Although everyday Spanish has become less formal in recent decades, the use of cursing or swearing to express ourselves continues to be a topic that generates controversy.
Concretely, in Spain, 48.63% claim to be offended by the use of profanity, as revealed by the study1 carried out by Preply, an online language learning platform. The report analyzes the origins and uses of swear words in Spain, and responds to aspects such as the places and situations where the most swear words are said or those cases in which we avoid speaking badly.
According to the survey conducted, Spaniards say an average of 9 tacos a day, a lower figure than the average of other countries such as the United States (21), Poland (19), the United Kingdom (10) or Germany (10). On the other hand, in countries like Italy (9) or Brazil (7), the average is equal to or lower than that of Spain.
The areas that say the most tacos in Spain (and the ones that say the least)
To determine which areas swear the most in Spain, the study collected how often tacos are used daily in different areas of the country.
Thus, the results show that Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Granada and La Coruña-Oleiros-Aretixo are the Spanish territories that use the most tacos each day, with an average of 16, 13 and 12 swear words per day. For his part, Las Palmas, Alicante-Elche and Valencia are the areas that use the least blocks, with 5 and 7 blocks.
Spanish cities that say more bad words
1. Santa Cruz de Tenerife (with 16 swear words per day)
2. Granada (13)
3. La Coruña – Oleiros- Arteixo (12)
4. Oviedo – Gijón – Avilés (11)
5. Murcia – Orihuela (11)
6. Palma (10)
7. Vigo (10)
8. Barcelona (10)
9. Madrid (9)
10. Zaragoza (9)
11. Valladolid (8)
12. San Sebastian (8)
13. Bilbao (8)
14. Málaga (7)
15. Sevilla (7)
16. Cadiz (7)
17. Valencia (7)
18. Alicante – Elche (7)
19. Las Palmas (5)
With friends, at home and in the car, the places where the most swear words are said
Meeting up with friends (31.39%), being at home (31.15%) or in the car (16.59%) are the places where Spaniards say the most tacos, according to the report carried out by Preply.
In addition, the study analyzes which are the situations in which Spaniards refrain from saying bad words.
The data collected reveals that the vast majority of respondents avoid using obscene language in front of children (68.54%), closely followed by those who prefer not to swear in front of their boss (68.22%). Thirdly, the data reveals that 59.89% of those surveyed avoid swearing in front of older people.
Friends, oneself and our partners, in the crosshairs of our profanity
The study collects who are the main instigators of the use of profanity in Spain. In this sense, the Preply data establish that friends (35.11%), oneself (21.68%) or our partners (14.08%) are the main instigators of the use of profanity.
Who says tacos in Spain
Also, it appears from the results that men use swear words more frequently (10.41 times per day) than women (7.86 times per day). On the other hand, the younger generations are more likely to swear: on average, Spaniards between the ages of 16 and 24 say about 11.64 swear words a day, compared to those surveyed over 55, who use obscene words 4, 25 times a day.
“Preply is a digital platform that values the human component behind learning any language. As the data from the study reflects, swearing is common all over the world and it is essential that, whether or not you tolerate swearing, we keep in mind that these types of terms are part of the richness of a language’s vocabulary. With this study, we want to emphasize the interest in understanding the use given to these types of terms and how citizens use them in Spain”, the Preply experts point out.
