I Do Solemnly Swear

There is very little that has not been studied and scrutinized about language, but swear words come close.  Of course, we have examined the words, we have created specialized dictionaries, and taken down data on the usage of the terms, but they have not enjoyed the place of honor that the rest of the English vocabulary has.  We examine and share the histories of words, but swear words, like slang, has not been taken as seriously.  They are considered inappropriate in many social situations, and have been often unprintable as well.  Yet, there may by no other word class that is so close to our emotional state.  In fact, studies indicate that swear words are kept in a different place in the brain than the rest of our vocabulary.  This placement allows the words to stimulate the production of pleasurable chemicals when used, which may explain why we let fly with a hearty "Damn it!" or "Shit!" just after receiving an injury - we are unconsciously directing the body to dull its own pain.

Not only physical pain provokes the reaction of swearing.  We are also apt to shoot off the few curses with under stress emotionally.  Anger and fear present us with a loss of control over our own feelings, and the release of chemicals in the brain can at least make us feel as if we still have some modicum of self-control.  Naturally, like all drugs or pleasurable activities we should be aware that overuse can dull the effects.

This can also be seen in another use of swear words, a more social one, which is the use of swear words to indicate the register of discourse.  Obviously, swearing shows the level of formality to be quite low, and can also put the listeners off balance, giving the speaker some leverage over the conversation.  There is also a sense of gravity that can come with a well-placed swear, again because of the connection to emotions.  Swearing can give the sense that what is being said is "real" and heartfelt.  Of course, the taboo still applies, and even American presidents have been criticized when caught on recordings dropping an s-bomb.

Interestingly, words change in their levels of vulgarity and offense over time, becoming more acceptable or less, sometimes dropping out of the lexicon almost entirely.  It would appear that the neutral terms we use for "dirty" body parts, which come from Latin, have replaced the old neutral terms used into the Middle Ages in England.  That is, they replaced the old words as everyday terms, but the old words are still with is - as vulgarities.  Other swear words develop different levels of toxicity related to the taboos at large in society.  While English-speaking society was more wrapped up in religion, blasphemy was a stronger category of swearing, but today in our more secular countries, we have returned to the taboos of excretion and sex for our swearing power.  The words that pack the biggest punch are extremely interesting from a sociolinguistic perspective, as they clearly point to society's fears and triggers.  By knowing what words are "forbidden", or at least inappropriate, we know what concepts are not welcome.

While we try almost desperately to reduce the impact of the foul words we might hear or read, to any who pay attention it is clear that swearing fills a communicative need.  As one comedian once stated, the equivalent of fuck off is most certainly not go away.  Besides the previously mentioned physiological and conversational effects, swear words as interjections alert those in hearing distance that something has gone wrong.  It projects pain, fear, or stress to others in case help is required.  The uses of swear words can be divided up into categories, the strength of the words can vary, but it appears that human language has a basic need to express anger, stress, or informality, to the point that most languages have a special set of vocabulary segregated from the rest.  We try to keep a lid on "bad" words.  What we might really be trying to stave off is bad experience.