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Language and swearing in posted pieces.

Romy

Troubadour
I'm assuming that's a user here?
Character in a game several years ago... Kept cursing for basically everything, not really angry or anything, just his way of talking. Hard to consider serious and an example were swearing looses impact if you do it too much. In this case intentionally for comic effect.

 

pmmg

Myth Weaver
It does seem, that every few years there is a type of word police that comes through and decides we need to stop using words the way we had before. Death and Rape are often blotted out today in favor of 'unalived' or other words. I think that is due to sites like Youtube who will block content that has those words in it.

The heavy use of swear words is generally a put off to me. One of the reasons I don't care much for Stephen King.
 

JBCrowson

Maester
I find it interesting to look at the words that are considered swear words, and how they change. Most of the 'traditional' English ones refer to words for genitals, words for sexual acts, or words for illegitimate children. I believe we have Victorian England to thank for the first two as there was at that time and place a shunning of talking about such things in public. For a wealthy person to be accused of being illegitimate risked your inheritance if confirmed.

There's an element of "shock value" in swearing as well as being insulting. Because words or phrases tend to lose their shock value over time, new expressions arise to fill the gap (need?) Nowadays, few people where I live care whether your parents were married when they had you, and so "paedo" probably carries the equivalent level of insult to "bastard". Perhaps "he's a right Epstein" will enter the vernacular.
 
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