Re:Swearing at work - a guide
by D9u on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @07:58AM
(#5594523)
When I hear people using curse words regularly I form the opinion that such individuals lack the eloquence to express themselves without resorting to profanity.
Thus I hold these people in low regard, as I highly value literacy, and most educated people are able to avoid profanity while conveying their thoughts.
That said, I do use profanity from time to time informally, but I refrain from doing so in a professional setting.
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I'm able to avoid profanity while conveying my thoughts.
But sometimes I quite like using profanity when expressing how utterly full of shit the "only stupid people swear" theory is.
This is the distinction I often find between Europe and America, the range of understood swear words up here - and the myriad ways they can be combined, means eloquent swearing is far more possible.
One of the most glorious scenes in the Matrix is the Merovingian swearing in French.
The Wire's "let's do a whole scene of F-bombs" was an amusing one off, but mainly as satire of the overwhelming nature of its use on the other side of the pond.
> most educated people are able to avoid profanity while conveying their thoughts
Just because you can, doesn't mean you have to. This idea that swearing means you must somehow have an insufficient vocabulary or IQ is absolutely ludicrous. Language is there to be used.
It's true that some people use swear words as the bread for their vocabulary sandwich. I prefer to use them more like a fine mustard.
I grew up during the 60's and 70's, when words such as "ass," "bitch," and the like, were absolutely forbidden by my parents as well as by their peers. Today profanity is much more widely accepted, as evidenced by mainstream media's lessening of censorship regarding certain bits of profanity.
I dislike mustard, and find that the words "fine," and "mustard," are mutually exclusive. (lol)
Nevertheless, just because you have an aversion to profanity doesn't mean that it is anybody's responsibility to avoid it except your own. Your reaction to profanity is your own issue - it doesn't mean that the speaker is any less intelligent just because you happen to get offended.
So I don't know if there's a formal name for this rhetorical strategy but you appear to be constructing a dichotomy that excludes people who use profanity from some imaginary high status group that you claim membership to. Exclusion being necessary because the actual membership of highly-(literate || eloquent) wouldn't let you in the group if you didn't attempt to preemptively dismiss their opinions.
I am in no way claiming inclusion to "some imaginary high status group" and I regularly commit grammatical errors which the truly and highly educated will readily recognize.
Your premise of exclusion ignores the fact that my post above contains grammatical errors as referred to in my previous sentence.
I strive towards excellence, but have much room for improvement.
Re:Swearing at work - a guide
by rohansingh on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @08:58AM
(#5594776)
Interestingly, what makes me cringe much more than any profanity is the use of gratuitous verbiage such as "such individuals". Why not just have said, "they"?
Had I used the word "they" in place of "such individuals," then Avashalom's inference regarding my creation of a dichotomy would be valid.
By using the term "such individuals" I have not excluded myself from said group.
Re:Swearing at work - a guide
by lucian1900 on Tuesday April 23, 2013 @08:01AM
(#5594533)
What about people that eloquently use profanity?
You are assuming something unproven.