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BYHARVARDSCIENCEREVIEWONJANUARY23,2014(LEAVEACOMMENT)

TheScienceof
Swearing:Alookinto
thehumanMINDand
otherlesssocially
acceptablefourletterwords
byMichelleDrews

Disclaimer:Thisarticlecoversthepsychological,neurobiological,
linguistic,andlegalaspectsoftheuseofprofanity.Readersareadvised
thatitdoescontainwordsthatsomeindividualsmyfindoffensiveor
inappropriateforyoungchildren.

Whatsinaword?WouldthatwhichIcallmypenwriteanylesswellifI
callitabanana?Wouldittasteanybetter?Acoretenantoflinguisticsis
theideathatwordsaremerelyacollectionofsyllablesassociatedwith
ideas,yetmostwordsaremorethanjusttheirliteralmeaningsthey
alsocarryanemotionalconnotationasaresultofhowtheyareused
withinthelanguage(Pinker,2007).Forsomewords,thisemotional
connotationissointensethatthat,eveninacountryliketheUnited
States,wherefreedomofspeechisafundamentaltenant,theuseof

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thesewordscanbeofficially(orunofficially)banned.Theconsequences
ofusingtheminaninappropriatecontextcanrangefromcensorship
andfinestoostracismandthelossofyourcookingshow.Inspiteofthis,
swearwords,taboophrases,andotherformsofcursespersistacross
societiesandthroughouthistoryaproductofculture,language,and
thebrainitself.

BecomingTaboo
Whenaskedtodefineprofanityin1964,formerSupremeCourtJustice
PotterStewartfamouslystatedthathecouldnotdescribeitandadded,
ButIknowitwhenIseeit(Jacobellisv.Ohio,1964).Thoughthe
materialinquestionwaspornography,thedifficultyofauniversal
definitionextendsintoprofanelanguageaswell.Whiletherearesome
qualificationsthatextendtoallswearwords,themagnitudeof
offensivenesscanvarygreatly,makingaprecise,literaldefinitionof
thewordchallenging.Mostswearwordsandtaboophrasestendtodeal
withmaterialthatisoffensiveinsomemanner.Studiesofswearwords
haveshownthatthemostcommonswearwordscanbecategorizedas
deistic,visceral,orsocial(Jay,2009a)[Fig1].Inparticular,studiesshow
thatsexrelatedinsultsinparticulararecommonacrosscultures(Flynn,
1976).However,simplyreferringtosexorgenitaliaisnotsufficientto
makeawordorphrasetaboo.Ourreactiontothewordfuckismuch
differentthanourreactiontocoitus,makelove,orevenhavesex.
Thereisalsonothingspecialaboutthesoundsorsyllablesintheword
fuck.Closesoundingwordssuchasduck,truck,andbuckare
notprohibitedandinsomecasescanserveasamoresociallyappropriate
substitutionforwhateveryoneunderstandswasmeanttobeacurse
word,forexamplemothertrucker!(Pinker,2007).

Howthendoesawordbecometaboo?Sincetaboosarecultural
concepts,theanswermustbethroughsociety.Thewordtabooisdefined
asasocialorreligiouscustomprohibitingorforbiddingdiscussionofa
particularpracticeorforbiddingassociationwithaparticularperson,
place,orthing(Taboo).First,taboosmustbeinternalizedbyan
individual,usuallyinchildhood,alongwithmanyothersocialnormsand
customs(Jay,2009a).Thisearlyacquisitionoftaboosisevidentinstudies
ofindividualswhoacquiredasecondlanguagelaterinlife.These
individualsreactmuchmorestronglytoswearwordsintheirfirst
languagethanintheirsecond(Harrisetal,2006).Aschildren,weare
punishedbycaregiverssuchasparentswhenweswear,andthrough
aversiveconditioningwelearnthatcertainphrasesaretobeavoided
(Jay,2009a).Later,whenwemature,welearnthecomplexsocial
featuresandcharacteristicsthatunderliecertaintaboos;thus,amore
nuancedunderstandingofwhereandwhentoavoidtaboophrases
develops(Jay&Janschewitz,2008).

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Furthermore,asculturechanges,sodoeswhatistaboo(Pinker,2007).
Thewordsgayandniggerbothprovideexcellentexamples.While
thewordniggerusedtobeconsideredsociallyacceptableinmany
circles,nowitisconsideredahighlyoffensivetermthankstomore
modernthinkingandthecivilrightsmovement.Thewordgay,
originallymeaningextremelyhappy,isnowassociatedwith
homosexualityandcancarryanumberofdifferentconnotations
dependingonwhoisusingit,andinwhatcontext.

