SWEARS 8D

[Gwazi Magnum]

THERE ARE LOTS OF SWEARS IN THIS THREAD.
​

You were warned.

When my brother came back from Quebec, we asked him if he learned any French, and he responded that he learned "five words and they [were] all swears!"

What was funny though, was that he noticed a lot of the swears in French are based off of religious things; like Tabernac (which comes from Tabernacle/Temple). Whereas in English our swears are mostly based off of sexuality and body parts. And then @Gwazi Magnum shared this:

And, well, now I wanna talk about the themes of swears in different cultures, goddamnit! (and hey, if you're from a non-English majority culture, tell us about your swears! maybe we can get some inspiration off of it.)


Let's discuss the use of swears in English. The things we widely consider vulgar or horrible enough that just referring to them is offensive include: Graphic sexuality (Fuck!) and the genetalia associated with it (Dick.), dirty things (shit!), religious slander/blasphemy (Goddamnit), and racism (ie: the n-word).

Some swears seem to be considered worse than others: for sexuality things, the more graphic or deviant the thing you refer to is, the more offensive it seems to be. "Fucker" isn't as bad as "mother fucker", and "ass" isn't as bad as "asshole" for example. But most swears seem kind of arbitrary; "crap" and "shit" refer to the same thing, and are used in the same context pretty equally, but "crap" is less offensive than "shit". How offensive religious swears are depends on how religious the person you're swearing at/near is. there's also a distinction between just swearing, and swearing AT someone. "oh fuck!" is almost never as bad as "fuck you". Close friends who trust each other that the swears are insincere may swear comfortably at each other in jest though. But again, this varies. For example, swearing at or in the vicinity of children, the elderly, authority figures, or one's parents is almost always offensive no matter what the swear; same goes for swearing in a church or fancy/upper class setting. Even among peers swears may be more or less offensive depending on how the person was raised, their religion, their attitude toward sex, their racial heritage, et cetera. Sometimes swears are excusable if they're spoken in jest or as a means of venting frustration/pain (like when you hit your thumb with a hammer). But this widely varies. On the subject of how swears are used though, swears are essential to a really mean insult ("Big meanie" vs "goddamn asshole"), and are often used simply to add shock value or emphasis to a description "A disaster" vs "A clusterfuck" "I'm really angry" vs "I'm really fucking angry". Swearing is also associated with adulthood, because of the taboo of swearing at/near children resulting in teaching children that swearing is bad/repulsive (which ironically is what makes them want to swear later on)

Second Disclaimer​

There's racial and sexuality terms used as well being used in clinical/reference terminology, so it's not just swearing.

(ie: the n-word).​

Really? XD

What subjects are typically the origin of swears?

Basically the same as you described above, they take vulgar, racist or religious backgrounds.
Though within my family specifically there also seems to be a phobia of the word "Bugger" for which even after 20 years I cannot understand what makes it bad.
Just that my Mom has a huge disliking of the word to which I'm assuming it's probably a case of "She hates it cause she was raised/told to, and simply didn't question the reasoning".

What makes some swears worse than others?

Swears directed at other people tends to be received worse than general swears.

Though word's like "Fuck" and "Bitch/Bastard" tend to be the big three.
Technically Nigger is even worse, but I rarely find a use for the word so I almost never use it except when out right referencing the word.

With/at who/what is it more okay to swear?

There was a time in my backyard I accidently stepped in dogs shit, to which my natural reaction was to basically pace around the backyard wiping the shit off on the grass while yelling "Shit! Shit! Shit!".
To which my Mom's gut reaction was "Anthony how could you!?" but my Grandma actually stepped in and defended me cause she realized it was a natural response to literally stepping in shit.

But other in cases like that where the definition of the word doesn't fit the situation rather well? It's generally not well received except with friends.
I say generally because I'm a natural swearer IRL where I do it all the time unconsciously (have to be really careful when at ECE placements).
So although my Mom used to really hate me swearing, I ended up doing it enough just instinctively that she's basically be desensitized to it and I will occasionally hear her swearing casually as well now.

Parent-rearing for the win!

With/at what/who is swearing never or almost never acceptable?

Generally the only area's it tends to get much negative attention today is when little children are nearby or when with extended family.

Children because of the whole "Children are innocent butterfly's! Don't hurt them!" mentality *barf*.
Extended family because they haven't had to stay in the same home as me and adapt like my immediate family has.
Plus you got grandparents entering the picture which adds another generation gap into the picture.

How taboo is swearing in general?

It varies so much place to place that to give a flat out average would seriously blur almost all the situations.

There are some area's where swearing is completely fine, there are others where people see it as the highest form of disrespect.

Does age or gender factor into how okay it is for a person to swear?

Yea, swearing is definitely easier to pull of today than when I was kid.

