Many times we wonder why people swear. And when it comes to young people, it is more astounding to hear them swearing openly on the streets, at the mall and even in the school compound itself. Besides, young people even write swear words on their desks, the walls, in the bus, at bus stations and anywhere else they are able to.
Swear words have always been considered taboo by various institutions like religion, media, school and even family. At school as well as at home, children are punished for swearing. Yet, the use of swear words at school has not ceased nor has it decreased.
But what is a swear word? A swear word is defined by the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary as a rude or offensive word, used, for example, to express anger.
In general, swear words include words that are socially, culturally and religiously disapproved or even proscribed.
In early childhood, crying is an acceptable way to show emotion and relieve anxiety. As children (especially boys), grow up, society discourages them from crying, especially in public. But they still need a relief for strong emotions and so they swear.
Adiredja Aditya, Dedon Russell and Weitzman Margaret quoted Ashley Montagu’s Anatomy of Swearing in their writings Foul Mouth: The Ultimate Equalizer as follows:
“There is no doubt that swearing has a definite physiological function; for after childhood relief in tears and wailing is rightly discouraged […] Silence under suffering is usually impossible. The nervous system demands some expression that does not affect towards cowardice and feebleness and, as a nervous stimulant in a crisis, swearing in unequalled”.
Research on swear words
Different types of research have been made on the use of swear words, also referred to as taboo words. Dr. Timothy Jay, in his book “Why we curse” analyses the reasons why people swear at different perspectives.. He argues that there can be neurological factors for people to swear. He explains that swearing is controlled partly by the brain and the nervous system. According to his writings, a person may learn swear words through emotional speeches or stories. The same person uses swear words to express anxiety and anger. He also describes that there are psychological factors for people to swear. Each person acquires a language and an identity through a collection of behaviours, habits, traits, abilities, and mental processes; these factors influence his swearing. Dr. Timothy Jay also explains that there are social and cultural factors underlying swearing. Swear words are based on notions about religion, sexuality, taboo, disgust, and legal restrictions among others.
Another research on swearing was made by Mike Thelwall titled “Fk yea I swear: Cursing and gender in a corpus of MySpace pages” in January 2008. Mike Thelwall investigated the pattern of swearing on the social network MySpace. He analysed the pattern in terms of gender difference, age and location – he chose a comparison between UK and US as these are the two major national users of MySpace. Mike Thelwall found that generally UK citizens swear more frequently than US citizen. He also showed that for both regions, males swear more than females. While analysing the results in terms of age group, he showed that according to the research, people in the range 16 years to 19 years swear more than any other upper age groups for both gender types.
References
Adiredja Aditya, Dedon Russell, Weitzman Margaret (2003), Foul Mouth:The Ultimate Equalizer. http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/~rosemary/55-fall2003-studentpaper.pdf
Jay Timothy (1999), Why we curse : a neuro-psycho-social theory of speech.
Thelwall Mike (2008), Fk yea I swear: Cursing and gender in a corpus of MySpace pages. United Kingdom: University of Wolverhampton
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