Swearing is found in every language, and even chimps do it. But why do we swear, and is it a good thing? We chat to Emma Byrne, author of a new book on the subject
Why do some words have such power to shock?
It’s all to do with our taboos as a society. Swear words tend to be based around the things that we think of as sacred, private or slightly shameful: religion, sex, bodily functions, questionable parentage. But what constitutes bad language changes from place to place and from time to time. In English, there are nursery rhymes containing racial slurs that we wouldn’t dream of teaching our kids today; in French-speaking Canada, the word ‘tabarnak’ (tabernacle) is an incredibly strong swear word related to religion, whereas in France that word isn’t used at all. So it’s not about the sound of the word, but the meaning and the context.
In what ways is swearing good for us?
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