So why exactly is swearing wrong?

Question

Why do people take such offense at swearing? What EXACTLY is it about those words that offends?

Alot of you seem to think I am in some way stupid, or perhaps a major league swearer, I am neither, i am simpley curious why these words are deemed offensive, when they are in fact only words!!!
So far no one has come close to answering the question, just had a go at me, or gone into a brief history of bad language, but the question is 'WHY are THESE words offensive?'

Answer 1

The nature of their meaning.

Answer 2

swearing is not wrong so long as it is used appropriately and in the right context.

unnecessary swearing is just a waste of breath, credibility, it puts yourself and the people you represent down so it's costly in that way. swearing at work could have more repercussions than that yet it costs nothing not to swear at all.

if a priest swears in the middle of a sermon or a burial I think it's fair to say that this is reasonable cause for inspiring some people to feel offended.

if however, someone's house has just been torn down by a tornado then an onlooker would be well placed to swear while promising himself that he really should get round to painting the spare room.

the owner too couldn't be blamed if they swore. it's the least you can do in that kind of situation.

swearing is still not wrong. i say it's just a matter of context.
many people who get offended are just narrow minded about it, too well conditioned, well meant, or (of course) they may be appopriately offended. I wouldn't teach my new born baby how to swear and I certainly wouldn't encourage an 18 year old to do it either but if it was done in the right context i'd let it go, perhaps with just a caution depending on the situation 'cos i'm like that.

Swearing isn't wrong. It's just a matter of context.

Answer 3

The problems with swearing is a cultural one, language shifts as do ideals. Certainly words like c u n t still as seen as strong but B l o o d y and b a s t a r d would have been bleeped out on tv only a decade ago now appear in the Simpsons and on soaps.
Essentially the words had profane descriptive terms and the words have been held accountable.
we need something to hold onto as taboo.
Also, the f u c k achronism for unlawful carnal knowledge is an urban myth. that word is very very old and has many versions in many different prints for hundreds of years.
Infact, very few words can be easily traced or defined

Answer 4

If you're saying swearing shouldn't be wrong, I agree with you. In a way, it's more hurtful to say to someone "You're stupid" than yell out a four letter word. My friend and I don't really get why it's such a big deal. When we were little, words like "dumb" and "fart" were swear words to us, but now they're common everyday words.
Did any of that make sense?

Answer 5

Swearing is meant to be an emphasis and to shock. Sadly too many people use such words for the wrong reasons, either trying to impress, or shock or, if young, because they think it's 'grown up' or 'big'. Many do not have sufficient vocabulary to speak well so interject such words instead. Mainly it just lowers the standards of people swearing and makes them look foolish.

Answer 6

The whole swearing is wrong comes from what the words mean and their original context in society, all are essentially insults. People don't discuss sex or sodomy with total strangers, yet they'll still swear in front of them; words that mean the same.
Personally i try not to swear, and will often tell somone off for using such words in front of children, basically because of what they mean, not so much the social ethics.

Answer 7

I would say there offesive not because the word it self, what it means like the B word, means female dog, so in some ways there calling you somthing else in a some what offesive way, but it is also the nature as many people say, it comes from the past of the word, i hope this helps you understand a little more!

Answer 8

Swearing is taking ones self out of the social norm. People that take the first step outside these boundries often find themselves moving further and further outside what is considered socially acceptable behaviour.

Swearing is typically the first level of testing these boundries. The next steps include such things as underage smoking, underage drinking, and going further and further from the norms.

Society has modified itself to the point where in the US, swearing is almost acceptable. The problem is that we are moving away from a social and moral consciousness and it leads to the moral decay and increased crime levels that we see in society today.

Parents that don't care whether their kids swear, don't care if they do a lot of other things that are not acceptable to others. And eventually leads to people carrying guns to school and shooting up things.

Answer 9

For people to use obscene words to express themselves, shows their lack of the English language. They have such a tiny vocabulary, that they cannot think of an alternative word. This also reflects on their I.Q.

Answer 10

The sad thing about this question is that she doesn't know why obscenity and profanity offends. It's become part of the language. When I was younger we wouldn't dream of using foul language in the street. The appalling filth I hear coming from the mouths of young females in town centres fills me with dismay. Young Mums, shouting and insulting their errant offspring with the language normally associated with the gutter. Awful.

As you don't understand, if its to do with sex or toilet functions it's bad language.

Answer 11

It's a cultural issue. It's interesting in these forums to see how the American English seems to be the language most closely watched/censored. Our brethren in foreign countries can say some horrid things (in their respective countries) that don't get 'caught' on here at all - lucky rascals!