Does profanity make you look less intelligent?

Jolie77

Jolie77

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I am just curious to see what are the views that can be presented with this issue.

As you know, We see all kind of profanities out there and it is everywhere.

The profanities itself does not bother me at all but however, If a person uses profanities ALL the time to the point where it becomes tiring, that is a bit different.

I believe that if you have to resort to profanity - It shows that you do not have the vocabulary to express the opinion another way.

This is not always true, however, that is the appearance it gives to me.

At times, Profanity has its points. Sure, You wouldn't hear me say "oh me, oh my, I just busted my thumb with a hammer". But I wouldn't be profane at an office meeting, job interview or Charity Dinner function, either.

So, my question is, By using the profanities in a conversation or a topic - Does it make any different when you bring a point into this?

Discuss with respect, Please. :)
 
It can be tiresome for a person to constantly over use profanity. Some professionals don't use profanity due to having a bad reflection on them as a professional. There are some English professor that I have encountered refuse to even use such language due to having a higher standard in language and as a professor /teacher.

In general, using profanity probably won't disappear. I have seen educators say to students its best they avoid the profanity bec it reflects who they are.
 
I can agree that there are contexts where it's excusable- busting your finger with a hammer is one prime example!

But it belongs nowhere in polite conversation. There are other, less crude, ways to express what a profane word does. So yes, I do think it makes you look a lot less intelligent in that context. To me it says "I cannot think through what I say before I say it."
 
I agree.

I have nothing against profanity, but I do hate it when people overuse swear words.

Sometimes, I'll go to this social and see this deaf person swearing in almost every sentence like it's a normal cool thing to do. It completely ruins the conversation and I get turned off by it. :roll:
 
If they're making a point, fine. But if it's used in a deraugatory manner, they've just crossed the line.
 
if they continue with profanities, i'd be one who will make them shut up and zip it. If they are making a point that include profanity, i'd be shut up.
 
Jolie77 said:
I am just curious to see what are the views that can be presented with this issue.

As you know, We see all kind of profanities out there and it is everywhere.

The profanities itself does not bother me at all but however, If a person uses profanities ALL the time to the point where it becomes tiring, that is a bit different.

I believe that if you have to resort to profanity - It shows that you do not have the vocabulary to express the opinion another way.

This is not always true, however, that is the appearance it gives to me.

At times, Profanity has its points. Sure, You wouldn't hear me say "oh me, oh my, I just busted my thumb with a hammer". But I wouldn't be profane at an office meeting, job interview or Charity Dinner function, either.

So, my question is, By using the profanities in a conversation or a topic - Does it make any different when you bring a point into this?

Discuss with respect, Please. :)
Click to expand...

I agree. It does make a person look less intelligent in despite of how the person uses it often. I've seen a few ADers usin' profanity in this AD, especially the one that I am aware of is usin' it ALOT than others. It makes me disgustin' to see that person usin' that profanity -- it doesn't matter if, that person is makin' his/her point. It still makes that person less intelligent for usin' it. It doesn't make that person cool or wonderful. It shows obviously that this person thinks she/or he is alot better than others when he/or she is usin' that profanity to show how his/or her tough is. It sure makes me to avoid that person or don't want to talk to that person if not at all.
 
I agree it does make a person look less intelligent,I have seen people use it in almost every sentence ( I don't mean AD). Its F this and F that :roll:
 
People who use profanity don't impress me.

Itry to avoid conversations where profanity is used. I try to avoid TV programs and DVD movies that have profanity. I never use profanity myself.

It's too bad people can't express themselves without resorting to profanity. :(
 
Aleser said:
I can agree that there are contexts where it's excusable- busting your finger with a hammer is one prime example!

But it belongs nowhere in polite conversation. There are other, less crude, ways to express what a profane word does. So yes, I do think it makes you look a lot less intelligent in that context. To me it says "I cannot think through what I say before I say it."
Click to expand...

I agree with you completely. If I bust my thumb with a hammer, I can almost guarantee that a profane word will escape my lips! I have also been known to use a profane word or two in moments of extreme frustration.

It has been my experience that people who use profanity consistently in conversation not only appear less intelligent, but they are usually socially akward, as well.
 
