You have to admit that linguistically, they're at least interesting.

[stigmata_crow]

 Yep, that's right, I'm getting this discussion bitch started off. :D

And on that note, swearing. I've recently been pondering how to address swearing in Twilight, and I think it's time to here what you all think.

Now, SMeyers doesn't particularly have her characters swearing, but I've always had to ask myself, is that because they wouldn't swear, or

Comments

[i_lovedyoufirst]

Is it weird that I was just having this thought earlier today?

I personally don't swear, so there's not usually a ton of swearing in my fics, either. But some of the characters just need to. I can see a "damn" every once and a while out of Bella, and I can't write Jacob without throwing "ass" around a little bit (that sentence structure totally made me giggle). The pack would definitely swear, I think, but we mostly see them when they're around Bella, right? And they were raised better than to swear around a lady. But the characters not swearing in the books definitely doesn't feel fake to me. It just works for them, I think.

[doc_3]

I had to use my swear!icon for this discussion :)

I think the Cullens in general seem a little too refined for swearing. Most of them are from a time when it was rarely done and never in front of or by women. As old-fashioned as Edward is about everything I can't see him ever swearing, except maybe in a "man to man" talk with someone that got pretty heated.

I love when Leah swears or in general has a potty mouth. It fits her perfectly and never fails to make me laugh.

Jake/Rest of Pack - I see him trying not to swear in front of Bella, but when just with the guys I can see him acting like a regular teenage boy. Maybe letting things slip in front of Bella but having the good grace to act sheepish.

Bella - She is such a classicist in some ways that I see her not swearing unless she just totally loses her temper. And it would be shocking to everyone when it happened.

[exquisite_ugly]

Interesting topic... I swear, but not insanely, so in my fic:

Jake: Swears lightly. He doesn't use that many swear words, but other than the usual damn or hell, he's got a few fucks out. haha. I wasn't sure if I was going to have him swear, so in the beginning he didn't as much because of Bella.

Bella: Swears even more lightly. She says damn and hell.. I forget I might've made her use another bad word, though. haha. As it progressed she didn't say anything to Jake because he sometimes used it during sex and she secretly liked it. ;)

I think it has to do with SM's morals as to why there isn't much swearing in the books. I found it weird that she started out with Bella saying Holy Crow a lot, but then later on in the books she had no problem saying hell or damn. But then sometimes I think SM is, um.. ::cough::.. bit inconsistent!

[sleepy_sheep683]

Hmm... I swear like a trooper in real life around people I know don't mind (I hardly ever swear at work, for example, but my tirades can consist of more swear words than not with mates).

In the fic I write, it largely depends on the character. Some swear a lot, some not at all. Even the sweariest ones don't swear too much (there's one fic I started working on where I had an OC who was labelled as being rather foul mouthed, and when I read her stuff back, I felt I ought to tone a lot of it down. However much people swear i real life, it doesn't look so good on paper.)

When it comes to writing Jacob and Bella, I actually don't think either of them swear massively. I have Jacob down as a bit of a goody good- but then, to me, not swearing much means not saying 'fuck' every other word. In the one I'm currently getting beta-read, Jacob only says 'fuck' when he's very angry, or taking dirty. Bella... Well, let's just say Bella only uses the word 'fuck' in its correct context :).