One of the lesser-known reasons why I thought I might feel at home in Australia is because Australians swear a lot.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am no foul-mouthed harridan. I swear selectively, only when appropriate and only when a more ‘acceptable’ word won’t do. But I don’t find swearing offensive. Swear words are just words with a judgement imposed on them. If you’re looking for an insult, combinations of non-swear words can be more effective.
I hate to say it, but my fellow Scots do have a reputation for peppering their speech with a few too many ‘swearie words’ as they are delightfully known on the west coast. Yes, swearing can punctuate a sentence to great effect. But it should be more of a semi-colon than a comma; tricky to use correctly but amazingly useful when you know what to do with it.
No matter how much they swear themselves, I suspect most immigrants from the UK will find the language used on Australian radio a bit of a surprise. Often British celebrity guests will accidentally let a minor swear word slip, sh*t, for example, and apologise, only to be told that of course it’s f**king alright for them to say that on air. Swear words in songs that would be routinely bleeped out overseas are left in here. This year’s top place in the Triple J Hottest 100 – a kind of chart of the year’s most popular songs – went to ‘Little Lion Man’ by Mumford and Sons, a track with a chorus lamenting how the singer ‘f***ed it up this time’. I heard thousands of people sing it out loud when the band played the Laneway Festival in Perth earlier this year. It wasn’t offensive, just slightly out of tune.
So if I’m so comfortable with all this foul language, you may be wondering why I have gone down the route of using asterisks to disguise – not very effectively – some of the words I’ve used here. My usual writing loosely follows The Guardian’s style guide – which is quite clear that no asterisks should be used.
But given that I’ve only been in this country five minutes, it’s probably best not to risk offending anyone. You never can tell what people will think. I recently told someone I have known for nearly 20 years that I thought I swore quite a lot, and they were visibly shocked – even although I am pretty sure I have never uttered anything much worse than a ‘bloody’ in front of them. So the asterisks can stay on screen; the full words are safe in my head, ready for the next time I have to deal with my mobile phone company or another crazy bit of Australian bureaucracy – what swearing was invented for.
Ha! Great post…really freakin’ great!! Noticed I used freakin’…yes, that was intentional.
http://www.wutevs.wordpress.com
Those who swear too much are real liars. 😀
I agree with you.
People make a big deal out of nothing. Swearing is swearing. It can funny (That Pulp Fiction movie is an example), it can be used as means to expression, and it can be bad attempts at being edgy. The only problem is there are people who discover swearing and think they’re awesome.
I remember being 12-14 and learning a new swear word. we would walk down the halls at school shouting the new word, thinking we were the shit.
Be careful – swears can become cliche. When people drop F bombs into every sentence it becomes old and tiresome. When people you least expect throw in an F bomb, it cab be hilarious. Most hilarious is when a person who normally uses words like “frick” or “fudge” accidentally turns of the censor and lets one slip. And don’t forget words like “poo” can be equally funny and useful.
I think the problem with swearing arises when people forget the rest of the English language. All of a sudden it’s Eff, Effin, F, F, F, and hidden within those words can be found a disguised noun or verb perhaps providing the sentence with, I don’t know, meaning? The over usage of such descriptive words (i.e. F-word) makes the task of deciphering meaning rather difficult. The responder has to listen so acutely to the swearing-fiend, that unless he has something brilliant swimming within the pool of swear words, his words tend to sound stupid or irrelevant. The same goes for people who use the word “like” as if there is no other word in the dictionary! It almost turns into a pattern ( i.e. every other word) and you learn to pick out the few other words used to formulate your response. I tend to feel extraordinarily smart when speaking with these types of people because I’ll integrate lesser-used English words into my responses, to throw them off their game. In any case, enjoyable post.
Thanks! And I agree. For me it’s not language itself that is the problem, but the lazy application of it – which can mean peppering your speech with swear words or interjections like ‘like’, as you say!
bro, i couldnt agree with you more. I’m from the east coast in the united states and we curse like truck drivers up here.
then i moved out west and people were almost taken aback by my foul mouth, haha.
the thing they dont seem to understand is that swearing isnt always meant to be disrespectful or rude, its just a way of communication like anything else.
When i’m around someone who curses alot in a regular conversation i’m not offended one bit, if anything, i’m more relaxed and comfortable because i feel that person is being more “real” by really sharing whats on his or her mind instead of beating around the bush trying to maintain a level of “political correctness.”
dont get me wrong, i watch my mouth around young kids, but if its all adults, let er rip!
That’s really cool that swear words aren’t edited out on the radio in Australia. Unforunately, I don’t think that will ever happen in America 😦 However, over the past couple years radio stations have stopped bleeping out the word ‘bitch’…I don’t know if that makes American radio increasingly progressive or not though…who knows?
Hmmm…while I don’t have a problem with swearing as such, I do find the fact that certain words are used to denigrate women offensive, and bitch would be one of those words. I take it the songs you refer to aren’t talking about female dogs! 🙂 So in that respect I suspect the non-bleeping is a step backwards, for women at least.
Like your blog, by the way! Good luck with your German studies.
Too funny. It is interesting how each country is a little different as far as tolerances.
I’m an American and one thing I love about my new homeland, Sweden, is that they leave in ALL the curse words on the television shows/movies. I can’t imagine watching any of Gordon’ Ramsey’s shows in the US. The whole thing would be one long ‘bleeeeep.’
Haha, fun to hear you say that! I’m Norwegian, and it’s the same thing on television there too. And I’ve learned so many new and interesting words (both in English and Norwegian) from it.
Are you speaking Swedish yet? I’m wondering if it’s true that among the first words you learn in a new language is curse words…? At least that’s my experience.
Enjoy the Swedish spring! 🙂
I need to move … to Australia.
My mum always says that swearing is only rude because once upon a time one person decided it was and that its only rude if you think its rude
I’ve never understood why people don’t mind swearing in movies and music but when a sports star gets caught mouthing an expletive on the instant replay everyone is horrified that they youth will be corrupted.
What really cracks me up is when foreigners are just “learning” how to swear in English, because, linguistically, it’s actually quite tricky to grasp the nuances of how to swear “right”. Example: my husband, who’s not a native English speaker, has learned “piece of Sh*t”…but doesn’t know to use it to describe someone or something. Instead, he uses it as an exclamation. So instead of those great four-letter words, he yells “piece of sh*t!!!” when, say, he loses a queen to me in our regular evening chess match 🙂
Ha! I can SO relate to that. I studied Spanish for years and always thought it would be fun to be able to throw in the odd swear word. But it is surprisingly dificult, particularly when swearing tends to be spontaneous, and my Spanish never was!
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lol im a huge sailor.
Like any kind of language it’s about appropriate usage. People who use foul language in every situation need to learn better ways to express themselves.
I think a lot of the offense in swearing comes from the situation.
Interesting to see skinneejay talking about movies. I remember years ago seeing a couple of movies full of swearing. One of them was very light hearted and while I thought the excessive use of bad language was over the top, it didn’t really offend me.
The other movie had just as much swearing but it was used in a very nasty and callous way and it was very offensive.
Hi Rodney
I completely agree with you about movies. I went to see Kick Ass the other week and thought I would hate everything about it – over the top violence, excessive swearing and young people behaving in appalling ways – but I actually loved every minute because it had its tongue firmly in its cheek the whole way through. Without the humour it would have been horrendous.
I live in Australia too. (Originally from New Zealand, which would be the same as Aus in this respect.)
I also worked in the UK for a little while and was really taken aback to find that the word ‘bugger’ is foul language. And ‘bollocks’. It got me into trouble at work one time.
To me, these aren’t swear words at all. ‘Bollocks’ is a farming term to me, and ‘bugger’ is just funny. I don’t even think of its original meaning. It’s what we say when we’re mildly annoyed and anyone who looks too deeply is… well, looking too deeply.
I think the dangers for us going over to you guys are far greater than you coming here, and yes, I do feel very at home in Australia! Still, like anywhere, there are Australians who are offended by bad language and I adapt my speech according to who I’m speaking with. Especially older folk, who can be genuinely offended. (For no good reason, but still.)
Isn’t it funny how people can be offended at ‘fuck’ yet those same people may happily accept all sorts of bigotry, sexisms and homophobias. We like to see the world in black and white. Life gets too complicated otherwise…
I couldn’t agree more with your last paragraph. Let’s focus on the stuff that really matters.
you obviously listen to the right channel 🙂 – all the commercial channels we get here in Brisbane bleeped the fword out – very annoying and not something I am used to from continental Europe. What the F ?!.. indeed.
