Perhaps this is partly why it’s so hard to stop cursing. I curse like a sailor, even though I'm consciously aware that it’s an unhelpful, unprofessional, unarticulated form of communication.
It's unprofessional, but not unhelpful or unarticulated. A close friend of mine and her mother are both linguists, both professionals (one a speech pathologist, one an editor), both highly articulate and highly educated. They both swear a lot, except in professional settings. They love words, and the speech path in particular loves shakespeare, poetry, and constantly has a book in her hand (these days, more an e-book…
There is a certain art to truly inventive swearing. Farming seems to be an exceptionally fertile ground for salty phrasing, colorfully descriptive word-images, obscene suggestions, and disturbing juxtapositions. I think all of my favorites I learned tinkering on broken-down tractors - although the Quebecois loggers and truck drivers added a certain Catholo-Gallic leavening.