Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing by Melissa Mohr – review
It's wonderful stuff, swearing. It stiffens the sinews and summons up the blood, and not just metaphorically. Obscenities actually do act on us physiologically. Swearing increases electrical conductance across the skin, pushes the heart rate higher and measurably increases resistance to pain. Obscenities are also linguistically interesting in themselves: the more currency they have, the more their emotional colouring and the associations they trigger overwhelms what they actually mean. Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". Melissa Mohr's title, then, is more than just an attention-grabber: the history of swearing is one of a movement back and forth between the holy and the shit. Though Mohr is mainly interested in English, she is generous in roping in examples from outside it. In medieval times, though, the emphasis was all on the holy. Christianity was founded on oaths and covenants – as was the whole dispensation of feudal society. How things change.
FORMS OF ABUSE
Domestic violence is any of the forms of abuse listed below. All types are unacceptable some are criminal offences. Creating fear Fear is a key element in domestic violence and is often the most powerful way a perpetrator controls his victim. Intimidation Includes smashing things, destroying her possessions, putting a fist through the wall, handling of guns or other weapons, using intimidating body language (angry looks, raised voice), hostile questioning of the victim or reckless driving of vehicle with the victim in the car. Verbal abuse Using words as a weapon to cause significant damage. Physical abuse Behaviour such as pushing, shoving, hitting, slapping, attempted strangulation, hair-pulling, punching etc. and may or may not involve the use of weapons. Emotional abuse Behaviour that deliberately undermines her confidence leading her to believe she is stupid or that she is 'a bad mother' or useless or even to believe she is going crazy or is insane. Social abuse Financial abuse Stalking
Culture - Why do Brits and Americans swear so differently?
Warning: This article contains very strong language that may offend some readers. When Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street was released in 2014, it had the questionable distinction of containing more F-bombs than any other drama — 2.83 per minute, a total of 506. Only a documentary about the word itself exceeds it in cinematic history, with 857 instances. But this is far from unusual for American films, in which profane words frequently number in the hundreds. Television tends to have stricter standards. Back in 1972, the comedian George Carlin released an album including a monologue called Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television. The influence of American films and television on British culture is strong. For example, Americans consider it a big deal when a public figure is caught swearing. It is not unusual, in the real America, to meet a graduate of the Ned Flanders School of Swearing. STEPHEN: Prunk. HUGH: Shote. STEPHEN: Cucking. HUGH: Skank. STEPHEN: Fusk. HUGH: Pempslider.
Swearing is emotional and creative language say researchers who claim it is GOOD for you
Theory presented to British Psychological Society conference in BirminghamParticipants played aggressive video game and held ice-cold glass of waterDr Richard Stephens of Keele University added it explains why we swear'We want to use more taboo words when we're emotional', he said By Dan Bloom Published: 14:55 GMT, 11 May 2014 | Updated: 09:56 GMT, 12 May 2014 Scroll down for an audio interview Swearing is a harmless emotional release which could make you feel stronger, researchers have claimed - though only in moderation. Participants were made to play aggressive computer games and could recall a wider variety of swear words after their session, as well as turning the air blue much more often. Rather than just proving we swear more when we're angry, the psychologists insisted, the study showed profanity can be an emotional coping mechanism which makes us feel more resilient. Letting off steam: Swearing could be a harmless emotional release, at least in moderation, researchers claim 3. 6. 9.
The Science of Swearing: A look into the human MIND and other less socially acceptable four-letter words | Harvard Science Review
by Michelle Drews Disclaimer: This article covers the psychological, neurobiological, linguistic, and legal aspects of the use of profanity. Readers are advised that it does contain words that some individuals my find offensive or inappropriate for young children. What’s in a word? Becoming Taboo When asked to define profanity in 1964, former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously stated that he could not describe it and added, “But I know it when I see it” (Jacobellis v. How then does a word become taboo? Furthermore, as culture changes, so does what is taboo (Pinker, 2007). Why Swear? So, if taboo phrases are cultural “no-no”s, why do they persist? Swear words are also useful and effective ways of conveying that you feel very strongly about something or of inciting strong feelings in someone else, even when used outside of their traditional definitions (Jay, 2009a; Pinker, 2007). On Your Mind: Swearing in the Brain Swearing in the Clinic Yet, are offensive words actually harmful?
Research demonstrates how the use of bad language can alter our behaviour
I have a friend who can't say "fuck". She never has been able to and shakes her head helplessly when teased and dared to give it a go. She's not a prude. But she has such a strong reaction to the word that she cannot bring herself to utter it. Using the f-word in the first sentence of this article wasn't done for gratuitous effect. But how did you react to reading it? It has been known for a while that people fluent in two languages respond far less strongly to swear words in their mother tongue than in their second language. But a new study of people's reactions to a "bad" swear word – fuck, for example – compared a euphemism that they understood to mean the same thing, now suggests our strong emotional reactions to swear words happen as a result of early verbal conditioning, rather than the meaning that is conveyed. All sorts of emotions are associated with the sound of swear words as we are growing up, says Jeff Bowers at the University of Bristol, who carried out the research.
