We all now live in a time where swearing isn't considered to be some exotic, taboo language, but instead to be something which we hear in everyday life in the street, on television or having quiet conversations in a coffee shop. The word 'fuck' now slips from the lips of almost everyone without intention and with no apology. It is just as much a normal word as 'dog', 'hat', 'sweet' or 'handkerchief'.
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| The King of sweary shouting: Gordon Ramsay. He's probably shouting at some poor bloke at this very minute... |
Things are always described as being shit. Annoyance is almost always greeted with fuck. Disagreement comes with bollocks. Directed anger may even provoke a cunt, a bitch, a bitchy cunt or maybe even a bastard. I'm swearing a lot now. I suppose I should really be putting asterisks in replacement for vowels in the swear words, but what difference would that make. Is it then okay to swear is you put 'F*ck' then? No, I know what that says, and so do you. A swear word is still a swear word, with or without the asterisks.
I remember being younger and not saying the word 'crap' for fear of being told off. When I was younger, if a peer were to swear, they would be considered to be rebellious and maybe even cool. Now I'm older, everyone swears. Fuck this. Fuck you. Fuck off. You get the gist. To swear has no real meaning. Years ago, if someone swore, you knew they were expressing a very strong emotion; most probably anger or frustration. It won't be long before it will considered okay to swear in coursework because it would have just lost all its meaning.
Swear words are uttered so much in society today, that to hear the word 'fuck' means nothing. I've so far said the word 'fuck' seven times, and I suspect only a small percentage will read that and flinch. Those are the people who will kid themselves into thinking they have some kind of moral high ground over the rest of us swearing people. This point has been proven by the South Park creators, who in one episode said the word 'shit' 160-odd times, to prove that when a swear word is repeated over and over again, it loses all of its impact and becomes another normal, boring word.
Either way, the progression of the word 'shit' intrigues me.
In literal terms, shit was considered to be a vulgar term for 'fecal matter' or excrement. It then became a slang term for something which was nonsense or to reflect someone's stupidity and is a word which is also used to reflect someone's surprise or anger. Someone who 'talks shit' is usually someone who is just very boastful or lies. They are rather negative terms. Now, there seems to have been some sort of turnaround in the meaning of 'shit'. I have regularly heard the word 'shit' to describe something positively. If someone describes to you something as being 'The Shit', then they are referring to it in a positive way and describing it as 'the greatest'. The term 'fucking shit' could probably mean anything these days.
An interesting titbit though: One of the first known use of the word 'shit' on British television comes from John Cleese in Monty Python. I hope he is proud of himself; he has given us this very versatile word which describes anything conceivable to the human mind.
Swearing is pretty much a constant thing on TV these days. The classic 'beep' on a television program also seems to carry just as much offense with it these days, with it being completely synonymise with a swear word. If you were watching some debate on the BBC between Andrew Marr and David Cameron, you would be offended that Cameron said something worth bleeping, despite what the word might have been. A beep brings more attention to it as well. As I have said, swearing has lost all meaning, so chances are if it wasn't bleeped, half the people wouldn't even notice it.
Swearing in pop music is also rather common place amongst the younger performers. In the radio edits of songs which contain swearing, the offending word is just usually replaced with a split second silence, which sticks out like a Fathers For Justice Protestor at a funeral. You can be not paying much attention, and then there is this short silence which captures your attention and yet again drags attention to the obscenity. Whereas, if they had just left the swear word in, we would have probably not paid the slightest bit of attention, and not been offended in the slightest way.
I think there is still a hint of immaturity amongst people who swear all the time, in that they think they are impressing and being fun. Much like the people who use Comic Sans 14, because they think not swearing, or using Time New Roman 12, is boring. I think using the font Comic San 14 just tells people you've given up trying to impress. What, you mean we're actually supposed to find you humorous now you're using Comic Sans? You do realise people who make posters for Church Fêtes use Comic Sans, don't you? Yeah, you're just as much fun as they are!
So what is my personal opinion of swearing? Well, not that you care, but I'm apathetic towards it all really. I disagree with people using swear words the entire time, because there just really is no need for it. However, I think swearing is an important part of the English language for being able to convey a strong emotion or opinion that one might have. It creates versatility from having to just say 'really' or ‘very’ all the time. Maybe there needs to be a cap on swearing; twice a day? I mean, how many times a day do you really need to convey your anger? If you need to do it more than a few times a day, you have major problems and should consult a psychiatrist.
I know I swear a bit too much. Nowhere near as much as a lot of people do, but I do it too much. I have made active steps towards stopping this though. One of my favourite words was 'bullshit', so I have now replaced that with 'Horse Manure'; something a bit different and lightens the mood. For any other word, I now just say 'Profanity'. To call someone a name, I would know call them a 'complete and utter profanity' for example. I'm hoping to better myself.
Anyway, you can sod off now you bastards.
P.S. I mean that with the upmost respect...
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