Study Finds Aussies Swear Less Online Than Americans and Brits

A new study analysing 1.7 billion online words across 20 English-speaking countries found Americans and Brits swear more than Australians.

Courtesy of Tourism Australia

Despite their reputation for colourful language, Australians are more restrained than their American and British counterparts when it comes to swearing online, according to new research led by the University of Queensland.

The study analysed over 1.7 billion words of digital content across 20 English-speaking countries. Researchers sifted through blogs, forums, and social media to examine how often vulgar words appeared in written online communication.

Using a comprehensive list of 597 offensive terms, including misspellings and variations, the research team combined computational tools with linguistic analysis to explore how culture influences the use of profanities in digital spaces.

More Conservative Behind the Keyboard

Martin Schweinberger from UQ’s School of Languages and Cultures suggested one possible reason is that Australians moderate their tone more in written settings.

“Australians are more conservative when they write online but not so much when they are face-to-face,” he said.

Schweinberger added that while swearing, slang, and informal expressions are embedded in Australian culture, the way people choose to express themselves often depends on context.

“Australians really see vulgarity, swearing, and slang as part of our culture—we’re very invested in it,” he said. “It’s not just about speaking correctly—it’s about speaking appropriately.”

Monash University’s Kate Burridge co-led the study using data from the Language Data Commons of Australia, a project backed by federal research funding.

Public Language, Private Filters

While Australians may tone it down online, they maintain a global reputation for creative use of profanity in public settings, Burridge said.

“Our study suggests Australians might still live up to our popular image of having unusually rich and inventive ‘bad’ language, especially thanks to our very public and colourful airing of swear words—this is something that’s often remarked upon by overseas visitors to the country,” she said.

Examples include the famous “So where the bloody hell are you?” tourism campaign in 2006, which was banned in Canada, censored in Singapore, and pulled from UK media.

Another is the long-running government road safety campaign slogan: “If You Drink, Then Drive, You’re a Bloody Idiot.”

A History of Swearing

This latest research builds on earlier work by Amanda Laugesen, Director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre, who has traced profanity in Australian English from convict slang to modern vernacular.

In her book Rooted, she argues that Australia’s penal colony origins helped shape a more casual relationship with coarse language, noting that such words often signified class, status, and race in early settler society.