Fact Check: "Brits curse 25 times per 100,000 words online, trailing Americans."
What We Know
Recent research analyzing over 1.7 billion words of online text from 20 English-speaking regions has provided insights into swearing habits across different cultures. The study found that Americans use vulgar language most frequently, with vulgar words appearing in approximately 0.036% of their online text, which translates to about 36 instances per 100,000 words. In comparison, British users swore at a rate of 0.025%, or about 25 times per 100,000 words, while Australians trailed slightly behind at 0.022%, equating to about 22 instances per 100,000 words (source-1, source-6).
The study utilized the Global Web-Based English Corpus (GloWbE), which is designed to compare English usage across various regions, and it included a broad range of online content such as blogs and news articles, excluding social media (source-3).
Analysis
The claim that "Brits curse 25 times per 100,000 words online, trailing Americans" is supported by the findings of the aforementioned study. The data indicates that British users indeed curse at a rate of 25 instances per 100,000 words, which places them behind Americans, who curse 36 times in the same amount of text. This aligns with the broader cultural understanding that Americans tend to express themselves more freely online, while Brits, although they swear frequently, do so with slightly less frequency (source-2, source-6).
The reliability of the sources is high, as they are based on a comprehensive linguistic analysis conducted by researchers from reputable institutions. The study was published in the journal Lingua, which is peer-reviewed and well-regarded in the field of linguistics (source-3). Furthermore, the methodology employed, including the use of a large and diverse dataset, adds to the credibility of the findings.
Conclusion
The claim that "Brits curse 25 times per 100,000 words online, trailing Americans" is True. The data from the linguistic study confirms that British users indeed swear at this rate, which is lower than the American average of 36 instances per 100,000 words. The evidence is robust, coming from a well-conducted analysis of a significant amount of online text.
Sources
- Who swears the most online: the Australians, British or Americans?
- Oh, Sh*t! Which Country Swears the Most Online? | ARDC
- What 1.7 billion words of online text shows about how the world swears ...
- A Comparative Analysis of British and American Swearing - Academia.edu
- Why do Brits and Americans swear so differently?
- Americans more vulgar online than Brits, Aussies — study
- How Swearing Varies Across Cultures: Americans, Brits, and ... - Firstpost
