Photo by Flickr user edwick

It’s a simple fact of life that people swear. If you’re writing fiction about real people, or at least real people of certain fairly common temperaments under some circumstances, you ought to be prepared to write the occasional swear word. Of course, we’re not all writing fiction, and there’ll be many of us writing fiction who stick to “cleaner” topics and characters. Still, I thought swearing might be an interesting topic to bring up.

There are plenty among us who’ll see swearing as a degradation of the language, and there’s a very frequently-used argument that if you must resort to using swear words, your vocabulary must not be very good to begin with. I don’t think it’s a sound argument, but then, I do love to swear, so maybe I’m biased. Comedian and author Stephen Fry has taken up the topic as well and agrees with me, for what it’s worth, noting that many of our writers with the most prodigious vocabularies are also fond of swearing. You can watch a short video here if you’re interested.

So, what do you think? Is swearing an occasional evil necessary for the sake of realsim or is it perhaps even an art in its own right? Or is it something to be avoided at all costs? Let’s keep Erica’s tips about writing about controversy in mind and keep the comments clean no matter the opinions we’re expressing. There is, as they say, a good time and place for everything, and this blog is by and large a family show.

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  2. I believe language is the least of our problems, but is an indicator of the lack of respectful discourse…I think we should change out intentions before we worry about changing our language. It will naturally follow…

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  3. There’s a SpongeBob SquarePants episode about “Sentence Enhancers” that’s absolutely hilarious. I’m glad you wrote this post, as I’ve been trying to decide if using sentence enhancers is appropriate for my blog. I agree with many here that swearing depends on the context, and posts riddled with f*** this and f*** that are annoying. I don’t want to read that. However, I do enjoy reading personal posts by authors brave enough to swear here and there. It makes it seem more honest and real to me.

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    2. I like your “definition” of profanity (it it’s yours)! Maybe not always, but often true!

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  8. Swear words are just that. Words. They’re only taboo because we’ve decided they are. So honestly, I don’t give a shit. No that I litterally give shits, because nobody wants human fecal matter. Narsty.

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  11. To: roughsea….
    Alhough you seem to have a fan, I hope its one. I think this is the type of forum where because discuss and debate ideas; not insult the writers. And how ironic that you appear to be so offended one such as yourself who likes to swear be considered “low class”, yet those who do not share your opinion about swearing are “archaic”. And, fyi; since not all readers hail from your corner of the universe, there are regions where the term “cursing” is commonly used. So, to determine someone is “quaint” by their language usage in a few sentences, or in my case, to use both terms to be inclusive; as literally; as one writer noted “to swear” technically does not mean to use “bad” words, but to “make a oath, etc.; whereas, “to curse” literally does mean to say the words we are all discussing here. So those you call “quaint” are just the technically “correct” definition of the word, one the is clear to all. And people make typos all the time on these things, so to insult someone’s grammar is not necessary. We are doing this to debate issues…I think.
    You do a lot of judging for one who complains about judgement!

    I do like and agree with your very good point about using a “swear” (I’ll use your preferred terminology) word, vs calling someone a name. I think that is really an important point…in my mind also, There is a huge difference between (someone like me), who might blurt out “oh f…”, occasionally, than telling SOMEONE they ARE anything derogatory, whether it be a “swear” word or not, such as the ones that you listed. I know my parents would also disagree!, but I think to intentionally hurt another human being is a far greater “evil” than blurting out an occasional expletive (there, I managed to use neither cursing or swearing!).

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    1. @ ellenheyer

      Thanks for the considered response to my comment. I think one of the interesting points about this blog and other forums, is the interesting linguistic differences between cultures that speak the same (more or less) language.

      The title of the post was swearing, and that was what the author used. To me cursing means, for example to put a spell upon someone, or to invoke the devil or some other supernatural power. Regardless, both cursing and swearing have two meanings, which are equally legitimate. Check the dictionary. Swearing is just as accurate as cursing.

      Cursing, is just no longer used in my corner of the world, as you state. But it was used a few centuries ago by my grandparents, for example, which is why it struck me as being quaint/old-fashioned, whatever description suits.

