[Closed] Without googling .. why are swear words often deemed offensive?

Because people are c#*@s

That's certainly true!

Society but it evolves. Look at the use of language in the cinema or in a particular part of the country. I like swear words when used properly but some people overly use them for no apparent reason which is more annoying as it’s poor language skills.

Look at the use of language in the cinema or in a particular part of the country.

Quite. Use of the C-bomb is practically a marriage proposal in some parts of Scotland.

If it isn't offensive it isn't a swearword.

I had a bit of an old fashioned upbringing and would never have dared to swear in front of my parents as I kid.  I still wouldn't - they are in their late eighties.  Now it's more out of respect and a desire not to upset them, than the fear I felt as a nipper. However I went to a rough comprehensive and joined the army at 16 where I served a full career.  Suffice to say I have a suitably expansive profanity vocab!

My upbringing left it's mark though, I never swore in front of my own kids whilst they were at home. I do occasionally now, but they are grown up.  I swear like (literally) a trooper around my mates though.  I have noticed recently that both me and my missus have started to swear a lot more at home! It's a weird one, unless swearing retains some degree of unacceptability in certain settings, it has no effect and is pointless.

Stated case I remember from training school is that there are only two words (and their derivatives) deemed to be actually obscene.

Interestingly, different cultures view obscenities differently. Our two favourite swear words are sexual in nature, but insults and obscenities in other cultures may be blasphemous or linked to bodily functions.

Sunday school sensibilities.

It's an interesting concept. Every language seems to have them, so why do we need them? Perhaps because we need somewhere to go when we're angry.

Perhaps because we need somewhere to go when we’re angry.

Some use them like that. Others as a filler sound in speech. "I was going down the ****ing road, you know near the ****ing newsagent and just as I got to the ****ing corner I heard a ****ing sound. It was only ****ing Dave in his ****ing car honking his ****ing horn". I've no idea what that's about - it adds nothing to the narrative and the speaker is not angry or excited.

Most swear words seem to have their origins in stuff that's unacceptable to talk about in 'polite society' - copulation, defecation, genital organs or parts of the body, birth out of wedlock. I guess using the swear word is shorthand to association with rude stuff.

It's the other way round - offensive words are used for swearing.

I blame Saussure .

Nic Cage presented a good Netflix series on this subject a while back. I dont swear that much TBH (never swear infront of my mum or the in-laws) Deffo do when I'm driving or having a bad day at work though

Because some people like to get all offended by things that arent actually that much of an issue. Theres a lot of that at the moment.

On a seperate note anyone see the Mary Whitehouse drama the other night, grateful, nasty, prejudiced woman.

Quite. Use of the C-bomb is practically a marriage proposal in some parts of Scotland.

And the F-word is a warning that a noun is approaching.

Generally speaking - we need words that are taboo because there are circumstances, emotions, situations that you can't express without reaching for something forbidden. If you're genuinely angry, reeling in real pain, scared, surprised - you need a rule you can break to express that - whether thats your own rule or someone else's. If I hit my shin with a hammer, or the the ladder suddenly wobbles, or that lightning strike really was quite close I'll swear even though theres no-one to hear it.

I read recently that swearing make its easier to tolerate pain but you need it to be taboo for that to be effective.

So its very context related. Where we see swearing most commonly regulated is on TV - the bleeping of words, pre and post water shed etc. But its actually much more nuanced and subtle than that. My gf once made a documentary which featured a scene where someone was going for their final chemo session - wearing a t-shirt with **** cancer on it. The t-shirt was actually self censoring - the '****' was actually the jumble dingbats that I won't type because that would be swear filter avoidance. The commissioning channel insisted the 'word' was blurred, even though it was already censored - which had the weird effect of implying the person wearing it would walk around in public with the uncensored version. But in debating this it came to light that the different channels have different audiences with different sensitivities and ITV (who were commissioning the doc) see their audience as more easily shockable that Channel 4 for instance. (there was also a scene with someone trying on a wedding dress involving a bit of bare flesh and a flash of bra strap which again ITV were very resistant to in a late evening show even though it would have been teatime viewing with Gok Wan on C4 at the time)

The F-bomb itself is incredibly nuanced in its censorship because its very context specific - its commonly considered to to mean 'sexy time' but its original meaning was 'to strike violently' so it can mean sex, or violence, or sexy violence or violent sex - a spectrum of meanings ranging from really good fun to a really profound threat. (think Blue Velvet)

So, on screen context is everything - and whether the word is said in surprise, as a realisation, out of fear, or as a threat influences how its treated - amusingly mother ****er is far less likely to be censored if its said in an American accent by someone who isn't American. The implied inverted commas removes the offence.

