ROME — The Italian language is so beautiful. All those vowels, those lovely flowing sounds, the mellifluous phrases honed by centuries of happy use. All that has changed.

Italians are using more and more “parolacce” (swear words). In private conversations, within the family, in public life, on mainstream media and — of course — on social media. We used to be surprised by the number of “F-words” in American movies; now our own equivalent, “C-words” — many of which refer to various parts of the human anatomy — are everywhere. Calling someone a “stronzo,” Italian for “turd,” is quite popular.

The respected singer Luciano Ligabue — Italy’s Bruce Springsteen — picked this title for his latest single: “E’ venerdì, non mi rompete i coglioni” (“It’s Friday, Don’t Break My Balls”). Swearing is the norm on national television, too; the art critic Vittorio Sgarbi, one of the pioneers, has hordes of imitators. On Radio24, the radio station owned by Confidustria (the Confederation of Italian Industry), the program “La Zanzara” (“The Mosquito”) encourages listeners to insult one another and, what’s more, to enjoy it. A few days ago, a woman told them to hurry up with the traffic news because, she had a hot date to perform oral sex — and the clip is now played regularly.

This is all a bit of a shock. Italian is known all over the world as the language of art, design, opera and good food. It brings nice thoughts to one’s mind and nice sounds to the ear. Even French, while also soft and elegant, is — we feel — a bit self-conscious, even a bit (O.K., very) haughty.