You know what happens when you leave Kat to her own devices for a day, without any looming deadlines? She starts research about why people swear. This is particularly interesting for me, because swearing is prevalent among people I know, but I personally swear extremely rarely. I consider swearing to be a rather nasty habit and simply don't feel the need to extend my vocabulary in this way. It happens though, I ain't a saint (just a work in progress). But it's a really interesting issue from two angles in particular. Firstly, why some words are consider to constitute bad language? And secondly, why do people use these words?
George Carlin in his 7 Dirty Words skit says that nobody gives you a list of why certain words are considered swearing. There is nothing innately bad about them: but the society somehow decided that they have a certain connatation. It's fascinating. Carlin makes a good point: we don't actually have a list of swear words! It would be so much more convenient to have one from the start, to know which words to avoid.
However, it appears that you don't need special words as such: "In Bikol (a language of the Philippines), there’s a special anger vocabulary – many words have alternative words that refer to just the same thing but also mean you’re angry. In Luganda (an African language), you can make a word insulting just by changing its noun class prefix – from a class for persons to a class for certain kinds of objects, for instance. In Japanese, you can insult someone badly just by using an inappropriate form of ‘you’." (BBC)
Interestingly, in the Middle Ages body parts and bodily functions were not treated as obscene. They might not have been particularly polite, but they would not offend. Instead, profanity was a sort of use of language that was considered inappropriate since it constituted an affront to God: it was thought that swearing tore Christ's body apart. On a different note, one of the funniest things I found in my research was a Benedictine monk you cursed a cat which urinated on his manuscript (http://io9.gizmodo.com/this-medieval-manuscript-curses-the-cat-who-peed-on-it-1502884468). In Shakespearean times, due to the influence of the reformation, religious profanity has decreased in importance. If you're curious about the Elizabethan insults, visit this website. Today, swear words are largely connected to private spheres, probably because we have a luxury of privacy.
In this video, Melissa Mohr talks about her book titled Holy Sh*t. Really worth watching.
There are many functions of swearing.There is an expletive or cathartic function of swearing. You can swear to let the steam off.
George Carlin in his 7 Dirty Words skit says that nobody gives you a list of why certain words are considered swearing. There is nothing innately bad about them: but the society somehow decided that they have a certain connatation. It's fascinating. Carlin makes a good point: we don't actually have a list of swear words! It would be so much more convenient to have one from the start, to know which words to avoid.
However, it appears that you don't need special words as such: "In Bikol (a language of the Philippines), there’s a special anger vocabulary – many words have alternative words that refer to just the same thing but also mean you’re angry. In Luganda (an African language), you can make a word insulting just by changing its noun class prefix – from a class for persons to a class for certain kinds of objects, for instance. In Japanese, you can insult someone badly just by using an inappropriate form of ‘you’." (BBC)
Interestingly, in the Middle Ages body parts and bodily functions were not treated as obscene. They might not have been particularly polite, but they would not offend. Instead, profanity was a sort of use of language that was considered inappropriate since it constituted an affront to God: it was thought that swearing tore Christ's body apart. On a different note, one of the funniest things I found in my research was a Benedictine monk you cursed a cat which urinated on his manuscript (http://io9.gizmodo.com/this-medieval-manuscript-curses-the-cat-who-peed-on-it-1502884468). In Shakespearean times, due to the influence of the reformation, religious profanity has decreased in importance. If you're curious about the Elizabethan insults, visit this website. Today, swear words are largely connected to private spheres, probably because we have a luxury of privacy.
In this video, Melissa Mohr talks about her book titled Holy Sh*t. Really worth watching.
"Recent work by Stephens et al. even shows that swearing is associated with enhanced pain tolerance. This finding suggests swearing has a cathartic effect, which many of us may have personally experienced in frustration or in response to pain. " The Science of Swearing
This is interesting. My neurologist said that my headaches might be a result of stress, so I need to release it somehow. He suggested swearing (or, alternatively, throwing plates) to let my steam off. I chose exercising instead, so if you see me running, I'm almost certainly crossed with something or someone. Swearing does not do the job for me, it just multiplies negative emotions.
You can have abusive swearing which is used for just that: abuse, intimidation and insulting others. This is a type of swearing that I find hardest to accept. You can so easily hurt someone with nasty words.
There is also the emphasis function. I call it treating curses as a comma. Sometimes a swear word just flows into the structure of the sentence. Or so they say. I find it hard to comment on that, it's just rather inconceivable to me.
Another interesting passage:
There is also the emphasis function. I call it treating curses as a comma. Sometimes a swear word just flows into the structure of the sentence. Or so they say. I find it hard to comment on that, it's just rather inconceivable to me.
Another interesting passage:
"Swearing is positively correlated with extraversion and is a defining feature of a Type A personality. It is negatively correlated with conscientiousness, agreeableness, sexual anxiety, and religiosity." The Science of Swearing
This would be about right. Apparently I'm a very agreeable person, quite religious, potentially conscientious, so maybe this somehow explains my aversion to swearing... Swearing makes me highly uncomfortable. It doesn't fit into who I want to be. Or who I am. It's really strange not being able to understand other people's use of language. I need to get my head round it, especially that I'm about to start working with teenagers.
--------
Sources:BBC, How to Swear Around the World
The Science of Swearing
Stephens, R., Atkins, J., & Kingston, A. (2009). Swearing as a response to pain. NeuroReport, 20, 1956-160
Swearing: It's a Cultural Thing
--------
One more week of SI left! I'm happy, exhausted, excited, exhausted and getting really impatient for September all at the same time. I've got my timetable now, top sets Y10 and Y7, middle sets Y8&9. Such a great challenge.
No comments:
Post a Comment