Swearing or Cursing
 

Just out of interest, how much do Canadians swear?

Serious question, because I personally swear a lot and wondered how that would be looked upon, when I eventually move there.
I don't swear in front of children, because I do voluntary work with kids at present.

It tends to be in the workplace mainly, when I'm working at my computer, it borders on tourettes at times. Not sure if it's because I listen to music while working, so don't notice how much I'm swearing. It's a way of venting my frustration.

:)

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Going by my experience so far,it shouldn't be a problem mate!

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In the UK, people from an engineering background seem to swear a lot as a norm.

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It's about the same, in my experience. Some people don't like it, some people do it without thinking.

They use the f-word quite freely, but hardly ever the c-word. And they think that "wanker" and "bugger" are funny kids' words, which is quite amusing.

You won't hear any creative swearing, it's mostly limited to just f-bombing. You could almost see it as a duty to raise the quality and inventiveness of swearing when you get here.

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I'd pretty much agree with that.

The c-word is very rare. The f-bomb is very common in QC. It's an extremely mild expletive here. Even my MIL uses it.

I've heard Rick Mercer drop the f-bomb in public. He was the MC at a black tie dinner in Ottawa. It's clearly not frowned on much.

If you hear the word "bollocks" in Gatineau, it's probably me, or my wife or stepson (I've been training them for years).

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Not sure about Canada but I can say from experience that the C-bomb does not go down well in USA...

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Might have to teach them a few Scottish swear words then. :)

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2 of the lads in my office are Scottish so when we are both in anything goes - when anyone comes in from one of the other provinces then we tend to damp it down a bit more - C*** word is taken out of the conversation completely :)

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Have you not introduced "Bawbag" or "Fannybaws"

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a wierd one is" bitch " almost as bad as the f one ..so it seems.

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Let's get 'bawbag' part of the common vernacular in Canada

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It's not common to hear swearing here, that's why we all came here for the sake of the little children

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I met an aussie at the gym the other night and he called me a pommie c***.
I called him an aussie prick. We laughed. The end.
:)

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Around these parts, the words "wanker", "frig", "douche", "douche bag", "bugger", "dick" and "shit" are used so liberally that I believe the people (and their kids) who use them have no idea what they actually mean.

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So you say, twinkie. ;)

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I know we're probably a bit closeted here on the Island and we live in a "nice" area, but I have heard almost no swearing socially or professionally. It's very rare for someone to swear within my hearing anyway. No idea what goes on behind my back; don't really care!

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Bawbag goes down well at my work I have to admit,w*nkstain had one of the Irish boys in stitches a couple of nights ago.

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I find Canadian adults are less likely to swear in public places where children might be present, whereas British adults don't give a flying four x.

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I find swearing a lot more common back in the UK. I have had to try to tone down the swearing since being here.

Although you can use some of the UK swear words and people find them funny.

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That's exactly how I feel about the word "douchebag" - is it even a swearword?

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Yep thats true for the UK where people swear a lot even in professional meetings, but in my experience so far thats not so much of a case in Canada unless you are with field construction staff.

You need to watch your mouth mate ;)

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Swearing is more of a class indicator in Canada than it is in Britain.

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Frigging and freaking are said with such venom it may as well be a full ****ing.

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That's an odd statement, does Canada have class distinctions?

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Yes it does. I'm recycling it from a similar discussion I had on the Ozzie forum some time back. Broadly, there's a blue collar - white collar distinction, and the former is far more likely to swear than the latter. Ne c'est pas?

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But you think that swearing is more class-based in Canada than the UK? Maybe I just mix in the wrong circles because nearly everyone I know swears. I was at a speech given by Souvy's old mate, Gen. Adm. Sir Rick (Your Majesty) Hillier, Lord of The Rock and All Canada, and even he was asked to tone the language down a bit.

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working for a french canadian company ..i find i can now swear in french and sometimes they have problems with my broad scots accent they pick up the sweary words pretty good.:sneaky:

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I don't speak German but I could always tell when my grandma was swearing in it.

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A chap I worked with used "frick" a lot but when really riled he would substitute the "ri" with a "u". Another calls everything a "hoowa" instead of whore and I do mean everything. Swearing a lot in my experience isn't going to be an issue.

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More a frequency thing than whether someone uses the occasional swear word. And by the way, if a British equivalent of Lord Bollocks was making a similar speech, do you think anyone in Britain would ask him to tone down the language! ;)

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They swear a lot in the army, (not just our's but every army). Also construction crews, railway gangs, low-class bars, criminals.....
'F*** you, f**k me, f*** the British Army, f*** the expense buy the cat a goldfish'.
Milligan

Re: Swearing or Cursing
 

Was he using "scumbag" again?

Military people do swear a lot, and those in the combat outfits swear like bastards.

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I know that, and on construction sites even more so. He was giving a speech on a construction site, but he made a misjudgement when he decided to pitch it at the effing and blinding level, looking for admiration for being one of the lads. He struck me as a rather silly man, though no doubt an adept arse-licker.

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I think you have the man wrong. Arse-kicker would be more accurate.

The military rank and file adored him, as did the "serious" officers. The government, bureaucrats and arse-licking officers did not.

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Yes, he did come across as a man who has got rather used to being adored.

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Let's us agree to disagree on this one.

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Its a disgusting word and there's no justification to use a term of such profanity ever, let alone in public. Even tv pundit and renowned potty mouth, Gary Lineker will only refer to it as that, South West London team.

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Yes, the F word here doesn't seem to have the impact as it does in certain situations in the UK, infact ive heard more women use it. (but then that does depend where you are at the time) - when I lived in Cambridge ON and worked as a bartender for a short time, all the female servers were f bombing all the time! not to the customers but behind the scenes, which was quite a shock, whereas in the UK it was unsual to hear a woman use it...

I also agree that many think "wanker" is amusing....and is certainly not used with the venom its used with in the UK. Many of the guys at my local use it as greeting now when I walk in the place! Nice eh!

As for the C word I have hardly heard this being used thankfully, I think its a vile and disgusting word that actually lowers my opinion of anyone that uses it.

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:rofl::rofl: