to hope that bad language would be considered offensive?

I agree that bad language has its time and place - and the time and place is most definitely when you've had a nasty shock, hurt yourself, or you're having a horrible argument with your husband! Using the F word every other word in normal discourse is a pointless waste of breath, and no-one needs to hear it any more than they would want to look into an open sewer.

I had two sons three years apart, and when they were about 6 and 9 I heard them using foul language at each other, so I told them about the ancient Anglo-Saxon insult contests, where two men (it was always men) would hurl elaborate abuse at each other without necessarily using foul language. it just had to be funny and constructive and innovative. (language and linguistics have always interested me). I pointed out that swearing, using the same couple of words over and over was extremely boring.

Well, it took: the insults continue minus the swear words but - phew - they got good at it!!

My Son's two boys never stop saying please and thank you. Their mother keeps going on and on about it to them and I am pleased they are so polite but I don't expect them to thank me for everything I do ! She is obsessed about people thinking her boys are polite to the point of paranoia.

I do swear occasionally but never AT someone - it's more often than not when I am feeling frustrated by something and I curse to myself. I certainly used to swear at the telephone (after I had put it down of course) when I had finished dealing with a difficult client (I used to work for a solicitor) BUT I would never ever swear in any of these threads - that is impolite and disrespectful. There is absolutely no need for it. Supernana - maybe we are old fashioned but if one cannot put a point over without using foul language then there's something lacking.

But....but...but...

If you don't like swearing, why start a thread about it LOL!

jennybumble

I agree with all the gransnetters who say keep swearing off the forums, we don't need it, there are plenty of other words to use. I especially hate the "f"word. It is used so much, even on the tv. Long may these words be kept off the forums.
I am also a real fan of manners, the other day I said to my grandson " say thank you granny " he looked at me and said " your welcome". I was floored by a 2 year old .

Just a question .. if I used the word fornification, would anyone be insulted? if not it proves the point that it is not the word, but how it is used... and it can hardly be used too violently in a grannies forum!

I understand you, granamaagain, but I think it's too late, and society is very different now.

for my part the moral outrage is not about gransnet but society in general, it is there that I would like to see more polite speech and not the F word used as a casual adjective.

I'm not necessarily pro-swearing, and you will see from all my posts on Gransnet (apart from one earlier, where I used swear words as an example, that I have never sworn or used any kind of profane or offensive language here.

But I do believe that if people want to swear that they should be allowed to. People do, in 2011, and do so quite frequently. That's all.

I find it amusing, however, that this debate is raging on, with all the moral outrage being expressed, when in reality there is very, very little bad language being used on any of the threads on Gransnet.

I agree with you dorsetpennt that racist language far outweighs what we think of as swear words in terms of being offensive. As for blasphemy; it can be upsetting to those for whom God is very real and very special (though usually not meant to offend by the many who use it), so perhaps we can cut the other Granny a bit of slack.

helshea, BIWI, etc

Why are you so pro-swearing? What does swearing add to your life? Many people have said on here that they are offended by swearing: why do you feel that your need to swear is more important than other people's sensibilities?

There is swearing and there is swearing - we all use the odd word in extremis - it's the sexual swear words I object to. To be honest the worst 'swear is the 'n' word - racial slurs far out weigh anything wlse. Last time I visited my two year old grandaughter, my son picked me up from the station and we were chatting and I must have said Oh My God - whereupon little one shouted this at the top of her voice all through Waitrose. We did try not to laugh but the other Granny is a bit po-faced sometimes and would not have approved!!

Apart form anything else swearing doesn't make sense. If you take the meaning of each swear word how does it fit in with the sentence being spoken?

Are we saying that todays society doesn't know what these words mean and use them just as nouns or verbs etc?

Perhaps our schools should take up the challenge of teaching how swearing fits in with sentence structure

which is exactly my point!

grandmaagain - you object to swearing, but lots of others don't. So who gets to say what's right or wrong?

I dispute the assertion that you're supposed to be amused by swearing in the media. The media simply reflects the way that people speak nowadays, in 2011.

Personally I think Gransnet should be a scaled down version of society at a certain time of life, and if half of those people swear in real life, they should also be allowed to swear on here. If not, we are never going to get a cross section of society, and therefore not going to get a real variation of opinions across the board... come on this is a website for everyone, not just the chosen few. First we stop people swearing, then we stop people who can't spell, then bad grammar, eventually you just ban everyone from having different opinions ... and is that a free society? I don't think so!

its not just swearing on gransnet I object to! I object to its acceptance as a norm in our society today, in the media particulaly we are supposed to be amused by it we are considered cranks if we ask people not to swear in our company that is the point I am trying to make! not just about our behaviour here. I just think we ought to set an example in our general behaviour here or anywhere else

I get your point harrigran, but sons, daughters and grandchildren will be able to find a lot worse to read and see on the internet than the odd swear word on gransnet. To be honest I doubt that they could be bothered to work their way through hundreds of posts, which they will probably have to, to find a swear word or two...

You do realise that sons,daughters and even some grandchildren will be reading the postings on gransnet, if you are happy for anyone to read what you are posting then it is not a problem.

This forum is not for your grandchildren. It is for you to use.

And there are already a number of GNetters who have said that they don't object to swearing.

That said, there has been very little of it anywhere really - so this is probably a pointless argument now.

Except for the need to point out that you can't control what other posters post!

There is no such thing as a bad word, just bad use of a word.

I can't believe this thread is still going! Let it go. Its really not worth it.

I agree with you grandmaagain, our grandchildren deserve to be brought up in a society which shows respect and thoughtfulness when speaking to others. We are letting the present generation down if we do not encourage them to be the best they can be - in what they say and how they say it, as well as in what they do. Does anyone actually think that language has improved in the past decade? Has it been enriched by the overuse of swear words?

I would take issue with that! why should we tolerate it? is"nt that what a lot of us object to , the casual acceptance of vugarity in society at large? if we do not want to be the forgotten "greys" should"nt we retain standards that we would be proud to see our beloved granchildren follow, if we don"t who will ? do we really want them to grow up not being mindful of others? what words will we have left for moments of exasperation when swear words are treated as normal adjectives?