Profanity can be either a very wonderful thing or the worst thing
in the world. It is never necessary, but can add a certain spice to language.
If used as an expletive, or “a swear word” it can be used (not always
successfully) to make the user seem cooler, more mature, or more jaded that
their fellow non-cussers. In the mouth of someone who uses profanity only when
they want to have an impact, it carries more weight. From someone who cusses
every other word, it’s just a placeholder. It also depends on what the word is:
some words carry a lot more weight than others.
The “basic” curse words (shit, damn, fuck) carry almost no
weight anymore, mostly among youth, and are said with no real thought as to the
meaning of the word originally. (This will be brought up later.)
Next there are the ones that are a bit more regional, mainly
“the British ones” that include bloody,
sod off, faggot, bugger (off), and
more (as an American, I’m only familiar with the popular ones). Not everyone
knows the regional or dialectal ones, but you can sure figure it out,
especially if you have an angry Brit in your face telling you to “sod off, you bloody arse (ass)”.
There is really only one “high-level” curse that I know of,
and it’s so offensive to some people that even after the warning, I will still
refer to is as “the c-word”. For those that don’t know what it means, it is
generally used to refer to female genitalia, or “a pathetic male”. (for more,
click this link http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/cunt#vulgarity)
The c-word is at such a high level of disrespect and all-around vulgarity, that
I have only heard it used a couple of times. Another one that is considered to
be highly offensive is “motherfucker”, which if you actually think about it, is
super offensive. Why do we even use it? Who wants that image stuck in their head when they’re talking about something
with someone whom they feel comfortable enough to say it? *shakes head* Some
things amaze me (in the bad way), so let’s just say that I wouldn’t use it. At all. Ever.
Ok, here’s the “fun part”: the examples await! Feel free to
comment some of your favorites below!
Let’s say we have two people, both experiencing some sort of
thing that could trigger cursing. While some people are content to quietly say
“oh, darn it”, no matter whether they lost a file they were trying to save, or
whether their house burned down, another person might not be happy until all
the people around them have heard the “OH (optional: insert deity name here) DAMN
THIS BLOODY FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT TO BURN IN HELL” when they simply forgot to
press save on a program before their computer crashed.
We also have “inbetweeners”, a group of people that’ll curse
at whatever’s going wrong, but “they’re swearing only because they have a reason
to”. So they’re in the shower and the soap drops on their foot, we might hear
an “oh, shit”, but that’s the same response that we would hear if they got a
third degree burn from the oven door while cooking.
We have “rebels”, those that swear because their parents
hate it, because it’s edgy, or simply “because they don’t give a fuck”. These
are the people you will hear saying (cue sarcastic voice) “oh, mah, gahd. That
is, so, fucking, cool”. Ugh, my ears are bleeding from the incessant whining
that is “the cool girl voice”, commonly known as the Valley Girl accent (is it
an accent?).
The people that curse every other fucking word. I hate
listening to that. What’s their problem? What could possibly be in such dire need
of emphasis that it requires an expletive after every word? Now, I understand
that there are those who think that people who swear are less intelligent, less
creative, or just plain lazy when it comes to cursing while speaking, writing,
etc. I, personally, am of the opinion that people who swear with great variety
are MORE creative. This doesn’t apply to people that just use “fuck” all the
time in some form or another. If someone uses their curses well, they can be a
very interesting person to listen to.
I asked some people what their favorite swear words are, and
got some really quirky and interesting responses. These are just classmates,
friends, and people that were just in the same place as me when I was writing
this, and it turned out great. Well, the first person said they don’t really
swear, but apart from that, the answers were super cool. I was introduced to
the word “assbutt”, used by a character in the TV show Supernatural, that said “Hey, assbutt” to make a distraction while
they threw flaming holy water at some sort of creature. There is a term that
while not being all that polite (like anything in this entry is), is super
funny. “Fuckface” can be used as a greeting, as a form of address, as an
insult…this word has a lot of uses, so next time you see someone you know (NOT
SOMEONE THAT IS EASILY OFFENDED), walk up and call them (or don’t) one of your
new favorite nicknames.
This brings me to the next topic: a lot of people in their
late teens and early twenties greet their friends with profanity. They’ll say
something like “what’s up, bitch” or they’ll call each other whores (Mean Girls
reference: “boo, you whore”). Stuff like that, while still considered insulting
to people you don’t know, has become a term of endearment among friends. Some
friends even just completely insult each other.
Well, this is enough on profanity and some of its uses. See
you in the next entry, and happy swearing!
(1001 words, profanity)
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