WhySwear?
So,iftaboophrasesareculturalnonos,whydotheypersist?The
simplestansweristhatincertainsituationsswearwordsandtaboo
phraseshavetheiruses:mainlytoevokeastrongnegativereactionfrom
someone.Speechperceptionisnearlyautomaticinmatureindividuals
(Pinker,2007).Trythis:dontthinkofanapple.Didyouthinkofan
appleanywaywhenyoureadthewordapple?Withswearwords,your
mindimmediatelydragsupwhateveroffensivecombinationof
denotationsandconnotationsareassociatedwiththewordinquestion
whenyouhearit.Thesemakeswearwordspowerfulinsultsandforceful
descriptorsofthenastieraspectsofthingswemaynotwanttothink
about.

Swearwordsarealsousefulandeffectivewaysofconveyingthatyoufeel
verystronglyaboutsomethingorofincitingstrongfeelingsinsomeone
else,evenwhenusedoutsideoftheirtraditionaldefinitions(Jay,2009a;
Pinker,2007).Sayingthatsomethingisbloodyamazingdoesnotmean
thatthatthingwasliterallybloody,butaddingthetermbloodytothe
phrasegivesitextraemotionalemphasis.Anothergoodillustrationof
thisisinaStrooptest,asillustratedbelow[INSERTSTROOPTEST
HERE].Trytonamethecolorofthewordasfastasyoucan.The
attentiongrabbingqualitiesoftheswearwordsusedinthistaskmakeit
especiallydifficult(Pinker,2007).Inasimilarexperiment,theuseof
taboophrasesinawordlocationtaskincreasedsubjectsabilityto
correctlyrememberthelocationoftheword(Mackay,2005).Swear
wordseffectivelystirupstrongemotionsandgrabourattention.

However,swearingisnotalwaysaboutevokingnegativeemotions;
swearingitselfcanalsobeaculturalphenomenon.Thewillingnessto
breakaculturaltabooinfrontofotherscreatesanatmosphereof
informalityandsenseofcommunity.Iftaboosaredefinedbythegreater
society,anenvironmentwheresubvertingthosetaboosisacceptable
createsasmaller,moreintimatesocietyinsideofthegreatersociety
(Pinker,2007).Anotherinterestinguseoftaboolanguageisasa
catharticexperience,awayofexpressingandalleviatingpain,

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frustration,stress,orregret(Jayetal.2006).Aclassicexampleofthis
wouldbeshoutingdamnitafterhittingyourselfwithahammerwhile
tryingtonailsomethingdown.Interestingly,studieshaveshownthat,
whencomparedwithpeoplewhodonotswearfrequently,frequent
swearersalsotendtohavelowerpaintolerance(Stephens,2011).
Swearingwasalsoshowntoincreasetheabilityofsubjectstotolerate
pain(Stephens,2011).Alloftheseusescontributetothepropagationof
swearwordsandtaboophrasesinlanguage,despitetheir
inappropriatenessincertaincontexts.

OnYourMind:SwearingintheBrain
Inanefforttounderstandhowswearingprovokesastrongresponsein
individuals,neuroscientistslookedtothebrainforanswers.Using
neuroimagingtechniquessuchasPET(positronemissiontomography)
scans,theydemonstratedthatasmallpartofthebraincalledthe
amygdalaishighlyactivewhenexposedtothreateningwords(Isenberg,
1999).Theamygdalaispartofthelimbicsystem,oneoftheprimitive
partsofthebrainresponsibleforprocessingemotionandmemory.In
particular,amygdalaactivityiscorrelatedwithnegativeemotional
associations;stimulatingtheamygdalacancausepanicattacksand
aggressivebehaviors,whiledestroyingtheamygdalacausesunusual
placidnessorfearlessness(Zald,2003;Davis,2001).Therefore,itmakes
sensethattheamygdalawouldbeactivatedinassociationwith
unpleasantwordssuchasswearwords.Theamygdalaalsomakesseveral
connectionstomemoryandassociationcentersinthebrain,whichcould
alsoberesponsiblefortheincreasedmemoryskillswhensubjectsare
presentedwithswearwords(Davis,2001).

