“People feel that because they’re in high school, they can do pretty much whatever they want,” said Cynthia Briest, junior.
“I think there’s a problem with excessive cursing because even if [students are] not angry, upset, or emotional in any way, they use it as plain speech. It’s very insulting to a lot of adults and anyone raised with a shred of decency or maturity,” said Sydney Gerber, junior.
Do students curse just in school, or is it a part of teenager’s vocabulary at home, too? I’d be grounded for the foreseeable future if my mother heard me drop “the F-bomb.”
Gerber said that at school bad language is “the norm,” and students try to be cool, but at home it’s quite different. “I think people are mainly comfortable with their friends because they won’t get in trouble [for cursing].”
Not only does location take an effect on student’s vocabulary, but the group of friends does, too. “[Cursing] Depend[s] on what environment you’re in,” commented Da’quan Brown, junior. He mentioned that he would never cuss at home – “Oh no! Not at my house!” – but he does with his friends.
Cussing doesn’t help get a point across, and if you think it makes you look older or more mature, you’re sadly mistaken. Unless you’re extremely angry and at a loss of all other words to express yourself, there is no point whatsoever in cussing in general conversations and is incredibly irritating.
Some people may claim that curse words are simply words, nothing more, but Gerber said it depends on how they’re said. “If there’s emotion behind [cursing], then it’s not just another word.”
“Some words can be offensive… but random little small things like a-s-s, not so much,” said Brown.
“I try not to [cuss]… I don’t see much of a point in it,“ said Meskhidze. “You can say the same without using four letter words.”
Briest agrees. “Other words can be substituted instead of those words.”
Curse words are unnecessary and extremely overused. In some extreme circumstances, they may help a person emote, but such words don’t need to be said in every sentence.
Maybe to some people, the specific four-letter combinations are just words, but other people take offense. With over a quarter million words in the English language to choose from, there’s no need to resort to the same phrases; everyone should exercise a little variety.
