Summary: The Science Of Swearing Essay

Throughout the world there are many different views on the use of swear words in everyday life. From evening family slot times to late night tv shows, cursing in society is slowly becoming part of our “normal” day to day language. Whether or not it is accepted is something different. Society has often labeled swearing one of two things: as an extreme type of language only used by the uneducated or the greatest use of power words that should be used by any and all people.

Though swearing is offensive to many, it is proven to be a major extension of our vocabulary and should be tolerated and understood to a greater extent. Many people have been drawn to the conclusion that swearing affects society negatively. Starting with the children of the world, it is popular belief that swearing causes adolescence to act out and against their superiors. Swearing is thought to promote acts of violence and extreme behaviors in a person. Excessive cussing is shown to be a sign of negative aggression and even abuse.

It is widely assumed that a household that uses swear words as a form of expression will damage a child’s psyche and emotional development. Though swear words may not be used under negative contexts directly to a child, society insists that it is a form of verbal, mental and emotional abuse. Swearing is also seen as a negative towards the English language. Those who use these taboo words, are also presumed to be uneducated and lack creativity. Though a portion of the world may see these factors as truthful, there are many studies that suggest otherwise.

Psychologicalscience. org’s article “The Science of Swearing” by Timothy Jay and Kristin Janschewitz discuss the emotional affects that swearing has on society. It is stated in this article that there is little if any social-science studies that show that words themselves can affect a person directly. Through studies researched by Jay and Janschewitz, it has found that cursing starts in a person by the age of two and fully develops by the age of 11 or 12. Swearing has been a form of expression since Anglo-Saxon texts.

According to Time. om’s “Nine Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Swear Words” by Katy Steinmetz, common swear words like “shit” and “ass” can be read in writings of this time. According to this discovery, these swear words wouldn’t have been considered to be impolite or offensive like it is today. This article also describes how ancient Romans didn’t discriminate or place peers into categories such as hererosexual and homosexual beings. Instead they would use sexual slurs to prove active and passive lovers with graphic slang. During the middle ages, privacy was extremely limited.

Pedestrians seeing more of their neighbors than we would see in a lifetime allowed for everyone to have a more open view of others… No pun intended. The power an individual feels while cursing can allow the person to take control of a situation. In unfortunate circumstances, cursing can help relieve stress and provide a better awareness of the task at hand. Swearing can increase aggression so while boosting confidence and strength, swearing shows that we can take problem and solve it. In the Victorian era many used their words as a sense of power as well.

At that time if a person had control over their language they were thought to be a well rounded person with morals and were aware of the social rules set in place (Steinmetz 2013) While those social climbers are dulling their tongues’ upper class individuals are sharpening theirs. People of the upper class have a secure power in society allowing them to speak freely and swear whenever they see fit! Though swearing does increase aggression it’s not always a bad thing. Using foul language is an excellent form of non violent relief.

As mentioned in sticky situations cursing helps take hold of the mindset to push through. Swearing is proven to be a form of pain relief as well. Multiple articles discussed the ice water study. This study proves that if you stick your hand in a bucket of ice water, you are more likely to be able to withstand the cold if you curse. The same goes with hitting your finger with a hammer or stubbing your toe at the edge of the bed. instead of holding in the pain or using dull words to express how you feel, try using colorful words to relieve the pain.

There are many different forms of expression taken on by individuals. This includes tattoos, piercings, hairstyles, clothes, makeup and most importantly, words. Many conclude that cursing proves an individual is not creative or educated enough to form a sentence without the use of foul language. Words have been a way to express one’s feelings for centuries. From famous love letters, to poems and whitty novels, individuals have not been shy about saying how they feel through writing. Swear words should be included in this form of expression.

Without limitations the creative mind can reach great heights so why limit swearing? According to Psychologytoday. com, “Hell Yes: The 7 Best Reasons for Swearing” by Neel Burton M. D. , swearing is a way of showing how much we sincerely mean something. Swearing can show importance of a topic or issue at hand. This article also states that cursing can broaden ourselves and make ourselves seem more interesting. This can lead to better social bonding with peers.

EliteDaily. com,”Science F*cking Confirms It: 11 Reasons Cursing Is Good For The Soul” by Ashley Fern, Dr. Monika Benarek explains that “Swearing is important for creating close relationships, friendships, or intimacy with others, and bonds can be formed around it. ”. Cursing can show that we are more open and honest people as well as easygoing and laid back. Humor also plays a major role in why individuals curse. It is proven to be peak more interest and make light of a situation that may sometimes feel more hostile. I personally feel that under controlled circumstances swearing should be more tolerated. Though it is slowly leaking into our lives, swearing has always been in our language as well as every other in the world.

Every language and every time frame has their own form of profanity. Freedom of speech is our natural and born right and this should include swearing. I think just like individuals are trusted with maintaining and monitoring their drinking and smoking habits, an individual should be able to control their cursing habits. Of course the fact that the words in question are considered taboo make using them sometimes more fun, I don’t think the judgement should go along with using profanity. Using such colorful language does not directly link individuals to being ignorant and uneducated.

All of the factors above attribute to the many reasons why we curse and in the end if you really think about it, it’s almost a survival instinct. We use cursing to bond with our peers, for humor, power and control, as well as a way to express how you feel on a day to day basis. Why should we limit ourselves when expressing our inner feelings? I believed our right to freedom of speech should be enforced and not forgotten like many of our other rights. It is important to keep at least that part of our humanity alive because without self expression, where would we be?