Sorry to dig up such an old thread, but this is a subject which is very interesting to me.
Personally I swear simply because I like the aural effect. I consider myself an intelligent and articulate person, and I like to surround myself with other intelligent and articulate people. All of my friends swear. In fact, a few of them can converse with each other using barely more nouns than "shit" and "dude"(or dudes) AND actually convey a meaning to the other person. It's absolutely hilarious to watch.
Ive been known to use the following words on-the-fly, sometimes more than once:
"Browsifying"
"Brazilliant"
"Fuckery" (some of you mightve seen that one
)
"Fantasmal"
"Pastrious" (yes as the adjective form of 'pastry')
and more. I even accidentally asked a customer if they were just browsifying when I worked at EB.
I just love the way particular words can be effectively used to jazz up normal speech, to add a bit of enjoyment to the act of speaking. I think its a rythmic thing.
Now, 'Fuck' has got to be one of my all time favourite words, simply because its distinct, concise, sharp, and it has to be the most versatile english word ever created. It's fun to use! I almost never use 'shit' or 'cunt' (except maybe as exclamations) simply because they're not as interesting to say.
I AM able to convey my meaning and express strong emotion without using curse words, and indeed I usually find I can express ideas and feelings better without them. Some of the coldest, most hate filled insults I've ever heard (or said *guilty look*) have no swearing at all. I do agree that abuse of these words is stupid andmakes them boring.
Billy Connelly said that it's perfectly alright to swear, as long us you can swear WELL.
Billy himself happens to hold the opinion that he can swear brilliantly.
Personally I have never taken offence at curse words of any form, and I had this idea:
If I mean no offence when I use a swear word, (in fact, maybe the opposite case, say I am conveying a compliment and happen to swear as a rythmic device) and someone else takes offence to my using it...
is it my fault for using it, or are they 'choosing' to take offence?
Hmmmm....
Oh, and just for the hell of mentioning it, I happen to think that the most entertaining (friendly) insult ever has to be
"Fuck you, fuckball."
Can't get enough.