(11-20-2015, 09:06 PM)Oli! Wrote:(11-20-2015, 08:55 PM)Nero Wrote: Using modern swears in what is ostensibly a high fantasy setting is, to me, as wildly out of place as speaking early modern English in Star Wars. It's not that I mind profanity--anyone who's spoken to me on voice is probably aware that I swear more than most--but it's anachronistic and immersion breaking to me.
I'm certain that there are at least a few reasons with which to justify the usage, but it feels wrong and jarring to me.
I think we've already established that age is not the issue, considering that "modern" swear words have been around just as long as most of the rest of the language.
Personal Flavoring may be an issue, but age is not.
That is incredibly debatable as there is a marked difference between when a word was first used and when it can be said to have entered common parlance with a relatively consistent definition. It is one thing to say that "fuck" was first used in the 14th century, and another thing entirely to say that its usage could be considered as a common swear in the same time period.
"Fuck", to use it as an example, was commonly used to inappropriately refer to fornication from its inception. Its status as a "swear"--as an insulting word or adjective meant to offend or as an extreme expression--wasn't common until the mid-nineteenth century, so it can certainly be called anachronistic from certain points of view.
But I digress. To briefly reiterate on the topic, whether or not people use such swears is up to them, but I personally will never see appropriate reason or circumstance for myself to use language that feels markedly out of place.
