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 What makes an insult insulting?
Does swearing demonstrate a poor command of English?
Is swearing on the increase?
"Swearing demonstrates a poor command of English. Can't they think of anything else to say?" If truth be told, everyone uses swear words - or their euphemistic equivalents - on occasion. If nobody used today's swear words, they wouldn't remain in the language - but you can be sure that other words would take their place. Swear words persist because they're a necessary and natural part of any language - they fulfil a particular role that no other words can. In fact, there is no known language in the world that doesn't include swear words.
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Listen to Ben Mark Oyugi, a Kenyan, talk of his shock at the words used in the UK. More... |
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Swear words are useful because they're naughty. They make easily the best expletives. Next time you tip scalding coffee in your lap, try shouting "Shoes!" or "Shrimp!" It would make as much sense (literally speaking) as shouting "Shit!" but it wouldn't properly give vent to your feelings. As abuse ("You bastard!") swear words show your feelings without you having to launch into a time-wasting explanation of what the problem is. So they offend people...great! That's presumably what you wanted, wasn't it?
Most linguists would maintain that swearing does not show a poor command of a language, but rather demonstrates that you know the language very well. One possibly apocryphal story attributed to a non-native English speaker - "You may think I know sod nothing. Well, I can tell you that I know sod all!" - shows that the speaker isn't conversant enough with English to be able to swear effectively in it.There is no known language in the world that doesn't include swear words.
David Crystal says that no two taboo words are used in exactly the same the way grammatically: "Damn, for example, cannot be used with a preceding personal pronoun (*You damn!) and arse cannot be followed by one (*Arse you!); fart cannot be followed by off or it; bugger, however, can be used in all four of these contexts." It's also interesting to note that there's one rule of grammar only used with swear words (or their euphemisms). There's a knack to inserting a swear word into a word or phrase - and it's something you don't do with other words. Consider:
Abso-bloody-lutely! vs Ab-bloody-solutely!
What the frig are you doing here? vs What are you doing the frig here?
Where's my sodding car? vs Where's sodding my car?
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Listen to Suraiya Husseini in Lancashire hear her son swear for the first time. More... |
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Like any other linguistic feature of speech, which swear words you use, when and how often will depend on any number of factors, including who you are, where you are and who can hear you. Since swearing is both useful and offensive, it's vital to get the balance right.
Swearing is more common in informal situations than in formal ones - swearing down the pub with a bunch of beery mates is normal; swearing during a court hearing (especially if you are the judge) is not. It's a social as well as a linguistic skill to be able to judge your audience appropriately.
The vital thing to remember is that most people who swear a lot are quite capable of not swearing when necessary. The punk rocker has an image to maintain on TV, but quite probably didn't utter a single expletive during his last job interview, or last time he visited his granny.
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