How often do you swear?

[Temporal Knight]

So, today I was watching some television out of boredom, and one of the shows I came across happened to be one of those lovely reality shows. During the show, a man started swearing as if his life depended on it, and got me to thinking...

"I wonder how many Compendiumites cursed, and how often they did so."

So I decided to compose a poll on the matter.

An example. I do swear every now and then. I used to swear beyond comparison, but I started to kick the habit when I decided it was unruly and crude. Nowadays, I only swear when the situation calls for it. However, I do enjoy the word "damn".

[GenesisOne]

I rarely swear if at all, but when I do, I get creative and put a censor's bleep in place of the word.

When the situation calls for it, I swear to myself under my breath.

To me, swearing is a sign of a person's lack of vocabulary and ability to rationally express their feelings.

[Sajainta]

There isn't an option for me in this poll.  Around people I'm comfortable with and who have no issue with cussing, I swear quite a bit.  It's just a part of my idiolect.  I don't swear in public, around my parents, or around people I don't know very well.  Once I learn that someone doesn't have an issue with swearing or isn't going to pass off judgment on me, I speak how I normally would.  I'm a regular sailor, hah.

So a voting option for me would be "I only swear around those who don't mind, and when that happens I swear a lot."

To me, cussing says very little about someone's intelligence or vocabulary.  I know a tonne of people who swear regularly, yet their speech is also peppered with "big" words.  I also know a fair amount of pretty dull people who rely on euphemisms and think swearing is so gosh darn frickin' awful.  You can refrain from swearing all you want, but if you're a dull-minded person you aren't going to be able to hide that very successfully.  I pay attention to the content of what people say, rather than simply zoning in on how many times they say "fuck" or "shit".

[Asafigow]

I swear sometimes, though I try not to go with the stronger ones like the f and s words. From what I understand, curse words have always been around, but they were, at one time or another, words used to show pure anger or malice towards someone or something. Although today, for most people, it's just part of the common language, mostly used as dead descriptive words.

I started off using them as words of anger, or just to get peoples attention so they stop dicking around. Though I got used to saying some of the words like damn so often, they are slowly becoming part of my vocabulary

[Truthordeal]

There isn't an option for me in this poll.  Around people I'm comfortable with and who have no issue with cussing, I swear quite a bit.  It's just a part of my idiolect.  I don't swear in public, around my parents, or around people I don't know very well.  Once I learn that someone doesn't have an issue with swearing or isn't going to pass off judgment on me, I speak how I normally would.  I'm a regular sailor, hah.

Ditto.

There are also a few choice words that I never say, and you can guess which ones those are. I certainly try to keep from using it too often, otherwise the words pretty much lose meaning.

Also, I attempt to mix and match and create new ones. I'm a rather creative swearer.

[Lord J Esq]

When I utter those words that we think of as vulgarities, it is usually on a comic axis rather than for the venting of frustration or energetic emphasis. The concept of vulgarities is deprecated in my philosophy as the jejune product of immaturity on matters sexual, scatological, and xenographic--i.e., the words are only "vulgar" because they are judged to be so by a childish authority--but out of social tact I nevertheless typically refrain from using any vulgarities in most social settings.

I should distinguish between vulgarities which offend morality and those epithets which are specifically intended to cause harm, such as "cunt" and "nigger," which I almost never use (and never on a literal level).

Bottom line: I don't swear very much. Too many people draw too many conclusions from it, and I, as a lover of language, can all too easily find better alternatives for all the parts of speech that vulgarities encompass.

[utunnels]

Never, unless you count promise in.

[FaustWolf]

Oh, FUUUUUUUUU...dge.

[MagilsugaM]

I never swear in my native language. But it seems i have tendency to unconsciously  swear in English most of the time. Which gets me in the most unpredictable times, for e.g. when a teacher is around the school ground!

Now I kinda stopped so its better now...  

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF! I say FAAAH instead of the other word! lol

[utunnels]

Haha, I think there are 2 meanings for swear.
Well, it is a secret.  

[ONSLAUGHT]

I swear often but not all the time. Simply because my friends are kinda foul mouthed and I don't realize they rub off somewhat(along with their behaviors, I'm bad around them sometimes I'll admit).

Lately though I've been catching myself doing other things instead unnaturally like rather than drop an f-er I'll say Fut. Or Bit instead of Bitch. Cutting the words short. And something especially recent where if I'm angry, I might not swear but just start talking in an accent not native to my own!

Alot of it though is that my friends can get pretty confused when I speak normally(with abnormally high vocabulary). They'll have me repeat what I'm saying and so I have to talk like a nitwit sometimes for them to understand. Yes, I'm aware my friends aren't the brightest fellows around, but friends are supposed to bring happiness and they've accomplished that for years haven't they?

[Zephira]

There isn't an option for me in this poll.  Around people I'm comfortable with and who have no issue with cussing, I swear quite a bit.  It's just a part of my idiolect.  I don't swear in public, around my parents, or around people I don't know very well.  Once I learn that someone doesn't have an issue with swearing or isn't going to pass off judgment on me, I speak how I normally would.  I'm a regular sailor, hah.

So a voting option for me would be "I only swear around those who don't mind, and when that happens I swear a lot."

To me, cussing says very little about someone's intelligence or vocabulary.  I know a tonne of people who swear regularly, yet their speech is also peppered with "big" words.  I also know a fair amount of pretty dull people who rely on euphemisms and think swearing is so gosh darn frickin' awful.  You can refrain from swearing all you want, but if you're a dull-minded person you aren't going to be able to hide that very successfully.  I pay attention to the content of what people say, rather than simply zoning in on how many times they say "fuck" or "shit".

Yeah, that. As a past avid RTS and FPS online gamer, swearing seems to have become ingrained in my vocabulary. Between me, my siblings, certain Compendiumites (you know who you are), and other gamers, swearing is a joke and a form of surprise. I drop a stitch in knitting, I'll panic and utter "shit" while trying to catch it. Narrowly miss being sniped in the head on Halo, yell "fuck", laugh, and fire back. It's never meant to harm anyone, it's just something that has been conditioned by hearing it so often, and attributing it to the joys of video games.
Still, I try not to swear around my mother, teachers, or people I don't know. Mom always gets surprised and scolds me, despite the fact that she swears regularly herself. When it comes to other people/teachers/potential employers, you never know how easily someone can be offended.

[utunnels]

I hate people who swear a lot in real life. I felt awkward when I joined the IIC channel here since a lot of people tend to swear a way too much.
Myself don't swear publicly in real life, and probably never in internet posts.

Only when the situtation calls for it. (Like smashing your hand with a hammer)

Nothing but "oooooooooouch", "Awwwe"
 

[Romana]

Too often. I have a generally short temper and feel stressed out a lot, so...

I do avoid swearing around family members though.

[ZombieBucky]

im generally 'civil' as one might call it at work and with family and friends. but for me, swearing is more of a defensive thing. like if i get backed into a corner ill start swearing, or if youre messing with me in the kitchen, then i just turn into a sailor with a whisk. i dont mind when people swear, just as long as they know what theyre saying. if theyre just using random swears, its stupid and pointless.
then on the other hand, people who use euphomisms seem forced. you arent going to say 'oh gosh darnit, i dropped my frickin' egg again! oh, poo! the cake is frickin' melting!' it seems immature as well. a five year old would say, 'oh darnit!' or a stupid person. whatever their reasons, theyre annoying.