Sure I saw some report suggesting you can stand duress (painful cold, I think) better/longer if you were allowed to swear at the time ... so maybe it has a function of sorts

Socially, I reckon it's a class/power thing mostly - anglo saxon was prob sneered at when the normans came to poewr (or, err whatevva) so some old words fell out of acceptable use in powerful circles.  Then you've got groups within society trying to "elevate" themseves by not swearing, while others are doing it to specifically to differentiate themselves from those who don't

an' shit

Can't find it just now but Billy Connolly did a great explanation of how flexible and useful the F-word is. It is absolutely brilliant and is very accurate.
We do need words that we find 'bad', that way they can be used in a multitude of situations to help...most of my really painful injuries have never been help with me saying 'Ouch!', but there has always been a momentary pause in the level of pain following a profuse round of swearing.
I really don't like the chord, but everything else is fair game - when used appropriately. I do tend to get disappointed when it isn't appropriately used - suspect that suggests I'm some sort of swear word snob, but I don't care.

Following the removal of a Philip Larkin Poem from another thread (mods)..presumably because of the f word it

Frankly if whoever posted it only had a censoring they got off lightly, I'd have banned anyone posting that crap.

To answer the broader * question I have no * idea, us Scottish * use them like * punctuation.

Depends entirely on context and culture.

So it can obviously be problematic online.

It's not a difficult concept to grasp. If in doubt, then don't drop the C bomb, lol.

Interesting subject. I don't know the answer but it intrigues me, some specific aspects for example

1/ words not only evolve, but go through phases; the worst word hasn't always been. There were roads in the olden days where ladies of easy favour would ply their trade that were sometimes called Grope**** Lane. These often became Grope Lane and then Grape Lane in later years, or completely renamed.

(wikipedia link exists, have not put in because rude word.

2/ Rhyming slang..... you berk is inoffensive but as rhyming slang for Berkely Hunt.

3/ I do bootcamp with military instructors. I'd frequently thank them after the session with a cheery 'thanks fellas' until one evening one of them took me aside. Apparently at work they swear so much that the worst word has lost its impact; consequently they now have another word that is the ultimate term of abuse. Yep, I've been soundly abusing them for months......

It interesting that there a quite a few words that really do have quite grossly offensive meanings that we use without giving or taking offence

We'd describe a piece of earthmoving equipment as a 'Bulldozer' or describe something done robustly and hastily as 'bulldozing'. 'Bulldozing' is the violent suppression of black people. A Bulldozer was someone tasked with using intimidation and violence to prevent black people from voting after the 15th Amendment was passed.

1/ words not only evolve, but go through phases; the worst word hasn’t always been. There were roads in the olden days where ladies of easy favour would ply their trade that were sometimes called Grope* Lane.

Threadneedle Street where the Bank of England now resides used to be called Grope* Lane. If you have a 'Love Street' in your locality it might well have been a Grope**** Lane as well.

Threadneedle Street where the Bank of England now resides used to be called Grope**** Lane.

such a shame when bad people move in and a neighbourhood goes down the pan

Apparently at work they swear so much that the worst word has lost its impact; consequently they now have another word that is the ultimate term of abuse.

A friend's daughter's school had to bar the use of the phrase 'Swear Word' because it was being used pejoratively. What had started as a joke using 'swear word' as a self censoring minced oath had suddenly turned sour and calling someone a 'swear word' began to be used with real intent to upset and with real offence being taken

A friend’s daughter’s school had to bar the use of the phrase ‘Swear Word’ because it was being used pejoratively. What had started as a joke using ‘swear word’ as a self censoring minced oath had suddenly turned sour and calling someone a ‘swear word’ began to be used with real intent to upset and with real offence being taken

In slightly similar vein.  As a young squaddie on a 4 month tour of the Falkland Islands in 1986, we all referred to the locals as 'Bennys'.  For those not old enough to remember, this was on account of their perceived resemblance to a woolly hat wearing character of limited intellect on 'Crossroads'.  A popular soap of the time.

Even in the 1980s this was deemed disrespectful and non PC by the hierarchy and we were banned under threat of disciplinary action from using the term 'Benny' to describe a Falkland Islander.  From then on, they were referred to as 'Stills'.  As in they are still Bennys...

Not proud.

My friend's father, a polite, well spoken man (west coast of Scotland) would substitute "fupping" for you know what, when he lost the rag with us as kids. We knew what he meant, he knew what he meant and he knew we knew. But he still wouldn't use that word in front of us!

There's a world of difference between refering to someone as a c and calling them a good c.

would substitute “fupping” for you know what, when he lost the rag with us as kids.

For crying out 🙂

OTOH, I was at a wedding in Greenock and as the best man stood up to make his speech, someone made a clever remark.

So his opening gambit was -

F up, ya C!

🤣🤣🤣

Depends, if referring to Russian military,
"Йди нахуй"

or as a poster:

Gropexxxx lane ...lol! sounds a charming area!

It's noticeable that the things we're fondest of make the most offensive words.

Totally contextual. Words in themselves aren't offensive. The user's (and the listeners') contexts create any offensiveness. Sometimes - more often than not I think - this is by mutual (unspoken) cultural consent, and sometimes it's not...