      My judgemental comments were about the stereotypical comments regarding the ‘type’ of person who swears. Only bad people, or tradespeople, or less-educated people. That is totally classist, and I will stand by that view. I suspect you may have missed my irony. It’s over-used in my corner of the universe. Where people put me in the social rankings is of no interest to me at all. But I will defend others who I consider to be unfairly discriminated against and who are being grouped together by extremely uninformed opinion.

      Comments that suggest only illiterate and unintelligent people swear because they can’t string two words together or hold a logical argument are far more insulting than anything I wrote. And there are plenty of those comments in this debate.

      Expletive is a good word! Nice one there. And thank you for the comment about my second point. Language has such an influence on society and calling people abusive names, and at the same time deriding certain social groups continues to perpetuate the same old stereotypes and reinforce negative attitudes and beliefs.

      I better clear off and write my own blog post on this one! 😀

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      1. And thank you for your thoughtful and insightful reply! I think our little “online” dialogue itself makes some good points! While my initial response was to focus on what I thought was being “judgmental” as you explained more your reasons for certain statements, and as I heard you “talk” more I lost any of that feeling about you, and really; I think we basically agree most of the basic points discussed. Oh, know, I did not miss what was actually probably your main point! – the judgment that is often made about the “type” of people who swear! I think my message was getting so long, I just stuck to a couple of points. But I full agree with that comment, and swearing (I’m sticking with that here) like most things in life, crosses all socio-economic levels. My mother has often told me a “have a mouth like a sailor, or factory worker” I’m not sure where she gets the sailors from, but she uses that one! So I get, and agree with you loud and clear. Its a good point for us to remember as writers, also; that we subconsciously aren’t perpetuating that stereotype. For example, lets say I have a character Joe. Joe works in a factory and after work usually goes to the local bar to “have a few” with his buddies. He didn’t go to college, isn’t much of a reader and doesn’t frequent art museums. It might just seem natural to have Joe swearing liberally at work, at home, etc. And have a character named Marcy. She is a well, educated, lady-like, yet high-level prosecutor. When she goes out, she drinks Chablis and goes to the symphony and art museums. Subconsciously we might have her saying “oh what an idiotic man attempting to relieve his adolescence” when her husband leaves her for his 20 years old secretary instead of “telling it like it really is”. These are simplistic examples, but you get the point. Joe could very well be a man with religious beliefs that prohibit swearing, and Marcy could be a hot head with several contempt charges for telling the judge just where he could go. So writing can be a way to challenge some of these stereotypes also.

        Oh, and I don’t feel that need to check the dictionary, I trust your command of the English language.

        I’m also with you on refusing to use the words that are derogatory to women (in my own language, and in how I will tolerate being spoken to)….because that is getting into the category of attempting to demean, insult, etc.

        One thing I can say for sure, there aren’t a lot of places you can go and people you will find who will spend this much time analyzing the pros, cons, whys, whens, etc. about swearing! But I think it is fabulous, because more than anyone, those of us who write, or try to write, or want to write should take time to examine the language we use, and if it is intentional, or just words we habitually say. So it is nice to have an intelligent debate with someone about what some may consider trivial, but what some of us realize
        is very significant… the power of words.

        I will check out your blog!

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  12. I’m writing about fictional gang members, would be rather awkward if there wasn’t any swearing going on haha! I can’t see them going like “Oh no, you’re wrong” when they’re angry. lol.

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  13. Good points. When I was younger and extremely self-righteous, every instance of swearing was offensive to me. Now that I have a few more years to my credit, I have changed my opinion slightly. I do not think occasional use of swearing or coarse language are inappropriate, however, using the “f” word like a comma constantly and for no apparent reason shows, among other things, a lack of creativity, not to mention a lack of class. I think writers should have a higher standard of word use. Using ANY word excessively is something we are all taught to avoid in grade school, after all. Writers should be able to draw on the treasure trove we carry with us that comes with a love of words and using words specific to our purpose. If the words called for are sometimes crude, they will have more weight if used sparingly.

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