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Cursing as Peephole Into Brain Architecture
Posted by
Zonk
on Tue Sep 20, 2005 06:42 PM
from the keep-it-clean-people dept.
from the keep-it-clean-people dept.
tabdelgawad writes "The New York Times offers this excellent and entertaining writeup on cursing and its role in recent studies of the brain. The article discusses the universality of cursing across time, space, and culture, its varied roles, from linguistic evolution to anger management, and its uses in recent brain research. You can also read all about the sexual effects of uttering obscenities and the swearing habits of sorority women." From the article: "Researchers point out that cursing is often an amalgam of raw, spontaneous feeling and targeted, gimlet-eyed cunning. When one person curses at another, they say, the curser rarely spews obscenities and insults at random, but rather will assess the object of his wrath, and adjust the content of the 'uncontrollable' outburst accordingly." As someone who plays a lot of MMOGs, in my experience this is only mostly true.
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Dag Nabbit! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Dag Nabbit! (Score:3, Interesting)
Depends on how much frustration/anger you have at the time. When I'm mildly frustrated I will say scheise, frell, fraking, son of a (thats it, nothing afterwards), and a few other things that are quite mild. I also say these quite calmly and in a low voice.
Now, when I get really angry people in the next building/down the hall/next door can hear me and I swear like a sailor. In the second case, I usually feel much better after letting off a string of sw
Re:Dag Nabbit! (Score:5, Interesting)
The word itself isn't supposed to matter (let's see, I learned fuck meant having sex in the fifty grade, which is about three years after I began using it), but the force, intent, and attitude behind the word. Using an alternate word changes this in the speaker, especially if the speaker is used to the vulgar forms, and thus conveys a different sense to the listener. For me, it's comical, like a turtle on its back trying to flip itself over but can't. But when these alternate words convey the same sense (and I've seen them used in this way), they really are the same as vulgar varieties.
When I can't use words like fuck, shit, and damn, I use the more subtle facial expressions. Snorting, rolling my eyes, grimacing, clenching my teeth, etc. all serve the same purpose. After all, it's a quick stress reliever for quick stress buildup.
Parent
Re:Dag Nabbit! (Score:5, Interesting)
Heh. I read a Dilbert book (err I can't remember the title, but it had to do with things you should and shouldn't do... it had to do with etiquette, I think.) One strip had to do with swearing and how some people (typically older people) would go haywire if you used the wrong words.
I've seen this happen. I remember one day in high school, there was some stupid play scheduled. The play was going on during the 3rd period. For me, that meant I could stay in the computer class for 3 hours. Neat! So I didn't get the permission slip filled out. Well, I was wrong. They shuffled everybody who wasn't attending the play into study halls. Doh. I was a senior during the peek of my rebellious phase. I was going to do something daring, I was going to skip the study hall. So while everybody was herded to another room, I slipped away. I wandered into a different study hall where one of my friends was. We bs'd for about 20 minutes before I noticed the teacher was taking attendance. Oh... crap. Like a secret agent, I snuck out of the class and started making tracks to where I was supposed to go. I was one floor up from the study hall. If I were caught coming down the stairs, instant bust. So I cooked up a story to the tune of "I had to go to the bathroom. I went up a floor because that level had a bathroom with a door on the stall." Perfect excuse! By the time I came down the stairs, I was anxious. Very anxious. The teacher that saw me spotted me and said "where have you been?!" My anxiety caught up with me and all that came out was "I was taking a dump!"
The teacher's eyes lit up with anger. In retrospect, I should have expected this. But I honestly didn't see 'taking a dump' as being in the same league as 'shitted in a fucking private stall', but the way he reacted I might as well have said that. He was so mad, he actually ran across the hall and stopped a teacher that was passing by. "I asked this young man why he was late to class, and you know what he said?" The poor teacher disinterestedly shook his head. "He said he was..." he actually held up his hands to signify quotes... "taking a dump." The teacher who obviously wanted to continue to his destination had a blank look on his face. The study hall teacher then asked "Do you think that was appropriate?" He shook his head and wandered off. I was left to write a 4 page report on why the phrase "Taking a dump" is inappropriate.
By the third revision of my paper I was getting annoyed. He told me he didn't like it and that I should completely rewrite it. So I did. I filled up four pages about how the older generation of people couldn't cope with the cultural changes that had happened over the last couple of decades, so the younger generation had to tread lightly when speaking around them. I fully expected to end up explaining that paper to the vice principal, but instead the study hall teacher shook his head and threw it away. I honestly don't know if what I was saying got through to him or if he realized he was overreacting or if he was just plain bored with the conflict.
Needless to say, I find cartoons about people swearing so much that other characters catch fire pretty funny. I understand the concept of polite conversation, but it still baffles me how some people get so worked up over 'vulgar phrases'. I think it's a generational thing, but if somebody has a better idea I'm all ears.
