Is cursing bad? Are you desensitized to it? Does swearing show maturity?

[Shanks 10,811]

To those people who cuss every five seconds, or think it makes them mature or something...it's not cool. In fact, it makes me cringe.

That mostly just annoys me because overusing any word regardless of what it is a personal pet peeve of mine. The word "like" for example is one of the overused in the English language, I mean like come on like you would think like people would use like uh a dictionary or something. And don't get me started on textspeak and how much that is bastardizing the English language.

[Honsou 399]

Alright, let's power up the bass cannon here.

 

First and foremost, temporary society honestly has desensitized us enough towards cursing that it's accepted almost common place.

 

Growing up I remember if a movie said the f word once it would automatically get an R rating. Now adays you can watch a regular TV show on primetime television and hear a variety and plethora of four letter words.

 

Myself? Do I swear? All the f*cking time. I don't swear because I'm desensitized towards peoples feelings, or that I am rude, I swear, because it's a part of the culture I'm in. Specifically the military culture. We all swear copious amounts. For some reason, trying to get your point across using adjectives other than f*cking just doesn't work. For instance, tell private joe snuffy to clean his room, he would be like yea, pfft. As opposed to, PRIVATE, CLEAN YOUR F*CKING ROOM NOW! That gets the sense of urgency and the fact that you will not put up with his bs. I know the modern day military is trying to shift away from the profanity, but it's just never going to work out, as there are still too many of us left over from the wars before the hearts and minds military came out. 

 

Do I notice when someone swears around me? Quite contrary, I notice if someone isn't swearing around me, and usually again, due to the military culture we make fun of them. Poke prod and joke. But if you guys think I have a foul mouth, head on towards your nearest Army or Marine Corps base and go visit any infantry company, and see some professional guidance from their First Sergeant. He'll really, really impress you with his vocabulary. Usually consists of 27 F words to three to four non swear words. 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,529]

I do curse somewhat often, mainly because it is all down to context, like any word ever. It's just another form of expression. Anything could be a curse, in fact there are words that were not curses before and are now, such as ass. What if I am talking about a donkey? It's all context. I am not offended by swearing, unless someone is using it to attack me verbally, but at that point, it's the attack that I am offended by, not solely the swear words.

 

Often I feel like this society has grossly over dramatized swear words, treating them like you just punched someone in the face. They are just words, it's all about how you use them and how you interpret them.

[1Bit 1,531]

Swearing is an iffy one. It really shouldn't be acceptable in most situations although it's become ridiculously common in today's society 

[Codelyy 1,286]

I think cursing is bad since they are known as "Bad words" meaning you shouldn't say them but so many people use them every single day i still don't know why they are known as "Bad words". Such as school, I rarely go through school without hearing more then two people curse and cursing on TV and even my parents so i think they are bad but they shouldn't be by now.

 

As for me i rarely ever curse/swear since i have no need to when i can use other words that don't make me feel bad after i say them.

[IcyHaze 593]

This sounds a bit stupid to me, but that's probably because I'm irish. I think excessive vulgarity is a trait we share with Australians - probably because a lot of Irish descendants are there.

 

Nobody bats an eyelid if you swear...swearing is used in literally every second sentence.

I've even used it when I'm trying to think of something or someplace and can't quite get it out.

"Have you ever been to..ehh...fuckin'...The Bailey! It's some cool place..."

 

They're used to a great extent as emphasis.

I've even heard lecturers use them in college.

 

Random Fact: Mythbusters have proven that saying swear words can help increase tolerance to pain.

Edited May 11, 2015 by IcyHaze

[Honsou 399]

Swearing is most commonly used as a place holder honestly, like hey man, let's go to the effing, uhh, effing, bar.

[ZaccMDL 9]

swearing is just adjectives to decribe somthing bad good or exciting but that is like saying purple is soooo bad

[PonyTonite 30]

Questions for discussion:

Does swearing some something about you? Positive or negative?

 

I have no idea that you're asking, so I'll pretend like the first part of your sentance doesn't exist.

 

What's important to understand about spoken language is context and inflection. Conxtext will reveal to you whether or not the situation in which words are being used is supposed to be serious, humourus, or somewhere inbetween, and inflection will inform you of another persons emotioanl expression of words. I could yell to my friend FUCK YOU with a smile while pointing and laughing, but I could also yell to him "IDIOT" and be extremely pissed off and angry. Obviously in this situation, the non swear word appears more serious, while the swear word is more inviting and vulnerable. I find swear words give nice emphasis to phrases when trying to convey certain emotions to others, thus I tend swear very often.

 

Is cussing a serious matter?

Depends on what you might call a serious matter, people vale things differently. To me no, I swear all of the time, I don't consider the use of words when guaging whether or not a matter is serious, but how words are said and used.

