Swearing involves using offensive or obscene language to shock or attack others. Some words, like those in sacred texts, are not offensive in context. Swearing can be a form of male bonding and is associated with certain occupations. It is difficult to eliminate swearing, but some make an effort to use cleaner language. Society must address the problem of abusive language in entertainment before improvements can be made.
Swearing means using language considered obscene, socially offensive, or flippant simply to shock or verbally assault others. The deliberate use of bad or offensive language is often referred to informally as swearing or expletives. The words themselves can be called swear words, swear words, expletives, or four-letter words, among others.
The use of certain words such as personal curses or swear words can be traced back to the very beginning of the language, but many of these same words used in their contexts are not considered offensive or obscene. Words used to express the eternal doom of a person’s soul, such as d..no h..l, for example, are liberally scattered in sacred texts such as the Torah or the Bible. Using these words out of context as personal epithets against others, however, is considered blasphemous or disrespectful to God.
When people curse, they may also use words that are scatological in nature, such as words that describe bodily functions, sex organs, or sexual acts. These expletives often serve as lewd or shocking substitutes for more acceptable euphemisms. Some people choose to swear in the mistaken belief that a more offensive word or description would be more effective than the milder word it replaces. Free cursing or swearing is often perceived as a more adult form of communication than the euphemisms available to teenagers and children.
Most likely, the term curse began as an early American corruption of the term curse. The excessive use of abusive or obscene language soon became a favorite habit among the rough and rowdy ranchers and pioneers who made their way into the western United States in the early 19th century.
Perhaps as a form of male bonding, many men regularly peppered their tongues with profanity and obscenities as they shared experiences along the way.
The curse is also associated with other salt-of-the-earth occupations such as merchant marines, longshoremen, coal miners, and the military. A civilian using gratuitously obscene language could be said to swear like a seaman on leave, for example. For some, swearing becomes second nature and they may not even be aware of the offensiveness of their language. Some swear words have become popular conversational space fillers, what professional linguists might call syntactic vacancies.
It would be extremely difficult to completely eliminate all forms of profanity or obscene language from society completely, but there are many people who make an effort to correct this habit in public. Some people decide to only swear whenever they are in an atmosphere where such language is tolerated. However, others must make a determined effort to clean up their language around those who might be offended. Swearing is a habit that can be broken over time, but some believe that society at large must first address the problem of obscene or abusive language in the entertainment and music industry before real improvements can be made.
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