Asklemmy

I've considered removing or at least reducing swearing in my common language usage, but I don't consider it enough to just replace swearing with placeholder words. "What the fudge" doesn't work, in my mind, because it is still clear to everybody what my brain was trying to say before my resolution not to swear intervened. "What on earth are you talking about?" Much better.

I kind of realised through running that through to its end that what my issue was, with swearing, was lazy use of language. So I still swear, but I try not to lean on the words as crutches.

Where this puts me, language usage-wise, is in a position where I'm using swearing as a tool to accentuate my meaning or express emotion succinctly, since I don't swear as often it carries more weight.

For instance, my high school bully was a reprehensible human being but Donald Trump is a worthless fucking cunt.

I think swearing is good if not overused.

I've heard studies show that people who swear are trusted more, something about them coming across more open and genuine.

I swore for emphasis in a job interview and got the job! It was definitely a risk but they received the message I was trying to convey so it worked.

Swearing is brilliant if you smash your thumb with a hammer, or break something expensive. If you swear all the time in normal conversation you don't have any special words left to use when those things I mentioned happen.

My favourite is to exclaim "Shut the front door!" in conversation.

I disagree. Swearing a useful expressive tool.

Just don't overuse it and know situations where it's best not used.

I do not understand the reason for swearing being considered bad.

I do not understand why replacement words are better.

If it were the specific sounds being made that are wrong, replacement words would make sense. However, since other languages have no prohibition on these words and may have words that sound the same/similar to swear words in another language.

If the meaning behind the words was the 'bad' part, then replacing those word with other words that express the same idea would be just as wrong.

Who determines which words are bad? If it's a cultural thing I guess it makes sense but a person is fickle and groups of them even more so. I still don't understand why a group would prohibit specific words but not their meanings (barring superstition, like in the case of the origin of word "bear"). If it were a deity of some kind, it makes me return to the question why specific words in specific languages but not the meaning and intent behind those words.

I don't know about that, MOTHER LOVER DOOM just doesn't hit right.

There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad intentions, and wooooords.

-- George Carlin

If you're using direct replacement words and the sentiment is the same, what's the point?

Fuck no! I always found it funny how communities find specific words offensive and look down upon people that use them. Context is important, of course, but the vast majority of cases I witness people swearing are non malicious in nature. (Don't get me wrong, there are absolutely words/phrases I will never say; again, context is key here)

Coming up with alternative words for the same intent is super silly to me, too. The individual makes it very clear they are aware of the "rules" and are making an asserted attempt to sidestep them. Why bother with all that effort and not simply use the intended word instead?

I don't have a thing against swearing but I do sometimes say heck instead of fuck

I'm trying not to curse but when you fix things for a living you curse a lot.

I don't exactly talk like a sailor but I don't censor myself either. I think swearing is much less of a big deal in my culture than it seems to be in conservative America. For example, bleeped-out words on TV or radio are not a thing here. I have not and will never use any "replacement words", those just seem forced and silly to me.

Forking shirtballs, The Good Place has the best replacement words.

Fuck, which becomes Fork.
Shit, which becomes Shirt.
Bitch, which becomes Bench.
Ass, which becomes Ash.
Dick, which becomes Deck.
Cock, which becomes Cork.

I'm trying to swear less. Or rather, to swear only where a swear is warranted.

My Dad has a habit of interjecting constant cuss words into everything he says, like "I was at the fucking supermarket right and then I'm just trying to find a fucking tin of beans..." and it's just so unnecessary, to the point where the swears mean nothing because they are just peppered everywhere. I have to keep reminding him, "Dad, please tone it down a little"

And that's an easy habit to get into but its exactly what I don't want to be doing - swearing just as punctuation.

If a situation calls for a swear then I will swear quite happily, "Ouch, my fucking toe!!" and I'll use the proper word. There's no need to find childish swear-alternatives.

But I don't want to sound like I can't even stop it.

When I was in high school, I was very anti-authority and swore all the time to be "against the man". When I started working in day care I had to cut out all swearing all the time because it was too automatic to ONLY stop in front of kids. When I got a real job, I continued my no-swearing bend as a general rule because -- at least until you get to know the people around you -- people will treat you with more respect if you don't sound like a foul mouthed low life.

Swearing all the time for no reason is a very low-rent affect. Letting out a rare swear will add considerable emphasis when your peers know it is not your normal behavior. Always swear when you hurt yourself. It helps.

Jesus fucking Christ! Learn to think for yourself! There is no such thing as "good words" and "bad words". There are just words.

Nah, I love cursing. I love a good, rancid obscenity. I'm perfectly capable of expressing myself without swearing, but I think it makes life so much more fun.

I do try to be aware of my audience. I live in Utah where the Mormons continuously find new and exciting ways to swear without angering sky-daddy. "Oh my heck" is a great example, because "gosh" is potentially a nono outer-darkness word.

I don't live to offend—I'm not an edge lord. I want to be inclusive of the people around me, so if I know that the person I'm speaking to doesn't appreciate swearing then I'll avoid it. Swears may slip out if the conversation is sufficiently casual, but I'll just apologize and we'll move on like adults.

It's not a binary. You can swear in some contexts and not in others, provided you're able to maintain some degree of mindfulness. That may not be possible if being around your family is like being captured in the Trauma Nexus.

Now that I've gone all this time without swearing, let me share my favorite obscenity. My partner once described a really horrible person (someone who committed physical and sexual abuse) as a shit-filled cunt, and god damn if that isn't just breathtaking. Truly a beauty to behold, she's such an artist with words.

Fuck no. Studies have found a positive correlation between swearing and being more honest.

It doesn't sound like you've chosen not to swear but that your family has chosen it for you. It actually sounds like you would swear if it wasn't for your family not wanting you to.

"Go fudge yourself" is linguistically intresting. With "fudge" being slang for feces, would you say "go fudge yourself" is closer to "go fuck yourself", "go shit yourself", or both ("go fuck yourself up the ass")?

Fuck no, swearing is great, especially in my native language

No, fuck that shit. Although I have been known to use the words clarinet, oboe, saxophone, spanner, and oompa-loompa in public.

For some reason this cartoon comes to mind:

I like doing old prospector-y cursing for minor inconveniences. I work at a hospital, so I probably shouldn't curse openly infront of the unwashed terbuculars.

consarn it
dagnabbit

My final form is Grandpa Lou Rugrats.

My personal rule is "do I know why that word is a swear word, and is that a dumb reason?"

That means Anglo-Saxon words like fuck or shit are fine. They're swear words because of William the conqueror invading England, and making all the nobility speak Norman. Then all the peasants started to use some French words to sound more posh, so the Anglo-Saxon words became 'less pleasant' than the Norman words, and that meant shit, fuck, and similar words just got kicked out.

On the other hand, there are swear words I won't use. Anything with a terrible historical use, an actually bad definition, or any religious connotation (yes, I'm religious, but I'd still keep this if I wasn't). Example, I won't use the word damn as a swear word, since I would never wasn't someone to be sent to hell. No, I don't believe that saying "damn you" will actually damn someone, but I just think it's a swear word for a good reason.

Yes I have and found it often keeps tense situations from escalating. It sets a more friendly tone in general. An old buddy from a town I lived in 20 years ago mixed it up and says "mother flower!”

I went from never swearing as a Protestant to swearing sometimes too much now. I need to simmer down but sometimes it makes a point!