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I believe it was Roseanne Barr who said that she liked the F word because it could be used as a noun, verb, adjective and interjection. The other parts of speech are pronoun (I guess we can only say "they" now), adverb (I'm surprised that no one has as yet come up with F-ingly!), preposition (directional words such as "to" and "from") and conjunction (such as "and").
When I lived in my somewhat cruddy apartment I could hear the neighbors yelling at each other. Every sentence had the F word in one of the above forms. It was a substitution for half of the dictionary. I've joked that I never knew if they were yelling at each other about whose turn it was to take out the garbage, whose turn it was to pay the rent, or whose turn it was to murder someone. It was almost as if they were screaming in code!
Back in the old days in college (early 1980s) I read a short story about a man who cursed all the time about the littlest things. At the end of the story, when something truly awful happened to him--all the fingers of his hand were cut off by farm machinery--he no longer had any extreme curse words to express how scared he was and how much pain he was experiencing. He ended up saying, "Aw, the dickens."
That joke predates Barr by a long time.
Avoiding all the silly attempts to draw politics into this - you know who you are, and I know how to put you on ignore - people rarely hear me swear. HOWEVER, I swear daily (and loudly) at my computer and the idiotic antics that it does, based upon the programming done by programmers who should be lined up in a firing line and executed whenever a mouse "accidently" double clicks or brings up an advertisement because of their mechanations.
Here in rural Wisconsin, I can't remember anyone besides my husband using a cuss word in front of me in the two years we have lived here!
(Yes, really . I am not saying that NO ONE here cusses, but just that I have not heard anyone do so. And to repeat -- yes, really. And come to think of it, cussing was rare in rural Maine, too. I would say that maybe they are just holding back to offend this sweet old lady -- -- but when I lived in Denver, it seemed that very few people were inhibited from using very vulgar language in front of me.)
When I hear someone cursing, I go in the opposite direction and throw out words like eunoia, redamancy, querencia, psithurism and novaturient.
That is my way of showing them how to be edgy.
Got a 770 on the verbal section of the SAT, go to the bookstore 6 days out of 7, and not only do I not know what any of those five words mean, I've never even heard of any of them. I actually though you'd invented them before Google confirmed their existence
Has it become more widespread? I don't see it in my circle. Now you will hear it more in public than you did before Archie Bunker, but its not everyone.
Now, whenever a Democratic politician gives a talk, they seem to feel the need to use the f word. I couldn't believe Hillary was using it and G__ D___ in that prime time debate with Sanders. Do they think they are appealing to young people? Of course, I also remember a written interview with Republican House Speaker Boehner, where he had trouble thinking of words with more than 4 letters.
I still don't think that type of language is accepted in corporate America. It is an unusual person who talks that way in the workplace.
I don't recall Hillary dropping any F bombs during debates, and I watched most (if not all) of them during the 2016 election cycle. Google has nothing on that either. More than that, I'd have a hard time envisioning her doing so, at least on a debate stage. I've read that Bernie is pretty profane in his private life, which I don't have a difficult time imagining.
It seems like almost everyone (a lot that I see or overhear in person) has incorporated cursing into their regular vocabulary. Cursing was kinda naughty and cool to me when I was around the guys in say middle school, but theirs something about it that makes me cringe when I see so many people including adults doing it regularly. F this…F that…S…MF…blah blah blah. As a guy I was never a fan of women who proudly proclaimed to have a potty mouth. I never thought it was cute, edgy, counterculture or anything like that.
Is it part of something larger like a general dumbing down of society? We’ve lost some of our ability or will to communicate to we use profanity to make our points? Shortened attention span maybe?
Well, i have never understood how a certain group of words have been deemed "bad" and unliked by society. Words are only letters grouped together to form sounds to convey context.
Why is "dam*" bad, but "dang" ok?
Why is "sh*t bad, but "poop" ok?
They mean the exact same thing, but for some reason I cannot explain, culture has decided one one, but not the other, is bad.
On the surface it seems kind of silly. Picking out words to be taboo was certainly the world's first exercise in political correctness.
However, somewhere along the way the words we commonly associate as "curse words" got associated with negative or violent emotional states. "Dang" and "poop" don't have those threatening emotional undertones.
But as far as usage I'd assume that much of it is as much a rebellion against polite society as anything else.
I think the "limited vocabulary" theory is just another example of the snobbery of polite society.
Avoiding all the silly attempts to draw politics into this - you know who you are, and I know how to put you on ignore - people rarely hear me swear. HOWEVER, I swear daily (and loudly) at my computer and the idiotic antics that it does, based upon the programming done by programmers who should be lined up in a firing line and executed whenever a mouse "accidently" double clicks or brings up an advertisement because of their mechanations.
As I made the point that people in both parties were doing it, it was a sign that the political class was disgusting. Its you who is trying to make it political.
Psychologically speaking there is much to be said for the words people choose. I'm not sure whether swear words are causative or indicative of low mood states. I guess it depends on whether you are on the delivering or receiving end of them. LOL.
We all know how easy it is to blurt when you've hit your finger with a hammer or had your feelings hurt. It nearly seems the occasion calls for some verbal release.
But I think someone who uses profanity as habit is experiencing more anger/discouragement/depression than average. Elevating language may be an aid to elevating mood.
It seems like almost everyone (a lot that I see or overhear in person) has incorporated cursing into their regular vocabulary.
I think you answered your own question i.e. it is a regular/mostly acceptable part of our ‘drop-the-formality’ culture in the same way casual clothing has taken over many professional environments and high-end restaurants or clubs. That said, I’m in my forties; and I’m not so certain I notice that much of a difference i.e. most curb their swearing on dates or in a professional environment. Most swear, at least occasionally, as well - particularly relative to frustration, scorn or whatever. I’d be turned off by a woman who swore often, but probably likewise if she never did. Heh, I wouldn’t want to be with a truck driver or a nun.
Originally Posted by modest
Because cursing can actually be good for your health.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikala43
Then I am SO healthy!!!!
I bet you're a big hit at parties.
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-- but when I lived in Denver, it seemed that very few people were inhibited from using very vulgar language in front of me.)