Swearing as a kid = 2 weeks grounding
Swearing now = Maybe an eye-roll and a groan from my Mom.

And Gender? I'm assuming so.

Reason being swearing has generally been more ill-received from women than from men for me.

Some swear examples!:

Fuck, Shit, Hell, Asshole, Cunt, Dick, Damn, Bugger, Bitch, Bastard.

And since Nigger apparently counts I'm assuming words like Fag counts also.

Other:

If a Mod comes in here and start's handing out bans/warnings for inappropriate language I'm gonna laugh like crazy. :P

Bonus challenge: Write a swear-y conversation from a fictional culture whose swears are different from yours!

Gwazi wonder's into the chatroom. He looks around and see's everyone getting offended over trivial matters, he shakes his head and goes "G'tarki coont katar!".

Also:

 

[Minibit]

Really? XD

Basically the same as you described above, they take vulgar, racist or religious backgrounds.
Though within my family specifically there also seems to be a phobia of the word "Bugger" for which even after 20 years I cannot understand what makes it bad.
Just that my Mom has a huge disliking of the word to which I'm assuming it's probably a case of "She hates it cause she was raised/told to, and simply didn't question the reasoning".

Swears directed at other people tends to be received worse than general swears.

Though word's like "Fuck" and "Bitch/Bastard" tend to be the big three.
Technically Nigger is even worse, but I rarely find a use for the word so I almost never use it except when out right referencing the word.

There was a time in my backyard I accidently stepped in dogs shit, to which my natural reaction was to basically pace around the backyard wiping the shit off on the grass while yelling "Shit! Shit! Shit!".
To which my Mom's gut reaction was "Anthony how could you!?" but my Grandma actually stepped in and defended me cause she realized it was a natural response to literally stepping in shit.

But other in cases like that where the definition of the word fits the situation rather well? It's generally not well received except with friends.
I say generally because I'm a natural swearer IRL where I do it all the time unconsciously (have to be really careful when at ECE placements).
So although my Mom used to really hate me swearing, I ended up doing it enough just instinctively that she's basically be desensitized to it and I will occasionally hear her swearing casually as well now.

Parent-rearing for the win!

Generally the only area's it needs to get much negative attention today is when little children are nearby or when with extended family.

Children because of the whole "Children are innocent butterfly's! Don't hurt them!" mentality *barf*.
Extended family because they haven't had to stay in the same home as me and adapt like my immediate family has.
Plus you got grandparents entering the picture which adds another generation gap into the picture.

It varies so much place to place that to give a flat out average would seriously blur almost all the situations.

There are some area's where swearing is completely fine, there are others where people see it as the highest form of disrespect.

Yea, swearing is definitely easier to pull of today than when I was kid.

Swearing as a kid = 2 weeks grounding
Swearing now = Maybe an eye-roll and a groan from my Mom.

And Gender? I'm assuming so.

Reason being swearing has generally been more ill-received from women than from men for me.

Fuck, Shit, Hell, Asshole, Cunt, Dick, Damn, Bugger, Bitch, Bastard.

And since Nigger apparently counts I'm assuming words like Fag counts also.

If a Mod comes in here and start's handing out bans/warnings for inappropriate language I'm gonna laugh like crazy. :P

Gwazi wonder's into the chatroom. He looks around and see's everyone getting offended over trivial matters, he shakes his head and goes "G'tarki coont katar!".

Also:

PSSST - while I'd be very happy to continue a discussion of English swears in General, this is a Worldbuilding workshop for creating a system of swears for you own, original, fictional setting! Would you like me to move this post to a new General thread, or edit it?

And yeah, really. I'm a regular pottymouth but racial slurs are ones I'm not comfortable hearing, saying, or typing

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

*Looks up*

Oh... Oops. :/

That's what I get for being tagged and just assuming this was still General Chat.
So yes please. XD

 

[Diana]

SWEAR WORDS YOU SAY?

MY FAVORITE IS -FUCK-.

Fuck is such a simple, wonderful curse word.

Actually, I like shit and dick too. >>

 

[Minibit]

Well since we're discussing swears in general now~

@Gwazi Magnum while the subject of racial slurs is up, Iwaku is very lax about freedom of speech; we don't' believe in censorship and love freedom of expression, we do NOT love hate speech or promoting hate

So if in your discussion you find it absolutely fucking necessary to say a racial slur or other hate speech associated term, make sure it's treated clinically in discussion and only as strictly necessary. There is a disclaimer about swear content, and it's obvious in the title that there's gonna be foul language here, but a lot of people consider slurs to be in a whole other bracket from regular swears, and yeah, we don't want to open old scars or make people feel hated by using these words carelessly; it may be just me but I feel like slurs need extra special care in their use.

 

[Halo]

My roommate is trilingual and several of my friends are bilingual, and I actually had a discussion about swearing with two of them just yesterday. They both said they swear way more in English than in their mother tongues, and my Portuguese friend said that in Portugal swearing in English is (for some reason) considered less offensive than swearing in Portuguese. I'm putting it down to how utterly brutal and satisfying our profanities are - we tend to go for harsh monosyllabic sounds that just feel so cathartic when we say them.

FUCK. SHIT. CUNT. GOD DAMN IT. DICKS. Uuuggghhh it's so therapeutic.

 

[Hana]

I sometimes slip up and find myself using 'damn', 'shit', and 'fuck' more than I should.

You could almost draw a line graph of my rising vocabulary starting from my junior year in highschool. I started out a bit late so my classmates were shocked that I was even capable of swearing. It was really great. One did a spit take.

Though 'clusterfuck' seems like a fun swear lol

I don't know what I'm talking about

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

@Gwazi Magnum while the subject of racial slurs is up, Iwaku is very lax about freedom of speech; we don't' believe in censorship and love freedom of expression, we do NOT love hate speech or promoting hate

So if in your discussion you find it absolutely fucking necessary to say a racial slur or other hate speech associated term, make sure it's treated clinically in discussion and only as strictly necessary. There is a disclaimer about swear content, and it's obvious in the title that there's gonna be foul language here, but a lot of people consider slurs to be in a whole other bracket from regular swears, and yeah, we don't want to open old scars or make people feel hated by using these words carelessly; it may be just me but I feel like slurs need extra special care in their use.

So basically only use them when being referenced, not in typical conversation?

 

[Pachamac]

Sod. Bollocks. Prick. Wanker. Tosser.

British swears are best swears.

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

Surprisingly, I say fuck quite a bit. Everyone in my house knows when the F-bombs start dropping it's time to find places to hide.

Most of my cussing is done in the car though. I think I've created more creative ways to cuss someone out by having them go 5 miles under the speed limit in front of me than any other point in time. The other day I had some idiot turn his blinker on literally as he was turning....I think I called him a douche fucker cockless dickface....don't ask. My kids thought it was funny though. They've kind of learned to tune me out when I'm driving, although they still giggle when they see me flip someone off.

 

[Brovo]

Fuck is such a simple, wonderful curse word.

 

[Jorick]

I curse alllllll the time. My natural mode of speech includes liberal use of profanity, so I have to make a conscious effort to not do that when I'm at work and such.

Fuck is a pretty great one. It's both extremely satisfying as an exclamation and highly versatile for everyday use.

I'm also like cunt (hurrhurr) because it's another one of those heavy hitters. Lots of people get mad about it because "omg gendered slur" but fuck those cunts, I say what I want. I call people dicks and assholes, so I'll damn well call them cunts when they're being a cunt. I use it in the Australian style, where it's basically a step up from calling someone an asshole.

Another thing I enjoy is throwing together nonsense insults, like fuckbucket or shitwaffle. It's stupid, but it amuses me.

Basically, fuck yeah swearing.

 

[Novis]

-Clears throat-

Well. Fuckity, fuck, fuck!

It's really a thing. :P

 

[norevenge]

i prefer to use cockny rhyming slang
merchant banker=Wanker
Jeremy Hunt= Cunt
and also General swear words ect
Bus Wanker
Shitpot
Cuntwank
Fucking Tosser
shit faced cock master

 

[Oblivion666]

I've been told I swear too much...... Fucking dicks.

 

[Freamon]

Fuck! Is my favourite swear. You can have entire conversations with that bitch. Like so:

Swearing was always very liberal in my house, at least for my parents. As a young boy I'd get a bit of a slap for swearing and grounded for however many hours/minutes it'd take for me to sneak out and my parents to forget about it. Quite a funny memory of me being about six or seven and being chased by some neighbourhood kids, I sprinted to my house, banged on my door and as soon as it opened I go "They're fucking chasing me!" Hahaha, the memory of my dads face alone is worth whatever punishment I got. Since I was about eleven I haven't been chastised for it. Blasphemy is a whole other thing though. I still get called out for that.

 

[Ser K+]

And since Nigger apparently counts I'm assuming words like Fag counts also.

They don't.
They're just rude.

 

[GhostJoker]

Fuckass Shit

 

[Cpt Toellner]

 

[ElBell]

I tend to swear a lot, but I also get really creative and in some capacity manage to 'curse' people out via insult while both avoiding standard curses and confusing the hell out of them all in one move. It's quite a lovely thing really, to see someone react to being told they're dumber than a woman who lines her eyes with lipstick.

...

Okay, maybe my insults are less creative than they are dumb, but who gives a shit. They still throw people off 8D