Why are swear words so bad in society?

Question

why does saying a 'swear' cause many to gasp, is bleeped out on TV, and is frowned upon?


society could quickly make the word 'apple' a swear


a word is a word, what makes a swear so bad?

Answer 1

I don't understand it either, I am not trying to be a hippy here but I would prefer to see some more nudity and more jokes with swear words on Tv than watch violent, hateful or stupid shows like most of the shows nowadays, with all the judges ,change your mommy, nanny this or that, etc etc.

Swear words are that, words, they mean whatever you want them to mean. You can call someone a chicken or say you are having chicken for dinner. I would prefer to hear bad words meant as jokes on TV instead of having everything bleeped out because it might offend somebody. I also would prefer to teach our kids the lack of meaning of "swear words" and teach them each one of them and how stupid it is for people to use them as insults instead of having them killing each other over some "Bad word" towards somebody's mommy.

It is amazing to me how people get so worked up about words. I think we should teach tolerance, if somebody wants to use a bad word then as a society we should give that person the right to do so , this is the free world after all... with all the prohibited words, the taped phone conversations and rules to take away your rights I don't even know anymore...

Answer 2

Yes, society "could" always make apple a swear word. Swear words became "taboo", off color, rude, because somebody at some time disliked them. If enough people get on board with that dislike then it becomes "bad". You're right, it is only society's perception. The only true swear word is in the use of God's name.

Check out George Carlin's 7 Dirty Words -- it's very funny bit!

Just for fun go to Google. Type in: origins of (insert word here). Do that for all the words you can think of. It should be fun to see what hits it gives you.


This will get you started -- LOL

Answer 3

I love this question though I do not know the answer. I guess there has to be certain behaviors in place in society to show respect. For example I swear like a f***ing champ but I still hold the door for women and don't talk about my sexual exploits in a room full of people.
I strongly disagree with the sentiment that intellectual people don't need swear words to express themselves. Most of my family and friends I would consider to be intellectual- i.e. educated, good jobs, common sense, politically informed and active, read often, enjoy the arts- and they swear and laugh at dirty jokes.
Sometimes swears are just the best words to convey strong and often hilarious emotions. They can hurt but I think that's more attributed to tone of voice and inflection.

Answer 4

So-called swear words are cultural driven, just as modesty is. For example: The F-word may not have been an off-color expression in, say, 100 A.D., as it is today. The etymology of the f-word and its meaning is still debatable. But the most common is that it stands for "fornication under carnal knowledge" to indicate a bastard offspring. So, under conservative religious attitudes, the word became a no-no because of its pre-marital sex connotation.

Three-hundred years from now the f-word may lose its status and become an apropo description. Who knows, get my drift?

Answer 5

A measure of society is how "polite" we are to each other, and a measure of how polite we are is the words we use.

"Swear" words tend to be scatalogical, sexual, or profane in nature. Polite people don't use these words in conversation, for a variety of reasons.

1) They indicate a lack of respect for the other person. They are generally used for "shock" value in this case.
2) They are un-nescessary in a literate society. If I call something bovine excrement, you understand what I mean if you have any intelligence. I don't have to use the other, corser, words.
3) They are offensive to the majority. While I have no problem causing offense with my philosophies, or my ideas, I see no reason to have you reject my speeches or writings out of hand because you object to the words I use.

And finally, because the FCC has decided that on public airwaves, patently offensive words have no place in entertainment.

Answer 6

To me in itself it is not bad at all. It is the meaning behind then that counts. There is a difference between "How goes it you old ----------" and " You rotten --------".
Society just looks down on something that represents some kind of a taboo at a particular time because the masses do not like that word because it revolts against the establishment and has a bad canotation is some aspects.
Bloody in England refers to Sacred Blood , a blaspheme there.
Sacre Blue in France the same.
Dame in France for "Notre Dame" Our Lady
In Amera all meaningless.

Answer 7

Because cultured people find it offensive not only in the use of certain words, but who their used in the presence of. The respect one shows a lady, amongst other ways, by not swearing in front of her is what sets order in our world. If that is done away with, so then will other ''cultured'' practices go. Don't you appreciate being treated as the lady you are, by a gentleman?

Answer 8

because they do not want Children to grow up swearing after what they see on TV (even though most 4 year olds nowadays can swear like a drunk sailor) plus the words are insulting, and after being taboo for a while, they have been shunned from normal speech -

cheers

Answer 9

Because at one time, people used to say those words ALL THE TIME.
And people got SICK of hearing them ALL THE TIME.

Take, for example, our most versatile curse word in English, which I will refrain from spelling out here but begins with an F. This word can occupy any lexical category except for pronoun or preposition!

It makes sense that the curse word you can say the most is the one people will get sick of hearing all the time!

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Also, whenever you say a curse word, you kind of admit that you can't think of any better way to illustrate your point. And then people just think you're f*cking stupid!

Answer 10

even as a be conscious is used to offend someone or attempt to disillusioned them a be conscious then receives a nasty acceptance. even as a be conscious then receives surpassed round that acceptance spreads to human beings using it and the poeple who've itr reported to them. So if someone began to call human beings a wamp or something for an insult that too woulod likely change right into a swear be conscious - its only a nasty use for a be conscious