Swear Words Are Just Like Any Other Word?

Nate · 2009-07-14T08:40:04Z

Are swear words just like any other word? Apparently not. From Reuters: Swearing can make you feel better, lessen pain Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:51am EDT LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Cut your finger? Hurt your leg? Start swearing. It might lessen the pain. Researchers from the school of psychology at Britain's Keele University have found swearing can make you feel better as it can have a "pain-lessening effect," according to a study published in the journal NeuroReport. Colleagues Richard Stephens, John Atkins and Andrew Kingston, set out to establish if there was any link between swearing and physical pain. "Swearing has been around for centuries and is an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon," says Stephens. "It taps into emotional brain centers and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain. Our research shows one potential reason why swearing developed and why it persists." Their study involved 64 volunteers who were each asked to put their hand in a tub of ice water for as long as possible while repeating a swear word of their choice. They then repeated the experiment using a more commonplace word that they would use to describe a table. The researchers found the volunteers were able to keep their hands in the ice water for a longer when swearing, establishing a link between swearing and an increase in pain tolerance. Stephens said it was not clear how or why this link existed but it could be because swearing may increase aggression. "What is clear is that swearing triggers not only an emotional response, but a physical one too, which may explain why the centuries-old practice of cursing developed and still persists today," he said. (Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Miral Fahmy) While the entire article is interesting, I thought this quote in particular was interesting: "It taps into emotional brain centers and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain." So apparently our bodies really do treat swear words differently than other words, which makes sense to anyone who always thought the "a word is only a word" argument was always rather silly (especially if you're a writer!). Although, I bet this is true for any word that has an emotional context (mom, dad, jerk, fluffy bunny, etc.).

kamorama

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Sun Feb 21, 2010 3:49 am

kamorama says... · Sun Feb 21, 2010 3:49 am

Personally, swear words bug me. I can understand why people would say them, and how hard it is to stop saying them. (I have an absurd habit of saying like after like, every sentence. Like seriously.

) Anyway, I do agree though that saying something helps. Normally I hold myself back and say something that isn't as offensive, like "Friggitty frig friggit!" or something as completely incomprehensible as that. It can be fun sometimes to see what weird things you can come up with. It provides much entertainment on particularly boring afternoons...

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romance otaku

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Sun Feb 21, 2010 5:18 am

romance otaku says... · Sun Feb 21, 2010 5:18 am

kamorama wrote:Personally, swear words bug me. I can understand why people would say them, and how hard it is to stop saying them. (I have an absurd habit of saying like after like, every sentence. Like seriously. ) Anyway, I do agree though that saying something helps. Normally I hold myself back and say something that isn't as offensive, like "Friggitty frig friggit!" or something as completely incomprehensible as that. It can be fun sometimes to see what weird things you can come up with. It provides much entertainment on particularly boring afternoons...

I think people who say "like" after every other word is so annoying... there are several words to replace it. http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/like

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LookUpThere

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Thu Apr 01, 2010 8:59 am

LookUpThere says... · Thu Apr 01, 2010 8:59 am

Hm... swearing in another language? Most people wouldn't realize you are, they'd think you're just talking trash, and hey! Pain killer, according to the article.

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BondGirl007

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Tue Apr 06, 2010 3:58 pm

BondGirl007 says... · Tue Apr 06, 2010 3:58 pm

Now here's the way I look at "Bad" words. When you go back and think about what "curse" words and their meanings, they're not "BAD" right? Now take this for example c*ap is a pretty minor curse word right? But sh*t on the other hand, that baaaad right?

They mean the same thing.

So what's that say about the curses? They're not bad words, they're used to emphasize something. Like if you're mad and you say "Poo" you get laughed at because it shows you're not really that mad, it's kind o funny. If you say "C*ap" then people take you a little more seriously, but if you say "sh*t" it means you're really upset about something. Get what I mean? It's all the same, it's only the words that mean you're emphasizing it more.

It's not lack of vocabulary, or stupidity.

"I'd rather be hated for being who I am, then loved for who I'm not."

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BenFranks

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Tue Apr 06, 2010 4:42 pm

BenFranks says... · Tue Apr 06, 2010 4:42 pm

Swearing is a modernisation in the English language. Times change and so does language, if you're not up for change then good luck in the near future because if the bloody Tori party get in, we're all doomed.

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