As the title says. Coming from a country where swearing is second nature, it’s very strange to me that so many Americans are strongly against it or rarely do it.
I know that alot of you are cool with it, but there’s a big portion who very much aren’t, why is that?
Also, why do you call it “Cussing” is it like an abbreviation of “Cursing”?
Edit: I feel like I need to clarify, this perception of mine is coming from a few American friends and how you guys are portrayed in the media alot of the time
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Uhmm I’m guessing you’re staying in the south/Midwest? Lots of people cuss a lot here
Cussing and cursing have blended into near synonyms over time but the original difference ws that cursing involved wishing ill on someone (literally wishing a curse on them) while cussing is basically the naughty words. You could do either one or both with a given phrase. Nowadays there’s often little distinction and which one someone uses just depends on what they heard more growing up.
I don’t mind cussing, but I don’t do it as much as I used to. It’s just not necessary and I like having somewhere to escalate. When fuck is every other word you don’t have much left to step up to, ya know? Rarity of use gives the invective its punch. Many disagree and do it constantly, that’s just my personal opinion.
I kinda got beef when someone says curse instead of cuss.
It’s tiny but it’s something I’ve noticed
It’s cuss lol
Come to an American Legion hall and hang out on Navy night, trust me you’ll love it.
Every question on this sub that could be rephrased as “why are you not like the people where I live?” should really answer itself. You can just ask yourself the converse question:
Why don’t you care about cussing? Because not caring about that is a characteristic of your culture that exists for no single reason you might provide. Cultures are diverse and have different ideas of rudeness and politeness.
Americans who have a problem with it do so because they see it as rude. You don’t care because you don’t.
Ah yes, “You do things differently in your culture than in mine and I’m really annoyed by that.”
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I didn’t know we were.
When someone swears a lot they sound like a teenage edgelord who’s trying too hard to make themselves sound edgy. It’s kind of cringe, kind of low class. Usually swears are just filler words, so they’re unnecessary and if you’re educated enough there are more articulate ways to express yourself.
We swear plenty, we just don’t use the c-word the same way you do.
Honestly, cussing all the time sounds trashy to me. If I get hurt or I’m at a sports game, I’ll cuss under my breath. There’s no need to do it all the time.
It’s a big country. There are plenty of people who cuss all the time, plenty who never do.
We’re not. People swear all the time. There’s just certain swears that are considered much worse here than in other countries usually because of sexist undertones, like with c°nt and b°tch.
With the diversity of culture here, swear words are going to be fine with some and uncomfortable for others– people that may find themselves within the same social group. Therefore, we aren’t going to sling around rude words promiscuously until we are certain everyone is on board with them. And if some are not, we’ll try to clean up our act as a sign of respect, as long as those who object can be forgiving.
America isn’t a classless society, but we pride ourselves in being able to mix with a broad range of types. This exhibits itself in our superficial politeness as well, which a lack of wild cussing in public is part of.
cursing is contextual. this is my general experience having lived in both the south & the midwest.
kids are generally discouraged from cursing (this varies) so when they’re young adults, like in high school and college, they curse a lot. and then when they grow up, they learn more about the context and the nuances of language, & what’s appropriate when. groups of adults in a casual setting will use curse words casually. no problem. but it’s usually not appropriate for professional settings if you work with the public. so when you’re a bit older, like 30-up, someone who swears to an excessive degree in inappropriate settings can sound immature, like they’re trying too hard to be edgy. but if done in the right context, cursing can be a really rich part of language and socializing in the US. it just depends.
Standards of politeness and acceptable behavior can differ across countries and cultures.
I associate cursing with being low class. Same with smoking.
My mama taught me cussing made me sound me uneducated and like I couldn’t use my big girl words to express my thoughts/feeling
I believe “cuss” originated with the word “curse” but that the differentiation is somewhat useful. “Cursing” sounds like putting a spell on someone, or at least wishing ill on them. “Cussing,” even if it technically means “cursing,” sounds more mild. Like you got mad and yelled at the person and used some bad words.
I suspect that different countries have different thresholds for when such language is okay.
[The fuck are you talking about](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adoXQbpC6Fo)
Swearing around children is often frowned upon. So, swearing in public places could be considered rude.
Doesn’t bother me much if people swear a lot, but it can be a bit obnoxious and come off as crass, or that someone lacks the vocabulary to speak proper English.
In my experience, the Midwest and south are more likely to say “shoot”, “darn”, “dagnabbit”, “heck”. East coast varies a little, the north east NY, NJ, PA, MA curse a lot especially around the cities.
West coast is also pretty loose with language but not as much as east coast. I think part of it is religious. Generally the east coast is less godly, Midwest and south are big on religion. West coast has a mix of heathens and Mormons
I’m not a linguist so I couldn’t tell you the root causes, but I’d imagine feedback loops are involved. Australians swear more because it’s what they are used to hearing while Americans swear less because they aren’t as used to hearing it
Y’all can’t go one thread on this topic without using one of like 3 words that are banned on this sub