Ask Lemmy

Fuck if I know.

English is my second language, and culturally where I'm from swearing is pretty normal and nobody gives a fuck anyway.

It's only swearing because at some point someone decided it was bad language, and if you pay close attention, a lot of them go with "taboo" topics like sex and religious items. And then everyone proceeds to substitute them like fuck/fudge, shit/shoot, bitch/bench which IMO, you might as well have said it, everyone knows that what you were thinking.

Language is language and sometimes a good choice of colorful expletives is what drives the meaning. Getting offended by swears is a sign of fragility of the mind.

Swearing is actually normal for all people. Any word can be classified as a "swear" or "bad" word. That's how language works. There is nothing wrong with using a word that is deemed a cuss word. The actual "bad" part is always the context the word is used in. If you smacked your foot into a chair accidentally and you called the chair a Bastard, you used the expletive correctly. But if you walked into work one morning and walked by your boss and said to him, "Good morning you Bastard.", that's going to get you in trouble. The context matters.

You can make any word a cuss word in the context you use it. You can ask a person if they like Bananas, "Are you a banana eater?". Or you can accuse a person, "What kind of a sick banana eater are you? What is wrong with you?", 'banana eater' is now a bad phrase/thing.

Context in language always matters, regardless of the taboo of a word/phrase.

Words only have power over you if you let them. Language is to be used, enjoyed and laughed at.

Because I don't let prudes tell me what I can and can't say unless they're paying me.

Because words have different weight for different people. I feel like Americans are so sensitive about words like "fuck" (and many other words). Here in the Netherlands I grew up with much more liberal use of swear words. So to me it's way less harsh to say "fuck this rain" or something, it's just a way to communicate my feelings about the rain, just like I'd say "kutweer" in Dutch. Saying it in a more eloquent way, i.e. "this rain is pretty suboptimal" would not accurately convey my feelings.

From a historical perspective, it's stranger that swearing isn't normal for some people; it seems to be a universal feature of human languages throughout history and around the world.

The exact swear / taboo words vary of course, but in general it does seem like just about every culture ever has had and used swear words.

Because I'm Australian, swearing is my religion

I've read that swearing is the sign of an honest person.

Studies have shown that swearing makes dealing with pain easier.

Never swearing is as weird as swearing constantly. They're words, they have meaning and context.

A number of women I know would rather use any word besides "moist", it's quite funny.

As I understand it, shit, piss, and fuck were common words in Old English. When the French-speaking Normans invaded the Anglo-Saxons, they made the people and their language lower class, crude and dirty. Defecate, urinate, and fornicate were substituted as the proper way to speak. This was a way to continue oppressing a conquered and occupied group of people. These views have persisted for hundreds of years and been adopted by various groups over time. Something to consider when you find yourself viewing the words others use as crude.

Based on this history, you might also see why saying "pardon my French" is ironic as fuck.

Who the fuck is asking and why the fuck should I care if they care?

It’s even weirder when people self-censor memes , posts, and whatnot. Like F*CK. You’re allowed to swear on the internet, people!

They're good words, bret

Fun fact! Swearing actually reduces pain perception, thus increasing pain tolerance. There are scientific benefits to swearing.

What the fuck do you mean?

Why not? Why is it not normal for you? Science shows it reduces stress. Lol

You give the word power and meaning by viewing it certain way. To me cuss words have no power they are meaningless. equivalent to a simple filler word. Others around you might give power to cussing, but then why is it your fucking problem that they choose to be simps for a word?

I'm from New Jersey, it's weird if I don't swear. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Part of it must be upbringing. I couldn't bring myself to even say the words hate and stupid because they were treated as just as bad as fuck, but since I've moved out and live with a woman who casually swears, it's rubbed off on me.

Why the fuck wouldn't they shitting be?

Because life fucking sucks, unless I'm in a church I'll swear all the fuck I want, life is tortuous enough already, let me have that. And right now I'm angry.

This question is exactly backwards. Everything should be normal to say unless there's a specific reason NOT to say it. So OP, what is your specific reason for thinking people SHOULDN'T say swear words?

Because we grew up poor.

Laws that turn swearing into legal liability are a form of class warfare.

because there's nothing wrong with it

Some people are sailors. Others are not.

As others have mentioned, for me I sometimes use it as just filler (part of natural language). Alternatively, I can use it to add emphasis or to exaggerate.

Where is swearing not normal? I don’t live in a preschool. It’s the 90’s. We have internet and everything now. I can say the “fuck” word.

Every time I see a thread posted by this user I grab my popcorn.

Generally, the internet (aka the rest of the world) is too harsh for this person's devotion to Christianity. That's like 99% of these threads.

I don't swear in my native language (Romanian), but I do in English. I can't explain why...

My friends gifted me a T-shirt that said "I can't say fuck in Romanian" for my birthday a few years ago.

Swearing Is Good for You

Swearing is viewed as a bad thing mainly because of religion, particularly anything puritanical. It's the equivalent of taking the lords name in vain for some people. When I was in 3rd grade, I said dammit after dropping my coat instead of putting it on a hanger. I learned that word really early cause my mother had been using it since she was 3. My friend heard me and told the teacher, a nun, who pulled me aside and said cursing is never, ever, okay and that it's taking the lords name in vain even if you don't say Jesus or God or whatever. Also said Dammit was one of the worst ones.

So I agree with others here. The question should not be, "Why is cursing normal for some people?" It should be the opposite. Curse words are just words. They don't have power like religion states. They're just words. To whomever doesn't curse, stop letting just words have power over you. They don't fucking matter.

Why do some people hide their view on things behind rhetorical questions? People, man. There's a billion different ways to people it up. People man ...Being all different n stuff!

Why is it not for some people? Serious question - seems like a few mixed in here and there would be the norm but I’m not sure tbh. But just based on movies, tv, etc, that’s what I’m accustomed to hearing. And real life too.

Fucked if I know.