Swearing is becoming more widely acceptable, linguistics experts claim

Swearwords increasingly used for emphasis and to build social bonds, rather than to insult, say academics

Swearing has become more widely acceptable over the past two decades because it is increasingly used for other purposes than to insult people, linguistics experts have said.

Fuck" and shit", the two most commonly used swearwords in the UK, are frequently used to emphasise a point in conversation or to build social bonds, rather than with the specific intent to cause offence, according to academic researchers.