The swearing would be one of the most interesting aspects to observe in a new country, and for me it’s already the 2nd time, and not my mother tongue again.
My first shocking encounter with censorship of ‘foul language’ in Oz was when i bought a Johnny Cash best of CD and it had a bleep. On the CD. On MY CD. I could not believe it.
I swear and I no more hiss in my language when something happens. I try to not overdo it in front of my son (4), but we have a rule that bad words are OK, in the car and in music.. erm…well, something like that.
I agree with many here that some people simply overdo it and take the whole point out of swearing.
[…] depends on age, social conditioning and region. Swearing is more acceptable in regular conversation in parts of Australia, for instance, than in parts of […]
a precious lesson of a great person. nice
Okie dokie. Here’s a link to a crazy blog, also from Perth.
Lots of traffic and people to meet!
http://frigginloon.wordpress.com/
Oh yeah, maybe I was supposed to cuss a bit?
SHITPISSBABY!
This is to personally thank you for taking the trouble to avoid subjecting my psyche to the awful, ugly, thoughtless, use of the ONLY word that sickens me.
So far, it is still bleeped out of television in the USA. Any time that it comes forth in a freshly pressed piece, I stop reading immediately.
Nothing is more sad than a “writer” who can’t express him/her self without using that word. A blasphyemy against a sacred act, it is.
Australia is a great place to leave. i am planning to go there on 2011.
I think it’s cool and well-written post with simplicity.There is nothing with the word Fuck and it’s cool to us.Sometimes I do swear among Friends n People need to chill out and it’s not as if an earthquake has happened.
Cheers
Vishal.
English is my second language, so I don’t know much about swearing words. Once, I thought that the phrase “F*** u” as quite often appeared in the Hollywood movies is “just” a phrase to show how annoying one people to another. But later, when I finally find out how rude it could be mean, I feel very annoyed with people who swear with the words. It’s just don’t appropriate. But swearing… (with other words), could be “relieving”, though. For example, when you met someone crossed over your way on the highway, without manner, I tend to swear, though he or she won’t hear it anyway :p
The UK is more liberal of using “bad words” than the US… interesting to hear that apparently Australia even more so! :o)
Surely foul words are just words at the end of the day. This coming from a woman who vows 2 things every Monday morning – I will diet this week (lasts until the first packet of crisps) and that I won’t swear at work….
I work in IT and it is worth noting that I didn’t swear too much until I worked in the IT Department of a chicken factory! Don’t get me wrong, I knew all the words but I didn’t get into ‘casual’ potty-mouth status until in my 30s. Having said that I am now very good at it, particulary favourites have been mentioned on some other comments on this blog – bollocks and bugger but, when required I can use them all in a very short timeframe:-)
I do try not to offend so will be more cautious with those who would take offense but at the end of the day the old phrase is true – ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me’.
Lastly, I am subscribing to your blog as I am interested to see how your new life in Oz progresses. I am (hopefully) planning a month in your new home in 2013 for the Lions Rugby Tour so any gems are welcome.
Oddly enough, I blame my swearing on a workplace too. For years I was a journalist, working in very macho newsrooms where we often used black humour and bad language to get us through some of the horrible things we had to write about. When I went from there to the public sector it was a bit of a shock! Enjoy planning your big trip – you’ll love it here!
Ya….. Its absolutely true 4 mechanical life led by us………
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Very entertaining read.
Thanks!
One difference I’ve noticed is that ‘bastard’ is about as offensive as ‘shit’ or ‘bitch’ in Australia, where as its still a little taboo in England.
I am Arab, and the nearest thing I come to swearing in Arabic is to say: stupid!
However, I and my sister have no problem saying piece of sh*t all the time =P (in English of course…)
we Indians just start using these words ,i think this generation.
In a way I hate to admit it but I really do swear too often. I went from a ‘swearing is nasty’ stage up till about the age of 13 and then it all went downhill from there.
I don’t however swear at college particuarly and a lot of my classmates do go ‘do you ever swear?’ but yes I often end up dropping swears into conversations. But more so when I’m out of college.
