that often anyways. I won't claim that it doesn't work itself into my everyday conversations. But it only pops up occationally.
You are correct that you can use other "non offensive" word to say the same thing. But if two words mean the same thing why is one more offensive? Because society has deemed it so? While that is the reason, i can't say i wholely agree with it. I think that it is their stigma that attracts people to you them so often. Thier "bad word" and we "shouldn't" use them, thats exactly why some people can't say a sentance with out using them. Not caring serves two purposes, first no one would be offended by the occation use of the words, and second there would be no novelty for people to use it all the time. At worst it would be the equivlent of people who start every sentance with the word "like," or when i was little the word "totally" was real popular.
Ybbor
10-01-2005, 07:00 PM
I try to never swear, in the last 3 years i might have sweared two or three times, usually when quoting or sarcastically quoting someone. I sweared for a month or two in 5th grade before i understood it was wrong, and have stopped since. whenever someone would swear at my lunch table in 6th grade, i reflexively said "don't swear" surprisingly enough, they weren't swearing at the end of the year. but in Jr. High i stopped, and ignored it. its wasn't too common anyway. Now in high school, its really not too big a problem and just shrug it off, but when someone starts swearing excessively, i kinda wince inside, as it gets really annoying. there's swearing at my school, but i guess after reading some of what you guys are saying goes on in your schools, i should consider myself lucky.
I do say crap kinds often, and don't have problems saying it in class, but the teachers are starting to mind, so I'm trying to be more conscious of it. I also don't have much a problem swearing online, with the first letter and asterisks (i.e. a**), but nothing more.
Wizdom
10-01-2005, 09:16 PM
ever since i started writing about my dad. ive been doing more and more jamaican curses.. like Bomba!. Rassclot, and pussyass hole..
I dont do it to be mean.. but everytime i do it , it always reminds me of a time when my father used it. and it makes me laugh and feel good.
but if im angry ill uses the curse words i was raised with on the streets.. ie
bitch ass!. Mutha fucker!. Got damn! Damnit!!
:p
DarkFire168
10-01-2005, 09:55 PM
I agree. Teachers should be respected. Some of peers, however may have a higher sensitivity to something such as swearing or cursing. So why are they not afforded them the courtesy and respect as a person as well. I'm not talking about calling them sir or ma'am. Are their wants just not worthy of consideration is what I'm asking.
Becasue these people tend to be the most highly opinionated, stuck up jackasses of them all with no regard to the feelings or wants of others. You're not required to do anything to make them happy. If they're your friend/you respect/you like them, obviously you would stop. But the majority of the people who are offended by it don't deserve the courtesy of curtailing your behavior for their happiness.
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