[lojban-beginners] How 'natural' a language?

[Thomas White <winterwhite9257@gmail.com>]

.i coi ro do

Quick warning, the following contains content that may not appeal to
all readers.

Forgive the nature of this question, but I'm sure I can't be the only
one to have thought of it: How 'natural' a language is lojban if there
are no swear words or insults? It's kind of a joke, but one usually
learns a language's swear words first (especially when one is a young
learner - it makes it more interesting to know 'forbidden' things :))

There's also the utility of having lojban-specific, culturally-neutral
profanity as a medium of translation. I often find myself in
difficulty when it comes to explaining certain insults that exist in
French to an anglophone (my Dad, for instance, is always looking for
new ways to express his... ahem... frustration to the
name-your-technician who's rattling-off a thousand words a minute in a
foreign tongue). One example is 'connard' which, depending on context,
equates with ass hole, or dickhead, or cunt or, well... you get the
idea. The point is that there is, as yet, no _specific_ word in
english.

Where does lojban come into this? Well, it would be convenient to have
a conceptually-specific, yet culturally-neutral set of 'insults',
hopefully just as quick to say as other languages (not something like
[person-who-is/has/owns/is part of penile genitalia/extensible
reproductive organ in the place of/resembling said person's head] ),
that could be used in translations of a text, or transcriptions of
dialogue, for instance.

Another convenience is to be able to 'swear' without others knowing
what you've really said. I mean more in the type of situation where,
say, you're at your in-laws' place, doing some handiwork, and by
accident slam the hammer on your thumb. You wouldn't really want to
_swear_ but the ability to 'vent' fully does bring some satisfaction.
"Oh fiddle-sticks" doesn't quite do the trick, if you see what I mean
;)  {.oi} to me at least, is about as inoffensive (and ineffective) as
"phooey" (or, as the example goes, Oy vey.)

Feedback welcome.

mu'omi'e tomys.