I had a classmate last year though who had a real swearing problem she was one of these people who could not say one sentance without swearing. It was never really the ‘mild’ stuff this was full bodied, wash your mouth out with bleach stuff. She had a whole host of other ‘issues’ but it got real tiresome, real quick. (I my friend and I had a running joke we needed a counter to count how many times she’d swear in a day)
I’m in the UK and in one of those towns plauged with that lovley class of people called ‘Chavs’ and I can not stand them. They constantly swear, spit and are loud and obnoxious. And boy some of the Chav kids say stuff that makes me go ‘where the hell did you learn that’ as most of these kids are about 10-12
In school once we had an American teacher, she had a go at me for using the word ‘hell’ but that may have been more to do with the fact I was in a Christian school.
Excellent post! Just subscribed 🙂
Thank you!
It’s interesting to learn what other cultures deem as appropriate and what is not appropriate. I agree with you about the use of swear words. Used in the right instance, they punctuate a point very well, however, all too often people use them as a form of expression when other words would better illustrate their point (I’m guilty of this and have been curbing my use of ‘foul’ language).
Additionally, you’re absolutely right about the importance of such words. It seems to me as if we’re perhaps giving them too much power when instead we should be focusing on real issues that hold greater importance. Good post!
cool
The thing that drives me crazy is the doublestandards that accompany swearing. It’s ok to hear the words in a movie or in a song but should a politician or other well known figure be caught publicly uttering a foul word, oh sin!
I think swearing is terrible. Just because you’re an adult doesn’t make you able to swear. Can I get away with murder JUST BECAUSE you were an adult. But if anything, swearing shouldn’t be used to offend someone (E.g. calling them an insult) but more of expression. But I believe in not swearing. And the worst thing that happens is that when some 8 year old who watches too much WWE discovers a new word and then says it thinking they’re so cool and swearing is for “cool kids.” I mean what the heck.
Cursing is like using a bat for a fly swatter…
I effing love bats.
http://cloverspace.com
I’m not a big potty mouth. Where I come from, swearing in considered a sign of poor self-control, and is highly frowned upon. I guess it just depends on where you come from. I try not to swear a lot. Occasionally, I do slip every once in a while, like if I stub my toe or something. But, I mostly keep these bad words out of my vocabulary. People really judge you by your language, and I don’t want to be labeled as a person with poor self-control.
quite amusing, indeed
I have a South African friend who puts “fuckin'” in front of just about every noun… it’s like a verbal fuckin’ tick. I swear a fair bit but living in Southeast Asia I find myself trying to limit the four-letter words I use, because I think they have too many unintended consequences. Indonesian television won’t even show people kissing on the lips… Thousands of Indonesian port workers recently went on a destructive rampage because one of their Indian bosses called them “stupid”. I guess that’s more a case of insult than obscenity but you get the picture.
I guess I’d said enough … “the cloud” cut me off …
OK, I’m listening . I’m supposed to try again.
One of my earliest memories (in the 1920’s) was my father cussing – a lot!
When he was 65 he told me that he swore because he didn’t know enough English to express himself. He’d only gotten a 6th grade education.
I suspect that the theory still holds … If you can’t express yourself properly, swear.
When I encounter the f-word – I stop reading – immediately!
I hope to God that I always will. I don’t WANT to be INSENSITIZED. I think feeling is an admirable human reaction.
Although swearing can get a little old, it seems like the perpetual and suffocating sounds of “like, you know,” “and she/he was like oh my gosh/god,” “um, and really, like, important” and whatever other modifications the above may take, are at least on par with the tired quality of fuck, shit, and/or damn. But “poop” never gets old.
Cheers.
http://beatthepulpwriting.wordpress.com/
I think that cursing excessively in a crude manner is unattractive, but in songs/movies/television shows.. I think it should be uncensored. There are so many songs about drugs, sex, and other inappropriate things, that I believe a curse word (or 10 in some songs) should be acceptable without being bleeped out.
even educated people do swear!:D I guess swearing words enrich a language ( at some point). In Indonesia even some names of fruits or ingredients could be considered swear words, depending on how you emphasize the words. I think it’s quite “amazing” swear words are gradually increasing.
TVs here don’t use swear words ,but in practice, hell yes, they do appear.
I think……… there are lot of word except swear to say anyone whom you hate or you want to insult.
I am sure a person who uses this word doesn’t have control on himself. According to me, it is easy to spent a time with your pets then a person who never think before using the word swear.