SwearingintheClinic
Beyondsimplydeterminingwhatpartofthebrainisactivated,
neuroscientistsalsosoughtinsightintohowswearwordsareproducedin
thebrainbylookingtotheclinic.Pathologicalswearingisfoundin
manyneurolinguisticdisorders,themostfamousbeingGillesdela
Tourettesyndrome(GTS).GTS,whichwasfirstidentifiedbyItardand
GillesdelaTouretteinthe1800s,isahyperkineticmotorspeechdisorder
characterizedbyfrequentinvoluntarytics,whicharesuddenpattern
likemovementsorsounds(VanLancker,1999;NINDS,2012).Inmost
popcultureportrayalsofTourettes,corpolalia,orinvoluntaryswearing,
featuresveryprominently.InGTSindividualswithcorpolalia,swearing
isatic.However,despitetheprevalenceofcorpolaliainmedia
depictions,onlyabout1025percentofindividualswithTourette
syndromeexhibitcorpolalia(VanLancker,1999;Pinker,2007).

ThoughitislesserknownthanTourettesyndrome,aphasiacanalso

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heavilyfeatureswearing.Aphasiaisaclinicallanguageimpairment
resultingfromdamagetothelanguagecentersofthebrain[SeeFigure
3],usuallyfollowingastroke.Theexactspecificsofaparticularaphasia
dependonthelocationandseverityofthedamage;ingeneral,though,
aphasicindividualshaveproblemswithspeech,listening,reading,and
writing(VanLancker,1999;NINDS,2012).Inthemostseverecase
globalaphasiaspeechisalmostnonexistent.Yet,innumerouscases
theseindividualsarestillabletoswearnormally(VanLancker,1999).
Eveninindividualswithlessextensiveaphasias,wherespeechispossible
butdifficult,limited,andoftenincorrectlypronounced,patientshave
beenknowntouseswearwordseasilywiththeproperpronunciation
(VanLancker,1999).Forexample,R.N.,apatientwithglobalaphasiaas
aresultofastrokeinvolvinghisleftfrontal,temporalandparietallobes,
couldonlysaywell,yeah,yes,no,goddammit,andshit(Van
Lancker,1999).PatientR.N.wasabletoproducethesewordsproperlyin
thepropercontext,however,whenaskedtosaythewordshitoutof
conversationalcontextbyreadingitfromawrittencard,hewasunable
todoso(VanLancker,1999).

TheuseofswearinginbothaphasiaandGTSgivesusarealinsightinto
howswearingworksinthebrain.Individualswithaphasiahavedamage
tothenormalpartsofthebrainthatproduceformallanguage,suchas
BrocasareaorWernickesarea,foundinthelefthemisphereofthe
brain.Thefactthattheyareabletoswearsuggeststhatswearingis
localizedoutsideofthesedamagedareasandishandleddifferentlyinthe
brainthanotherpartsoflanguage.PsychologistChrisCode,whostudied
individualswhohadtheirlefthemispheresremoved,proposedthat
swearwordsandseveralothertypesofspeechpreservedinaphasic
individualsfallintoacategoryoflexicalautomatismsorautomatic
speech,whicharelocalizedtotherighthemisphereinsteadoftheleft
one(Code,1996;VanLancker1999).

PathologicalandneuroimagingstudiesofindividualswithTourette
syndromeimplicatethebasalgangliaandthelimbicsystemaskey
playersinGTSandcorpolalia[SeeFig3].Thebasalgangliahaveseveral
mainrolesinthebrain,includingtheregulationofactions,anduse
dopamineastheirmainneurotransmitter.Parkinsonsdiseaseand
Huntingtonsdiseasearetwoclassicexamplesofbasalganglia
dysfunction.InParkinsonsdisease,thebasalgangliaaredamagedin
suchawaythattheyinhibitmotorsignalscomingfromthecortex,and
thusmovementisverydifficult.InHuntingtonsdisease,thebasal
gangliaaredamagedinjusttheoppositefashiontheydonotinhibit
motorsignalsliketheynormallywould,andpatientsmove
unintentionallyanduncontrollably(Kandel,etal.2000).Ifweconsider
speechasjustanothertypeofmovementthatcaneitherbesuppressed

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orreleasedbythebasalganglia,itmakessensethattheywouldbe
involvedinswearing,keepingtabooideasthatcrossourthoughtsfrom
beingexpressedmorefully.Thisisausefultoolforthebrainbecause,to
quoteHarvardPsychologistStevenPinker,youhavetothinkthe
unthinkabletoknowwhatyourenotsupposedtobethinking(Pinker,
2007).

