Week 11- Profanity (comment)

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This is my third and final comment. :) :)

I commented on Ayla Black's blog post, which you can find here. But, I have also pasted my comment below.

I enjoyed reading different student's posts on this week's topic. It was interesting to see the different perspectives on the use of profanity and coarse language in everyday interactions. 'What do profanity and coarse language actually accomplish in interaction?' is a good question and one I have never really considered. I agree with Robinson and Zimmerman that profanity is used to intensify meaning in statements. I hardly ever swear, but on the occasion where I do, it is because I want to exaggerate my point. However, I personally think that profanity does not really accomplish much in an interaction. A person is more likely to lose face then anything else. The use of profanity has become so embedded in everyday interaction that people do not even realise that they are swearing most of the time. I think the only time profanity can actually 'accomplish' something for a person is when somebody is frustrated. The use of a swear word can help release frustrations and allow them to express emotion. The outcome is that they feel better afterwards.

I also agree that the word 'fuck' has lost its meaning due to its frequent usage in conversations. It does not faze me when I hear the word used in a sentence. I think people now use profanity to simply fill out sentences and to replace the 'umms' and 'ahhs'. One swear word I cannot stand hearing in conversations is cunt, and I think that it really degrades the person who uses it. It is interesting how some profanity and coarse words carry more weight and emphasise then others.