Poll: Swear Words. (may offend)

[Gelp]

I know there is a thread similar to this already, but having already noticed the same things I was planning on making a discussion about it since yesterday, based on a debate in philosophy class.

...So, as my philosophy teacher so eloquently said to us in class: "I want to talk about 'shit and fuck'."

Basically, he was asking us (as I am asking you), what we thought about swear words.
Why are they taken so seriously, when most of them have harmless meanings.
Should they be considered a one way ticket to having a sore ass, or to being b& or punished?
It's already well known that some words we use as normal words today were once considered words of extreme offense, or taboo in the ye olden days.

My personal response to this whole topic was that I don't think swearing should be a punishable offense unless of course you're using it as a means of personal attack.
Words to me are just a series of noises made that have a harsh, sharp edge sound to them.
I don't think people should overuse swear words not because it desensitizes people to them, but normally it just sounds stupid.
Some people, like me, can pull off swearing a lot though, because it just compliments my overly mellow and seemingly 'high' personality, and it sounds funny because I use it well.

I think swearings true effect is in the tone rather than the word. Cause I find in the case of swear words that they can produce two very different effects just based on tone and situation.

So here are some questions for discussion:

Are we maybe due for a new set of swear words?
If you could invent a future swear word, what would it be, and what would it mean?
Are there any swear words that truly offend you, or that you take seriously? Why or why not?

[I know you might say "jesus common sense solves it all!" But in Philosophy we pretend common sense doesn't exist in cases like these (or at all) : (, so just boil it down to it's foundation and see what you find.]

I'm genuinely curious about what you have to say.
So discuss!

(topic is not restricted to forums, but any real life situation. Like when is swearing inappropriate?)

 

[flare09]

My English teacher last year, I'm a sophomore in high school this year, said that swear words are used to flavor up conversations. He also said don't use them too much, because it then becomes senseless dribble.

This has since become my excuse for swearing. Even though I did it quite a bit before he told us this. But I kind of cut down on it.

 

[PureChaos]

it depends when the word is used. i don't swear very much but i do when it's appropriate.

 

[Gelp]

Did anyone else who watched tourettes guy find that the name bob saget has since sounded like a swear word?

I think a future swear word should be Bob Saget.

 

[Hippobatman]

Well, I believe swearing is an effective way to express strong feelings and to blow off some steam. I may swear in privacy if something were to anger me in any way, although I'm a fairly patient guy. I don't swear much in public, unless I'm just around close friends. When around people of authority (parents, teachers etc) I watch my mouth, because it's just the way to go. I'd have to be very furious to raise my voice against my teacher.

SO I've picked moderation. Shouldn't overuse them... Watch the South Park episode and you'll know.

 

[Gelp]

Haha, yeah I saw that

 

[UncleAsriel]

Freedom of expression is the greatest gift of a free and democratic society; given that the majority of the Escapist's forum populace lives in liberal democracies, it is only fitting that such a right be maintained. However, such societies are based on the concept that humans have an innate capacity for reason and rational choice (I'm talkiing to you, Johns Locke and Stuart-Mill!) and are able to exercise these capacities throughout their lives upon reaching adulthood. Thus the ability to freely express whatever one chooses is to be mediated by an ethic of reciprocity which seeks to avoid inflicting undue harm (physical and psychological) on others. An stable equilibrium between respect for others' freedom to refrain from profanity as well as one's own right to generate it results in an optimal social environment.

In short: say whatever the fuck you want, just be nice about it!

 

[Gelp]

Well said!

 

[not a zaar]

Personally I haven't found swear words to be a big deal since my balls dropped, but there are times when you shouldn't use them (like in a job interview.)

 

[RobinHood3000]

I like using the English language too much to say that swearing is unilaterally bad, and lately I've come to the conclusion that because they're just words and only have as much impact as they're given, they should be considered harmless in and of themselves, and it's their improper usage that should be stamped out of existence.