Lenny Bruce, George Carlin and Scroobius Pip (amongst many others) have articulated all this well over the years (as uncomfortable as it can be to hear it).

my guess as to why they are offensive are:

because they refer to things that we usually do in private in a course manner and are generally used in anger.

they are possibly words that were shunned by the “social betters” because there are less course alternatives. possibly because of the church.

or, they were words used by the population prior to the norman invasion and as they were the language of the conquered, they were viewed in a lesser way. perhaps…

and is there a really unacceptable alternative to penis? ill read the previous oats to find out.

Swear words change over time. We are coming out of an era when bodily functions and sexual organs provided the best swear words as they were unsayable in polite company. Go back 150 years ago and that wasn't the case - the words that were unsayable were religious - so offensive they were blanked out in books and had numerous euphemisms.

Nowadays religious words don't raise an eyebrow, and sexual and scatological words are hardly counted as any more offensive ... except at STW. Our new unsayable words are based on race and sexuality. Nobody would use the n word in polite company (indeed people have been sacked for using it, even when discussing the use of the word rather than using it as an insult). G*y still seems to be hugely popular with teenagers, but I don't know many adult who would use it.

A friend tells me that one of the differences between the US and the UK is that here we call a stranger 'mate' and our mates a 'c*nt'.

My favourite is still 'your mum'.

I was brought up in a small west Scotland fishing community, dad was a skipper also did welding/fabrication when bad weather came, mum worked in shellfish processing factory so was just as well versed) and our house and workshop doubled as a pub/meeting place so swearing was as natural as breathing, first went to sea for a week long trip up the west coast in summer holidays when I turned 10 and absolutely loved it so swearing doesn’t bother me in the slightest and I don’t judge anyone else on how they speak.

Because they’re use is situational or should be. They’re profanities - slang words used to describe taboo items or actions. There are usually more scientific/accurate/awkward words with a similar meaning but these don’t fit well with certain situations. The reverse is true. As with all things - context is king.

Swearing is brilliant and most swear words can improve a sentence when used well. Can’t think of a single one that I personally find offensive and find taking offence at any of the classics a bit odd. I once had a boss in a warehouse years ago who pulled me and a couple of colleagues up for inappropriate language. Gave us what he deemed a dressing down then asked if we had anything to say. I responded with “Yes, go **** yourself” in my defence I was young and he was an utter WGBE. The timing was also brilliant and resulted in laughter from my colleagues and an attempted stony silence from the boss.

Never swear in front of kids but do use a bit of blasphemy. This has resulted in my four year old using the phrase “Jesus Christ” If she is shocked and “What the hell” if confused. I’m clearly a bad dad.

I think some people find them offensive due to upbringing and age seems to play a part. I honestly think some folk just like to take offence at things, like a hobby. The sort of people that would watch a full film/programme and then compose a stern letter as opposed to switching off. Taking offence at derogatory or racist terms is different and I can fully understand the hurt they can cause

Trouble is swearing is usually used as as substitute for correct or more likely more accurate langauge.

I've had a think and I've decided it's because if they weren't, they'd have no purpose and we'd need to invent new ones.

Think about it, what are the actual meanings of the most common ones? Reproductive Organs, Sex, and Bodily waste, but we almost never use them in those contexts. That car in front isn't having sex and the driver isn't female genitalia.

They're 'offensive', but usefully so and they're not really acceptable to use in 'polite company' so if we're under incredible stress or in pain, we can use them as a way of release, if we're amongst friends / family / colleagues we can use them to express our comfort in each others company, or if we're angry we can really make our position known.

I love swearing, it's the best, but I always feel sorry for people who do it too much, like it's lost all meaning and then end up double-swearing, like that teenage 7th **** of the day, it's just habit now.

if we’re angry we can really make our position known.

That's my secret, I'm always angry.

I'm sure the main reason Esperanto never took off as a language in a big way is that in it's early years the only swear word was "kolbaso!". Sausage. For f*** sake.

Trouble is swearing is usually used as as substitute for correct or more likely more accurate langauge.

I’ve genuinely not encountered this. There may be more accurate ways of expressing something but shit covers a multitude of things. Good shit, bad shit, something is just plain shit or maybe it’s the shit. Shit happens, shit goes wrong, somebody can be shit or you can take a shit. Fantastic word

I'm east coast/borders Scottish. When I lived in Essex a guy I worked remarked at my ability to make any word a swear word by intonation.
I think I'd been reduced to. "You, ya hose pipe" when something hadn't quite worked and we were in mixed polite company.

F####d if I know......

What does WGBE mean? Genuine question, i did google but doubt it means a school.

I believe WGBE means Weapons Grade B**l E*d

There are usually more scientific/accurate/awkward words with a similar meaning

Disagree here. Give me a word that can be used that had the same impact when you describe someone as an absolute c word?