ThoughstudiesofGTSindividualsshowahighlevelofvariabilityinthe
brainareastheyimplicate,thebasalgangliaanddopaminesystemin
particularhavebeenshowntobedysfunctionalinmanystudies(Van
Lancker,1999).Dopamineantagonists,drugsthatblockorlowerthe
effectsofdopaminereceptorsignaling,havealsoproveneffectivein
alleviatingsomeGTSsymptoms,furthersupportingtheideathatthe
basalgangliaareinvolvedinGTS(Regeur,1986).

Thelimbicsystem,whichincludestheamygdala,alsohasavarietyof
otherroles,mostofwhichinvolveemotion(VanLancker,1999).
Importanttothetopicofswearing,thelimbicsystemhasbeenshownto
beimportantintheproductionofemotionallanguage(Pinker,2007).
Therefore,onetheoryisthatdysfunctioninthelimbicsystemandbasal
gangliacanproducecorpolalia,whichstemsfromalossofinhibitory
abilitycoupledwithhighemotionalreactivity.Thesetwoareasarealso
usuallyintactafteranaphasicstroke,meaningthattheabilitytoswear
shouldalsobepreserved.Still,wedonothavealltheanswersyetthere
areexceptionsandinconsistenciesineverycase.Nevertheless,these
findingsmaygiveusthebeginningsofanunderstandingofhowswearing
worksinthebrain.

SticksandStones:FreeSpeechandWordsthatHurt
Thoughunderstandinghowswearingworksinthebrainisapuzzlethat
scientistswillkeepworkingon,thefarmorecontroversialquestionabout
swearwordsishowweshoulddealwiththemlegislatively.Freedomof
speech,thefirstandforemostAmendmentintheBillofRights,isseenas
oneofthefoundingtenantsofademocraticsociety.However,thereare
casesofwhattheSupremeCourtcallsunprotectedspeechwhere
speechcanberestricted.Slander,libel,andfightingwordsareall
examplesofunprotectedspeech.Ineachofthesecases,thespeechhas
beendeemedharmfultoothersandisthereforeillegal(Cohen,2009).

Obscenityisalsoconsideredatypeofunprotectedspeech,underthe
argumentthatoffensivewordsalsoconstituteaformofharm,
particularlyforthevulnerableandtheyoung(Jay,2009b).Thisideahas
beenthebasisofmanyoftherulesenforcedbytheFederal
CommunicationsCommission(FCC),whichhasfinedTVstationsand

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RadioNetworksforeverythingfrombroadcastingGeorgeCarlins
SevenWordsYouCanNeverSayonTelevisiontoBonosfleetinguse
offuckingbrilliantattheGoldenGlobeAwards(Pinker,2007;Jay,
2009b).

Yet,areoffensivewordsactuallyharmful?Psychologicalstudieshave
shownthatcontextisessentialintermsofharmfulspeech.Ononehand,
astudyofchildvictimsofobscenetelephonecallsshowedthatthe
childrensufferedseverepsychologicalconsequencesfromthesecalls
(Larsenetal2000).Verbalharassmentandaggressionhasalsobeen
showntohaveclearnegativepsychologicaleffects(Vissingetal.,1991).
Ontheotherhand,theevidenceagainstswearingaloneismuchless
compelling(Jay,2009b).Asdiscussedabove,therearemany
psychologicalstudiesthatsuggestswearwords,intheappropriate
context,canbebeneficialwhenusedforgroupunity,coherence,and
generalexpressiveness(Jay,2009b;Jay,2006;Heins,2007).

Thisisnottosaythattheuseofswearwordsandtaboophrasesistotally
withoutpotentiallyharmfulconsequences;justaskPaulaDeen.Inmost
instances,thesewordsaretabooforareason.Usually,theyare
consideredoffensiveinonewayortheotherandevokestrongemotions
(orstrongamygdalareactivity),whichcanbeharmfultorelationships
andothersocialconstructs.However,thequestionofwhetherthese
socialharmsaresufficientpunishmentfortheuseofoffensivelanguage
oriflegislativeactionmustbetakenaswellremainswithinthecourts
andlegislatorsdiscretion(althoughhopefullyinformedbylinguists,
psychologists,andneuroscientists).

Taboolanguageisdefinedbycultureandiscreatedinthebrainthrough
acomplexinteractionofourspeech,emotion,andmotivationcenters.
Thereareavarietyofusesforit,andfromalegalstandpointthecontext
ofuseiseverythingwhendeterminingwhatisorisnotappropriate.
Whilewemaynothavealloftheanswersaboutthesciencebehind
swearingjustyet,swearwordshavebeenauniquefeatureoflanguage
foracrossculturesandtime,showingnosignsofleavinganytimesoon.

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