That being said, from the standpoint of using words to composite together well-formed thoughts, it's also my opinion that swear words should be used if (and only if) they are the best choice for conveying the requisite thought. "For ruining my favorite franchise, such-and-such director is an ass" would be acceptable, while "please pass the fucking noodles" would not be acceptable unless you're dying of hunger (and creates a rather unseemly image in my head).

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Yes, I have no problem with it, until it hits my level of 'excessive' for instance being on the bus and a mother and son having an exchange like 'Will you fucking STOP doing that?' 'oh for fucks sake, why? 'cos I fucking said so you little shit!'

It's truly charming and without wishing to stereotype makes me make decisions about what type of people they are.

If you're among friends, and telling jokes, or its gaming banter, fine, if you're in a public place and just shouting FUCK a lot because somewhere in your education you got it confused with punctuation, then its not fine.

To me, swearing is used for emphasis, and as such, overuse of it makes you look like a circus clown honking his horn repeatedly , desperate for attention.

 

[perfectimo]

I rarely use swear words in my everyday life and if I do use them then they would tally up to around 5 swears a week. I don't use them because I learned proper English and not using it seems weird. Those word don't have meaning to me, which is why when somebody swears at me I don't care and when somebody gets offended I get confused.

EDIT: I rarely use those words out loud. The F word is my second word of choice for pain, second only to 'ouch'.

 

[Gelp]

Those word don't have meaning to me, which is why when somebody swears at me I don't care and when somebody gets offended I get confused.

Yeah that's how I am too,
Even if they were sincerely swearing at me all I can ever see them as is words.
I used to never swear when I was young, actually up until grade 10 I never really swore, then I started on my road to realizing just about everyone is irrational and ridiculous, which goes against my nature and I stopped caring about anything I was brought up to, and also let go of religion.
I was brought up to care about stupid things like language and no sex before marriage, Pah!

 

[curlycrouton]

I'm not a fan of swearing, and I consider it a linguistic restraint. I'll accept it being used when someone's very, very angry, but otherwise my respect for anyone who swears drops when I hear them swear.

The only time I consider swearing neccessary is for artistic portrayal, for example in films to illustrate the type of character we're dealing with, or in art to challenge a perception, or when it's funny (admittedly quite a lot) but in casual conversation it just makes you sound unintelligent.

 

[perfectimo]

Yeah that's how I am too,
Even if they were sincerely swearing at me all I can ever see them as is words.
I used to never swear when I was young, actually up until grade 10 I never really swore, then I started on my road to realizing just about everyone is irrational and ridiculous, which goes against my nature and I stopped caring about anything I was brought up to, and also let go of religion.
I was brought up to care about stupid things like language and no sex before marriage, Pah!

I wasn't brought up to avoid swear words, I trained myself by reading over our dictionary whenever I read something I didn't understand and other time I would just flip pages and read any definition on the page. I would also read over my sisters English books for school. She is three years older than me and I was doing this when she was in grade two.

Language isn't stupid, stupid is a word in our language.

EDIT: Forgot the quote.

 

[kommando367]

i use them in moderation most of the time, only in rapid succession when i just injured myself. but really i don't see what the difference between swear words and standard english words

 

[honeymonster]

Swearing is one of those things that if you over use it kinda loses it meaning and its bluntness use seldomly it can be a much more effective word.

 

[The Kind Cannibal]

I almost never swear, but it's mostly because I don't talk very much. When I do swear it's usually taken as a sign that something dead serious has happened.

 

[RobinHood3000]

I forget to mention earlier, I'm also a fan of non-swear swears. I use "BUGGER!" a lot when I'm playing video games, because it spreads out the vitriol over more syllables and because I'm waiting for someone on XBOX Live to mistake me for a player in the UK. Also, because I'm obsessed with Firefly, I'll also use "gorram" with considerable frequency.

Then again, I live in the metropolitan vicinity of Boston, and apparently there, the word "fuck" serves much as a bridge between thoughts.

 

[Arsen]

I curse like a British hunter in Africa.