Use of Language
June 1st 2007 09:44
One of the things that's really struck me since I last worked in an office, is the degree of swearing that takes place. I don't suppose it's the same in all offices, but certainly where I'm working the level of swearing has increased enormously on my scale of language, including amongst the women.
Perhaps in part it's due to the fact that there are a lot of labourers amongst those who are in and out of the office, but I don't think it's just that, since it's the managers that swear more than the labourers.
The f-word is so common it's well and truly replaced 'bloody' as a swear word. For some of the men, the c-word has joined it. There are two guys who use both to such a degree that very few other English words get a look in. The other managers are better, but the f-word is still the favourite amongst them too.
Amongst the women the language is lower on the swearing scale, with the old English equivalent of excrement being common (as it is in my evening job too). A couple of the women, however, have come out with 'he's an f-wit', but only in relation to someone who isn't in the same room. (Notice that the correct grammatical article is placed before it.)
As I say, it may be this particular office and its environs that's prone to all this swearing. I suspect that in the office across the road, where the accounting staff and the IT are, amongst others, the language isn't quite so aggressive.
I don't enjoy the overuse of these words. Quite apart from it being a debasement of the language, it has a tendency to rub off. I can remember working years ago, for a brief week or two, with some postal workers who loaded and drove the mail vans. They swore constantly, and within days it was starting to edge into my language as well. I can't say I've never used the f-word – my family will testify to hearing me say it at least once when I brought my head up and caught it on the edge of a cupboard door – but I'd prefer not to get into the habit of it. Such is the state of language nowadays that even 'bugger' has become commonplace – and it turns up in my own speech far too often too. It's a constant battle to keep your tongue clean, and speaking decent English.
Perhaps in part it's due to the fact that there are a lot of labourers amongst those who are in and out of the office, but I don't think it's just that, since it's the managers that swear more than the labourers.
The f-word is so common it's well and truly replaced 'bloody' as a swear word. For some of the men, the c-word has joined it. There are two guys who use both to such a degree that very few other English words get a look in. The other managers are better, but the f-word is still the favourite amongst them too.
Amongst the women the language is lower on the swearing scale, with the old English equivalent of excrement being common (as it is in my evening job too). A couple of the women, however, have come out with 'he's an f-wit', but only in relation to someone who isn't in the same room. (Notice that the correct grammatical article is placed before it.)
As I say, it may be this particular office and its environs that's prone to all this swearing. I suspect that in the office across the road, where the accounting staff and the IT are, amongst others, the language isn't quite so aggressive.
I don't enjoy the overuse of these words. Quite apart from it being a debasement of the language, it has a tendency to rub off. I can remember working years ago, for a brief week or two, with some postal workers who loaded and drove the mail vans. They swore constantly, and within days it was starting to edge into my language as well. I can't say I've never used the f-word – my family will testify to hearing me say it at least once when I brought my head up and caught it on the edge of a cupboard door – but I'd prefer not to get into the habit of it. Such is the state of language nowadays that even 'bugger' has become commonplace – and it turns up in my own speech far too often too. It's a constant battle to keep your tongue clean, and speaking decent English.
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