Has profanity lost its impact?

While wandering around the other day it was hard to ignore the large amount of profanity that seems to be more common than not these days. Most loud conversations between people seemed to use swearing as punctuation more than anything else.

I was beginning to wonder what these conversations would sound like without the cursing and then realised that in modern conversation they are passing unnoticed or were just descriptive adjectives.

10 or 20 years ago and anyone using that kind of language would have been the exception, now its the rule. Have people forgotten how to swear or is now just the norm.

And if you use profanities all the time, how do you swear when you really mean it?

Fuck if I know.

I don't habitually swear. My verbal sins tend more twords using 'like' and 'um' too much.

People who use profanity all the time tend to just sound dumb/uneducated to me.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Orual

People who use profanity all the time tend to just sound dumb/uneducated to me.

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I really feel the same way, but it does become kind of a habit after a while. I hear it, it sinks in, and suddenly "um" has been replaced by "fuckin'," until I decide to step back and try to be more conscious of the words I use. I think it helps that most customer service jobs have pretty strict language policies. I couldn't imagine talking to a customer the way I'd talk to a friend.

Like fuck it is.

I hear it a lot more just when I pass by people on the sidewalk - loudmouths and jerks, almost by definition. People yammering on cellphones tend to do it. But it's no more common in bars, restaurants, workplaces, etc. than it was a decade or two ago, I'd say.

Profanity is ubiquitous here. People of all ages swear like sailors, in public and private.

I try hard not to swear as I was a sailor and couldn't complete a sentence without dropping at least one F-Bomb when I first got out. I am very good about on the Internet and it makes the rare times I curse more effective for those that know me. IRL, I do very well at work but slip far more in casual situations then I like.

I think generally cursing is very common now, I would say younger people, below 25, swear like sailors now.

Earlier today, I was trying to help a man connect to his wireless with his Nook. He was retired military, in his sixties, I'd say. He dropped a few swear words in reference to the device and immediately apologized. I was impressed, since I usually don't get apologies when people swear in my presence. I assured him it was okay, not because I'm half his age and more used to the language, but because, "My daddy's retired Army and does the same thing."

I've come to the conclusion that, for me, most profanity has lost all its fucking impact. However, there are a couple of words or phrases that still catch me off guard every time I hear them, no matter how ubiquitous they might be.