Swearing

Times change 🤷‍♀️.... and not just swearing.....I mean we don't slap our kids any more hopefully ( I never slapped mine and my GDs are never slapped) .....I would finding that far more offensive than someone say fuck in my presence

LOUISA1523 - absolutely.

Tiley - mumsnet posters are adult. I didn’t smack mine when the were children, it wouldn’t enter my head to smack one of them for swearing. Well providing it wasn’t in anger - that’s always been unacceptable here

Times change. Language is constantly evolving. Words which were found unacceptable have always changed over the years.

I’ve just slipped in Morrisons. Landed on my backside and the air was blue!

The language on Mumsnet is pretty ripe .
I hate the constant assault on my eardrums at the bus stop and on the bus .
It's not just teenagers - it's middle aged women , who I think try to look and behave in a " young "
manner .
They just come across as sad .
Older men really let rip as well .

Iam64

LOUISA1523 - absolutely.

Tiley - mumsnet posters are adult. I didn’t smack mine when the were children, it wouldn’t enter my head to smack one of them for swearing. Well providing it wasn’t in anger - that’s always been unacceptable here

I didn't say I slapped my children but my mother slapped us occasionally on the back of the legs. It certainly did me no harm and indeed it made me think twice about misbehaving whatever form it took

I don’t like swearing.

It really jars with me and undermines any points people might be making. I don't go on Mumsnet, but do hear lots of people interjecting everyday words with swear words and seem unaware it may cause offence.

We all swear at times as an expletive, but when it is used as an adjective it devalues everything the person is saying.

maddyone

I don’t like swearing.

I don;t like slapping and who is going to slap them?

Georgesgran

I’ve just slipped in Morrisons. Landed on my backside and the air was blue!

Ouch! I do hope you're alright Georgesgran? What did you slip on? Was the incident reported?

A well placed expletive can be very effective for its shock value. When swearing is overdone it becomes meaningless.

I rarely swear, and never in front my children, even though they are now pushing 40. Lol. I still like to set a good example.

However one day, out of sheer exasperation, I dropped the F bomb on my unruly 20 something son who was being obnoxious. The look shock on his face was priceless. It worked though because from that day onward he mended his ways.

I think if I had been in the habit of swearing it wouldn't have been nearly as effective, it would have been water off a duck's back.

Language does evolve and rightly so, we need new words to meet the ever changing need to communicate effectively. However, language is a precision instrument and words should be chosen with that in mind. For example. A scalpel and an axe are both cutting tools but have widely different uses.

Expletives can work but only when used correctly and not as part of normal speech.

A little goes a long way.......

I had been thinking that lately, I have been hearing much less swearing.
Though I live in areas that dont have a huge amount of younger people.

DerbyshireLass good point, well made.

A lot of the swearing I hear on the bus is degrading to women.
Isn't it odd that even women can be heard calling someone a C**t or a Tw** . Do you suppose they know what these words mean?

I was taught not to swear and hardly ever do. My DC don't either at least I haven't heard them 😅

LOUISA1523

Times change 🤷‍♀️.... and not just swearing.....I mean we don't slap our kids any more hopefully ( I never slapped mine and my GDs are never slapped) .....I would finding that far more offensive than someone say fuck in my presence

Agreed.

I think it's important that people know when and where to swear if they choose to do so. I am careful what I say on here, for instance, but am less circumspect in other circumstances.

Slapping children isn't going to stop them swearing. It might make them careful not to do it in front of the slapper, but people have used expletives since language began, and will continue to do so, despite any parental violence.

Thanks Astitchintime. It was my fault - I’d given DGS2 a coin to put in a lady’s bucket (for the local Hospice). She wasn’t paying attention, talking to a member of staff and I realized DGS2’s mini trolley was likely to hit her legs, so I took a big step forward to steady him and my right heel just skidded, resulting in my right leg going one way and the left going the other. They both rushed to help me and asked if they could get me a chair, etc. but I was so embarrassed, I just beat a hasty retreat – well as much as my limp would allow me. Ouch.

I have always said that anyone who swears when having a conversation has a lack of the English language. They swear because they cannot think of a word to use.

BigMamma

I have always said that anyone who swears when having a conversation has a lack of the English language. They swear because they cannot think of a word to use.

Couldn't agree more BigMamma.

BigMamma

I have always said that anyone who swears when having a conversation has a lack of the English language. They swear because they cannot think of a word to use.

There is a lot of research that suggests otherwise.

Here is just one article that is available without a university library subscription:

www.sciencealert.com/swearing-is-a-sign-of-more-intelligence-not-less-say-scientists

Some evidence shows that those who oppose swearing on principle are more 'rules bound' than those who draw on a range of registers, and are less likely to have a high IQ and/or vocabulary - they do as others tell them, rather than think for themselves.

Much depends on how the words are used. Sometimes it is laziness, such as the use of sh*t as a filler. 'I feel sh*t', 'it was sh*t', 'he/she talks sh*t' and so on. I'm not a fan of that sort of swearing, as it doesn't communicate effectively, and is rather ugly to visual communicators. But strengthening an argument by using expletives can show degrees of feeling, as some words have more power than others, so their use can add nuance, rather than remove it as in the previous example. It's all context-dependent.

Yes, I must admit it put me right off. There really is no need for it. I'm surprised that the admins allow it as it surely doesn't enhance the impression of the site.

That is very interesting Doodledog. Whether or not I swear depends on who I am talking to a lot of the time. I told my granddaughter that I had sworn at "Alexa" and she said that she had never heard me swear so I think I must censor myself without thinking.

Tbh, everyone I knows swears regardless of age both my kids, me my DH. No one bats an eyelid anymore.
That old adage of lacking intelligence if you swear is just Bull...

I always think that they are only words and it’s the intent behind the words which are offensive, which can be done using much less “offensive” language.

I have children in their 20’s, and they swear like troupers, our other two, in their late 30’s, only swear under dire circumstances.

I do swear, normally at myself, never in public and rarely use the ‘C’ word.

I would never swear when children are around, and swearing rarely offends me and I have a very large vocabulary, am well educated and pretty articulate, so I don’t buy into the “it’s only thick people” who swear.

What I absolutely and completely hate is seeing parents swearing, shouting and smacking their children in public, it makes me wonder greatly what goes on behind closed doors, ditto the way a few men speak to their wives in public, makes me cringe!

Well, I hate to hear the ‘f’ word being used every touch and turn.

I may say certain words, but never that or t..t or c..t.