(Photo by Karen Hermann on Shutterstock)
In a nutshell
- Americans use vulgar language online more than any other English-speaking country, at a rate of roughly 1 in every 2,800 words
- Countries where English is the native language show much more creativity and variety in their profanity compared to places where English is a second language
- Regional preferences emerged clearly—Ireland favors “feck,” Britain prefers “cunt,” and Americans lean toward “ass/asshole” while avoiding British terms like “bloody”
BRISBANE, Australia — Drop an F-bomb in an American chat room, and you’re in good company. New research analyzing nearly 2 billion words from websites across 20 English-speaking countries reveals that Americans lead the pack in online profanity, outswearing even the Brits and Australians by a significant margin.
The findings flip common stereotypes on their head. While we might expect foul-mouthed Aussies or pub-going Brits to claim the digital cursing crown, it’s actually Americans who dominate online vulgarity.
“The United States, often associated with protestant puritanism, Christian fervor, and prudishness, show the highest rates of vulgarity in online discourse, followed by Great Britain,” researchers from the University of Queensland and Monash University wrote in their study published in the journal Lingua.
Where Americans Really Stand on Digital Swearing
Computer programs scanning blog posts and websites found that U.S. websites contained vulgar language at a rate of 0.036% of all words. That means roughly 1 in every 2,800 words was profane. Great Britain came in second at 0.025%, while Australia rounded out the top three at 0.022%.
Countries where English isn’t the primary language showed dramatically lower rates. Bangladesh, Tanzania, and Ghana had some of the lowest profanity rates, indicating that cultural attitudes toward language matter more than simply knowing curse words.
The research team developed an extensive detection system using computer search patterns that caught not just obvious profanity but creative spelling variations like “f*ck” or “sh!t” that people use to bypass filters. Their digital analysis captured over 385,000 instances of vulgar language across 1.7 million texts.
Regional Tastes in Taboo Language
Beyond raw numbers, the study revealed fascinating cultural differences in how English speakers curse online. Countries where English developed naturally as a first language showed much more creativity and variety in their vulgar vocabulary compared to places where English is learned as a second language.
Regional preferences emerged clearly in the data. Ireland showed a strong preference for “feck,” while British users favored the derogatory “c” word that many often more politely refer to as “see you next Tuesday.” Meanwhile, Americans leaned heavily toward variations of “ass” along with that word and the word “hole” added to the end of it. Americans actually avoided typically British terms like “bloody,” maintaining distinct linguistic identities even in our connected digital world.
Blog posts consistently contained more profanity than other web content across most countries, reflecting their personal, informal nature.
Cultural Forces Behind Online Profanity
Cultural values appear to drive these differences significantly. Countries that emphasize individual rights and personal freedom, like the U.S., Britain, and Australia, correlate strongly with higher rates of online profanity. Cultures that prioritize personal expression seem more comfortable with language that challenges social norms.
Singapore presents an intriguing exception. Despite being a society that traditionally values group harmony over individual expression, it ranked surprisingly high in online profanity. Researchers attribute this to English becoming a primary language for younger Singaporeans.
Online anonymity and informal communication styles enable this linguistic freedom. Unlike face-to-face conversations constrained by social hierarchies and formal expectations, digital spaces often feel like consequence-free zones for verbal expression.
The research has important limitations. It only captured English-language profanity, missing local curse words that might be more culturally significant in countries where English isn’t the primary language. Additionally, the data comes from 2012-2013, potentially missing current online language patterns shaped by social media platforms and their varying content policies.
Despite common perceptions that Australians are the most profane English speakers — reinforced by their banned tourism slogan “So where the bloody hell are you?” — Americans claim the digital crown for creative cursing. While Australians display colorful language in public advertising, Americans apparently reserve their strongest expressions for online spaces where they feel freer to let loose.
Paper Summary
Methodology
Researchers analyzed the Global Web-Based English Corpus (GloWbE), containing 1.7 billion words from 20 English-speaking regions collected between 2012-2013. They used word lists from previous research and online content moderation tools, combined with computer search patterns, to identify vulgar language including spelling variations and disguised forms. The team manually reviewed random samples to remove false positives and ensure accuracy, ultimately identifying 65 different vulgar root words across 385,130 instances of profanity.
Results
The United States had the highest rate of online vulgarity (0.036%), followed by Great Britain (0.025%) and Australia (0.022%). Countries where English is a first language showed both higher frequencies and greater creativity in vulgar language use compared to countries where English is a second language. Blog content contained more profanity than general web content across most regions. Specific regional preferences emerged: Ireland favored “feck,” Britain preferred “cunt,” and Americans used “ass/asshole” more frequently while avoiding British terms like “bloody.”
Limitations
The study only captured English-language profanity, potentially missing culturally significant local curse words in non-native English speaking countries. Data comes from 2012-2013, which may not reflect current online language patterns. The methodology relied on predetermined word lists that might not capture all forms of vulgarity, and approximately 60% of the corpus consisted of blog content, potentially skewing results toward informal language registers.
Funding and Disclosures
The research was supported by the Centre for Digital Cultures and Society (DCS) at the University of Queensland and the Language Data Commons of Australia (LDaCA), which received investment from the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Publication Information
Schweinberger, M., & Burridge, K. (2025). “Vulgarity in online discourse around the English-speaking world,” is published in the journal Lingua. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103946
This is bullshit.
This is what happens when you don’t filter out the Canadians using US websites.
No f*cking way! Lol.
those are russian trolls not Americans
Oh yes? Have you ever checked the Czech leading newspaper Lidovky that is some 100 years old? Just check the headlines for vulgarities. You can do it easily today as it can be easily translated into English.