 

Do you take steps to avoid cussing, or do you actively (or occasionally) swear, yourself?

Depends, if I'm in a situation that would require me to be more politically correct, like at work, and I did not want to get fired, I'll avoid swearing within the confounds of that situation. Otherwise, I could care less.

 

Do you notice when someone cusses around you? Does it bother you, or are you desensitized?

Swear words themselves never bother me.

 

Do you think the bible says anything about cussing?

I woulden't care what the Bible has to say.

 

Edited May 11, 2015 by PonyTonite

[The Awesome One 1,314]

Swearing is not a sign of maturity. If you swear frequently then you are just a foulmouthed person. Occasional swearing is alright I guess. Just have to keep it down a few notches when there are kids nearby.

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

I don't think swearing is bad if it's not used a lot, if you only swear occasionally it's not bad, but swearing in front of the kids or swearing all the time is bad and just shows you're a foul mouth. Basically what The Awesome One said lol.

[SquipyCheetah 449]

I will be honest when I say that I pretty much curse every single day, mostly without thinking about it. What with my school and those I hang out with have caused it only to intensify over time but I do control it around my family and what not and I normally curse when I want to express my negative emotions. I don't think cursing is bad, I think it's simply a way to relieve your anger.

[The Diver 760]

Cursing is something I've gotten used to and I use a lot at work and with friends. I've been cursed at by my own instructors in school (which is good and bad), every other word at work is cursing, and curse words are even common during my job interviews. It really depends on the people around you and the environment I guess.

[~Chaos~ 3,967]

I don't curse, even if I wanted to it just doesn't come out. In my head is a whole other story though, haha.

 

I'm fine with it as long as it's not in every sentence.

[Taviscratch 453]

I don't give a flying fuck about any cunting swearing as there's literally no wanking reason why I should care about any shitting cursing.

[Snow Frostflame 3,567]

I don't think swearing is bad.... especially when you look at the meaning of the word.... they're only seen as taboo because that is how we have been raised to see them as.... or at least most of us

 

I don't swear often.... only when I'm pissed or trying to be funny..... I don't care for other people swearing.... unless they're that idiot who uses every swear in every sentence they say.... though I'm not one for correcting others

 

saying vulgar words doesn't make one mature nor immature....

[KatonRyu 1,027]

Does swearing some something about you? Positive or negative?

It might if you do it compulsively, like I used to. Then I'd say it shows immaturity, a misguided attempt to be cool, or simply badly handled frustration.

 

Is cussing a serious matter?

I don't think so, no. This is only my opinion, but I have very little patience for people who can't take it if someone swears. That says a lot about me, I admit.

 

Do you take steps to avoid cussing, or do you actively (or occasionally) swear, yourself?

I do it way less than I used to, but I still swear a lot, and easily. There's only one curse I avoid these days, and even that one I'll utter if I'm angry enough. I tend to swear a lot in traffic, to the great annoyance of my girlfriend.

 

Do you notice when someone cusses around you? Does it bother you, or are you desensitized?

I notice, but I don't care. Only when people either use 'kanker' a lot (the one word I myself avoid) or when they're too much of a pussy to say it and use 'tantoe' instead do I care, and even then it's only mild annoyance.

 

Do you think the bible says anything about cussing?

It says not to take God's name in vain, does it not? Personally, I don't care about that since I don't believe in any deities to begin with, but I could imagine there's other things in the Bible that admonish against it. Anyway, according to the Bible I'll burn in hell for a lot of things, so if it happens to be true my foul mouth will be the least of my problems.

[honk friend 1,972]

I will never understand the whole "swearing is immature" thing. I mean, profanity is like half my active vocabulary and I don't THINK I'm immature.

[A Black Circle 1,585]

For the record, "shit" is not a bad or immoral word. It doesn't mean anything offensive, it's just perceived as such because it was often used by the lower classes.

[Shanks 10,811]

For the record, "shit" is not a bad or immoral word. It doesn't mean anything offensive, it's just perceived as such because it was often used by the lower classes.

The Romans perceived words like shit as obscene partly due to that, ancient Israelites and midevil Europeans on the other hand didn't see words like shit as being "obscene" but saw them as more a way to be direct and to the point. There was this popular play based on the biblical account of Noah's Ark during the middle ages and in it there is this line where Noah tells his wife to shut up and compares her to "ram's diarrhea". Words like shit started to be considered obscene in Europe during the Renaissance because there was a concern that certain words could lead to "improper" thoughts which would lead people to "sin". This at first extended to the context of these certain words but later extended to the words themselves. This was also partly due to an increased concern about things like basic sanitation and victorian sensibilities about being "proper" which lead to some rather interesting euphemisms for "improper" words some of which are still widely used today.