I am not sure about intelligence but it sure does make one looks like a low-class.
 
it depends, i mean for Most folks, swearing really dumbs them down as they 'say it because its more exciting' in so doing when one listens *(or watch) more carefully its really a bore trying to colourise their world (hence thats why people says it's a euphemistically described as 'colourful' language'. So, yes when people says 'colourful language' they meant it to be used with lots of cussing and swearing, and profanity.

Oh the other hand, there are a few whose are 'expert swearers' like Billy Connolly, he can make many people laugh so hard and uses profanity to excess but with great skill, it is uncanny he gets away with it.
hmmmm
as for me, I am and have reduced use of such words as I realise its very to hard to phrase out eloquent statement/comments and much harder still to do so WITH colourful words, so hence I got even more respect for Billy and all the while, I just dont 'wear it rght' and hence I get more respect when i use it less. Quite an irony eh?

he's just gifted, the lucky bastard lol

Billy Connolly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
well i do use profanity as often as i please but mostly due to the fact it fits in the sentence so well i d like to th ink its more of a adult language and used accordingly not like a teenage girl that giggles everytime a person says penis if u get my meaning
profanity itself does not make a person dumber it just happen to fit in the sentence so well its not necessary to fit in the more " intillgencally" (ok i misspelled that but i dont care) words

like for example if a person says " fuck you ya fucking fucker" yes that s idiotic way to use profanity
however saying " shut the fuck up" seems more mature way of saying it toe xpress anger or annoyance
b ut then allt hose re merely matter of opinion isnt it?
purely in my opinion to answer ur question is using profanity make ur dumber? no its all about how to use it think of it this way profanity s ur weapon be wise on how to use it not ending up shotting u left nuts off so to speak

yes this is a long read and yes its a wall of text and yes i dontcare
yay for carelessness!!!
anyway just my 2 cent
and yes i m hyped up on caffine so if u ll excuse me
 
When used properly, profanity is often associated as an adjective/noun/verb. Usually it's used in negative contrast, to express dislike, hate, hostile animosity during the conversation that it is associated with.

Personally I do not have a grudge with profanity at all. When I was a child, I never got into the cycle of thinking that using profane words would make me look cooler. I just thought that it was language for people of low class or social background, due to the experiences I'd see with bums and homeless people often rambling in profanity.

As I got older, I understood their mainstream use and I even started using substitute words for them, mainly during acts that involved pain. Such as stubbing your toe, banging your head. I couldn't find other ways to express my feelings when they happened, so I would say "Fudge! Damn it! Ugh! Crap!" but never the commonly used profanity.

Personally I think that when someone strings so much of it into one sentence, it is a major turnoff for me. It makes them look less educated.
"Fucking get your shitty ass over to the fucking grocery store or they will fucking close on your bitchy ass"

But when used in social etiquette, as an expression of pain:
"So after Stacy ran past me I broke into a trot and starting pursuing after her. I looked back to see if there were more runners behind me and then I turned around and landed face flat into a No Parking signpost! Fuck, that hurt so [fucking] bad."
This is acceptable for me.

In my opinion, the world of professionals, depending on the profession - eg. Hollywood acting vs working for inner affairs on Wall Street, it's better not to use any profanity at all if your job focuses on the aspect of being upper class.
 
I dont have any issues with it when used in moderation. I even use it from time to time here in AD and IRL in moderation but I always feel that I could have used better wording. Sometimes, I just type how I feel and dont think about the profanity being profanity until later on.
 
I work with contractors and laborers and I am used to the profanity surrounding me. I notice though that if there are women workers in the crew, the profanity gets cut down. Sometimes when I am leading the crew, I warn them beforehand to watch their mouths. Last summer while laying down a sidewalk along an antique store strip during a sweltering day, I noticed the workers were swearing, and I roared at them to keep their @#&$ mouths shut %#$^ or I will &#$^% them, and a frail old lady who must have been a century old came out of a shop and shook her fist at me. Jeez, I felt like an idiot, lol.
 
I try not to swear very often but I'll do it when things go wrong. You should have heard me swearing when my Mac got stolen. and I'll swear if i stub my toe or drop my glass and it breaks. However, I agree with jillio's observation that people who use the fbomb in every other word in a sentence not only look stupid but they're also socially awkward.
 
not to be a asshole or anythin glike that but i sometimes tend to be in the mood to swear just so i can get ppl mad which in turn gives me the opporunity to tell them to shove it expressing my freedom of speech not good idea i know but /shrug it beats beating the crap out of someone
man life s boring i gotta do something about it
 
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