Is It Offensive or Defensive Language?

“There is no influence like the influence of habit.”- Gilbert Parker

My thought is that profanity has five salient influences in modern living. These influences delineate many of the current issues that permeate our current use of language. Our verbalized expressions are connected to what we need in our life at any given moment in time.

Offensive Language

Being offensive with language may be quite simple. When we direct these words toward others, we intend to offend. Many profane expletives are meant to offend the listener.

These words are like verbal weapons that have the intention to hurt, humiliate, or provoke. The sender wants to do damage to the receiver, or inspire a reaction. There is no attempt to soften the blow. Blatant words are implemented for a blatant intent.

“Over my lifetime, heavy usage has woefully eroded profanity's power.”

Lionel Shriver

A Need for Power

Profanity can also be an expression of our need for power. We are not holding back our thoughts and feelings. We are exhibiting what is labelled “strong language” by some.

Better words may be available to the sender, however, there appears to be a need to express with authority, which some people believe profanity provides. We see this quite often in literature, movies and theatre where profanity is utilized to demonstrate one’s powerful presence.

To Shock

Profane language is also used to shock. These loaded words can come from the most unlikely sources. Young children will swear to shock their parents.

Quiet, introverted individuals will sometimes assert themselves by inserting an F-bomb. The shock approach is about getting more attention than usual. Throwing out a deluge of profanity in a crowd will bring plenty of attention, desired or not.

“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” - Voltaire

Freedom

To express oneself in a totally uninhibited fashion demonstrates one’s sense of freedom. No holds barred so to speak. When young people start using profanity it is often a new found freedom.

They may temporarily forget the rest of the words in the dictionary other than the four-letter variety. They are sending a message that they are now an adult and that they are confident and not conforming.

A Sense of Belonging

A common language binds more than nationalities. Common language influences who we are most likely to befriend. Likeminded people feel a greater sense of belonging when they surround themselves with those who use the same language.

People who use profanity tend to hang out with others that use profanity. This is part of a ritual of ‘you are like me’. A sense of belonging comes from the camaraderie of a common language. Words become sport, especially in their humour.

Top Billing for Swearing

Martin Scorsese obviously believes in the significance of swearing in his movies. Two of the top three movies with the most swear words are directed by Scorsese.

The Wolf of Wall Street had 715 swear words, rated number one, and Casino had 606, rated number three. Both movies tend to corroborate that swearing is about all five of the reasons cited. The characters are being offensive by intention, demonstrating their power, utilizing shock value, exhibiting freedom, and creating a sense of belonging.

The 120 Days of Sodom written by the Marquis de Sade is possibly the most offensively profane book ever written. The themes of nihilism and atheism are forefront but the book also purports that a person is only on Earth for a short time, therefore there is no heaven or hell to punish an evil life, and that karma and its consequences do not act on the powerful. The reference to profanity that is associated with the powerful is ever present.

“It is true that we are exposed to more forms of swearing since the inception of satellite radio, cable television, and the Internet, but that does not mean the average person is swearing more frequently. In our recent frequency count, a greater proportion of our data comes from women (the reduction of a once large gender difference). We interpret this finding as reflecting a greater proportion of women in public (e.g., many more women on college campuses) rather than a coarsening of women. Our forthcoming research also indicates that the most frequently recorded taboo words have remained fairly stable over the past 30 years. The Anglo-Saxon words we say are hundreds of years old, and most of the historically offensive sexual references are still at the top of the offensiveness list; they have not been dislodged by modern slang. Frequency data must be periodically collected to answer questions about trends in swearing over time.” (1) Perhaps exposure to more swearing has minimized some restraint in this behaviour.

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Counterpoints

Language that intends to offend may work in the short term. However, aggressive language does have the potential to end up in disaster. Offend the wrong person and offensive words may end in violence. Aggression is sometimes met with aggression. Sensitive people may react with insensitivity.

Language that purportedly supports power, may actually be rather weak. Strong words may be a misnomer. Usually those who have a better vocabulary demonstrate a much higher level of descriptive ability than those restricted to four letters. The power of words is more in their descriptive nature rather than their bluntness.

Surely there must be better ways than using shocking language to attract someone’s attention. Swearing to attract attention may attract the wrong type of attention. You might be getting attention that does not win favour but rather disrespect.

There is a lot of freedom in unlimited expression. Profanity may give someone a sense of this freedom initially. However, this freedom is also limited due to the small sample size of swear words. There may be more freedom in using all the words available instead of a selected few.

Besides, a sense of belonging that is derived from only likeminded people is devoid of diversity. Our completeness is complimented by our exposure to a large variety of different types of people and places. Belonging deprived of diversity will always suffer potential.

Whether swearing is implemented for offensive or defensive reasons will be dependent on the mindset of the sender. Are they intending to offend? Could they be feeling powerless? Is there a need to shock? Is there a presumed benefit of expressing oneself freely? Could swearing be a mechanism that increases a sense of attachment and belonging, especially to likeminded people? Regardless of the main reasons for swearing, the sender may be oblivious to the benefits or the costs.