F*** Profanity

A great deal of confusion can arise between cultures where the same words have differing meanings and, indeed, different levels of impact and severity. As a general rule, those nouns and adjectives and verbs/adverbs which have replaced bodily functions or parts or their usage (especially the sexual ones) are considered to be profane, vulgar, coarse and swearwords.

Those other words which do not derive from sexual or sanitary usage (such as bloody), used as exclamations and condemnations, are not so easy to categorise. Even amongst the former, some words have less emotional impact than others and can be modified by the correct use of language.  So much so, in fact, that even the way they are spoken plays a very large part in how the words are received.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (for English as opposed to American) uses coarse sl To denote a word considered to be profane.

Let’s take one of the commonly used words which is frequently misconstrued as a swearword.

Damn :

1 ‘Damn fool’
2 ‘Damn!’
3 ‘I hit the damn thing!’
4 ‘I’ll be damned if I do….’
5 ‘Not worth a damn’

It is used almost exclusively as an emotive modifier or exclamation (1-4), it can also be used to denote little worth (5) . Often supposed to be a contraction of God-damned and thus considered blasphemous.

It is, in fact, a perfectly acceptable word that can be used as a noun, verb, adjective and an adverb. It is not considered to be coarse or vulgar. Amongst its meanings are:

Curse (a thing or person)
Show to be guilty (damning evidence)
Show carefreeness (I don’t give a damn)

(Remember its use in Gone With The Wind)

Its use is, admittedly, negative, but it is, and will continue to be, legitimate.

The same cannot be said about the word ‘Fuck’ and its companions. As a swearword, the aforementioned is probably the most versatile. It can be used in all of the above phrases (in one of its forms) and would be coarse and vulgar each and every time.

Unfortunately, for those of us who abhor the casual use of swearing, it is becoming more common and fashionable to swear as the norm.
There is a valid use for swearing and that is as a shock factor and as an emotional release.
Those who swear constantly negate the impact of swearing by familiarity and also show themselves to be uncultured and deficient in vocabulary as swearing tends to replace many of the legitimate words that they could use instead. Overuse as an emotional release tends to project the user as unstable and emotionally unsound.
The vulgar and rebellious  amongst us often do not realise, that not only have we heard it all before, but often we have been there and done that. It is not the use of the word itself or even any supposed shock value it brings that most people react to. It is the inappropriateness of it. Age brings us to realise that the more one hears swearwords, the more likely it is that one will become accustomed and start using them. People who swear constantly see nothing wrong in it and react badly when it is brought to their attention, making them seem surly and hostile. A self-perpetuating circle. The wiser amongst us prefer to head it off at the pass!
This, perhaps, is why so many contests, here on AP forbid the use of profanity.

Sticky caps are easier to justify as they are difficult to read. Txt talk and lingo are another favourite taboo. Here, I believe, it is love of the language that rules the roost.

It is easy to claim censorship and curtailment of freedom when bemoaning the existence of a rule that says ‘No profanity’ but ultimately it is there for a purpose. If you can show your skill without resorting to vulgarity and with mere nuance and insinuation, how much better a poet are you? The decision is yours.
to swear or not to swear