[A Black Circle 1,585]

The Romans perceived words like shit as obscene partly due to that, ancient Israelites and midevil Europeans on the other hand didn't see words like shit as being "obscene" but saw them as more a way to be direct and to the point. There was this popular play based on the biblical account of Noah's Ark during the middle ages and in it there is this line where Noah tells his wife to shut up and compares her to "ram's diarrhea". Words like shit started to be considered obscene in Europe during the Renaissance because there was a concern that certain words could lead to "improper" thoughts which would lead people to "sin". This at first extended to the context of these certain words but later extended to the words themselves. This was also partly due to an increased concern about things like basic sanitation and victorian sensibilities about being "proper" which lead to some rather interesting euphemisms for "improper" words some of which are still widely used today.

I thought it came from lower-class german immigrants. THE MORE YOU KNOOOW

[Shanks 10,811]

I thought it came from lower-class german immigrants. THE MORE YOU KNOOOW

A lot of profanity that is commonly used in English does come from proto German words this is in part due to the fact that English is a Germanic language which came from the Anglo and Saxon tribes which invaded England after the Roman empire fell and conquered a Celtic people called the Britons who were living there at the time. Because of that some Celtic words were in Old English as well though Latin, French and other foreign words came later due to the wide use of Latin and French as legal and religious/liturgical languages the combination of which formed the basis of "middle" or Shakespearian English as most people know it as. The word shit comes from the word "skite" for example.

[A Black Circle 1,585]

A lot of profanity that is commonly used in English does come from proto German words this is in part due to the fact that English is a Germanic language which came from the Anglo and Saxon tribes which invaded England after the Roman empire fell and conquered a Celtic people called the Britons who were living there at the time. Because of that some Celtic words were in Old English as well though Latin, French and other foreign words came later due to the wide use of Latin and French as legal and religious/liturgical languages the combination of which formed the basis of "middle" or Shakespearian English as most people know it as. The word shit comes from the word "skite" for example.

Are you a linguist or something?

 

That'd probably be on my Top 5 Things to do in College if I Went to College.

 

I always thought everything stemmed from latin.

[Shanks 10,811]

I always thought everything stemmed from latin.

Quite a lot does like many of the "proper" terms for certain body parts like penis, vagina and clitoris for example come from Latin as well as various other medical terms. Ironically the "proper" sexual terms we take from Latin actually come from words that the Romans viewed as obscene though they had their own "proper" equivalents as well. I am not a linguist of any sort but am very interested in language, am a history major and watch a lot of documentaries and as I have stated in previous posts in this thread I am reading a book on the history of profanity called Holy Shit that goes into the origins of a lot of these words.

[Winterbass 763]

I regularly in private depending on the subject. For example, no one can tell me what to do in my apartment. And if you don't like that, you don't need to talk to me. I cuss to my friends and they do it as well, they don't have any problem with it and neither do I, unless someone does it all the time. You can tell me to try to cuss less, and I respect that and I will. But I won't stop it entirely. In public, in meetings and during work you can expect me to behave normally and talk like a normal person without all the foul words. But in private? Again, I'll do and say whatever the fuck I want, as long as I don't hurt anyone with it, I see no reason to stop any of my behavior. Maybe for you that fact makes me an obnoxious person, but I don't want to and will not change who I am just for a few people that don't like me. Chances are I'll just find them just as obnoxious as they find me anyway.

 

Cussing doesn't make you any more or less intelligent than the other. I know a person who's a businessman who earns more money in a month than my parents do in a year and he's a cussing machine, but also incredibly intelligent and an amazing person to talk to. I also know people who are not that intelligent, but very nice and polite. It doesn't mean anything. Words are just words and they don't determine how smart you are, or how stupid you are. You are who you are, and that's all to it. Comparing cussing to intelligence is the same as saying people who smoke are dumb. Or people who read comics are dumb and immature. It makes no sense and it's by no means a statistic or indication on how intelligent someone is.

 

As for the questions, even if some have been answered already, here are my answers. Consider it a kind of tl;dr alternative.

 

 

 

 

Does swearing some something about you? Positive or negative?

 

No, it doesn't at all. I just cuss and that's it.

 

Is cussing a serious matter?

 

Depending on the context, it can be. Don't do it when you're just going to make things worse while you shouldn't make it worse.

 

Do you take steps to avoid cussing, or do you actively (or occasionally) swear, yourself?

 

Not at all, I cuss when I want to and when I feel I can.

 

Do you notice when someone cusses around you? Does it bother you, or are you desensitized?

 

It doesn't matter whether someone cusses or not. If you're being a nuisance in public you should just go home and stop bothering people. Cussing doesn't bother me at all.

 

Do you think the bible says anything about cussing?

 

Probably the Bible is a big book and I don't remember every passage and story in the book.

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2015 by Winterbass