Heh sorry dudes, didn't have anything real interesting to share about the topic at hand. I just remembered this little story after what the parent poster said about people looking silly by using softer words. I found myself using words like that during the rest of my senior year in high school.
Parent
Re:Dag Nabbit! (Score:5, Interesting)
Yes, very Donnie Darko. "I'll tell you what he said. He asked my to forcibly insert the Life Line exercise into my anus."
Cultural differences vary widely with geography, of course, but where I happen to currently reside, cursing has become so socially accepted that it's practically no longer noticed. I'm not just talking about a particular peer group either; even in the workplace, it's unusual not too hear a litany of frustated cursing at any given moment with no apparent relation to gender, ethnicity, etc.
As someone with significant intellectual interest in linguistics, I've noticed that there are essentially two categories of cursing: Words or phrases with a prejudicial basis (gender, race, sexual preference, etc) and those related to bodily functions. The "bodily function" category is apparently much more acceptable in mixed company; for the obvious reason that while an isolated prejudicial curse might be harmless out of context, the prejudice itself often still exists in the world and continues to damage societies across the globe.
There is also the class of curses that seems to be in somewhat of a "cross-over" mode, like the word "bitch." Literal meaning aside, it has traditionally been used as a derogatory term for a female. Modern usage though seems to be changing, and the term can now often apply to both men and women; as a result it seems more acceptable in common speech. I'm curious if it will lose (or already has lost) some of its "curse power" because of this slight linguistic shift and the fact that it's not part of the immortal "bodily function" category.
Parent
Re:Dag Nabbit! (Score:3, Insightful)
There is nothing magical about the word "fuck". We could have easily called a chair "fuck", and use "chair" as a curse word. In most languages, "fuck" is not an offensive sound.
So if you have taught yourself that "darn" is a curse word, then I'm going to assume that "darn" will trigger the same response as "fuck" in most people.
Re:Those arn't real curses... (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:You're overlooking the obvious... (Score:4, Funny)
Turn your spam filter off for a day. Read every spam. Delete every one manually.
After the first 5 or 10 spams, you'll be up to "cocksucking motherfuckers". By 20 or 30, you'll be using "pigfucker" like it was a comma. After 50, you'll graduate to ("pigfucker" being redundant) "democrats, republicans, senators, congressmen", and by the time you're into the triple-digits, you'll have come up with your own expletives that'll put any rendition of The Aristocrats to shame.
Parent
Re:You're overlooking the obvious... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:You're overlooking the obvious... (Score:4, Insightful)
There are, I believe, people who really ARE superior, but they do not naively regard themselves as "superior" and they do not necessarily avoid cursing and other "bad" behaviors either.
It's a matter of being very sensitive to the situation and responding to it appropriately that makes one morally well developed, I feel.
Parent
Bullshit! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Bullshit! (Score:3, Funny)
I'm still yet to see... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Bullshit! (Score:3)
Re:Bullshit! (Score:4, Funny)
There is a bike shop in the nearest large town to me called ASSMAN .
I do believe Ass sounds a lot nicer than Arse (Hard R sound )
Bugger has of recent really been deprecated as a swear word
What I do find amusing is people replacing classical curse words with something like "darn" or "heck". They are in essence just as offensive depending on the context , they just don't have the impact:of which swearing is intended to have.
I swear mostly for emphasis (or in the company of friends I just swear as part of the richness of language).
I use the words "Bastard " , "fuck"
In the company of anyone I know to be particularly sensitive I will switch them to "bar-stool"
E.G
I don't consider words like Dam and hell even swearwords really , well since I am not a Christian .
I would like to see some words changed to swear words though
Parent
Re:Bullshit! (Score:3, Funny)
And the horse you rode in on. Sideways.
KFG
Oh yeah, well you're a (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Oh yeah, well you're a (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
I'd also like to hear... (Score:5, Funny)
Oh Shit! Did I think that out loud?!?! Man I'm going to look like such an ass! I'll never be able to make another comment and be respected around here agian!
New slogan: "Cursing, does a body good."Hot Shit (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Hot Shit (Score:4, Funny)
As a member of the "fuck as a comma crowd", swear words still have meaning, but that meaning has been severely diluted. I remember blushing the first time I heard a dirty joke, 25 years later, I doubt that there are any swear words or dirty jokes that would have the same affect.
I didn't pace myself and now I've used them all up. And I'm not even middle aged yet. What I'm I going to do when I really need to express myself? I need some new, improved, really vile words for when I'm really angry.
Parent
Not entirely true. (Score:5, Funny)
Rocco: Fucking... What the fuck. Who the fuck fucked this fucking... How did you two fucking fucks...
[shouts] FUCK!
Connor: Well, that certainly illustrates the diversity of the word.
(quote shamelessly stolen from The Boondock Saints)
Office Space reference (Score:5, Insightful)
And that expectation (which we all have) is why it's so damn funny in Office Space [imdb.com] when Samir, the non-native English speaker, is cursing completely inappropriately. SON OF A F$*(!
Why not lie detecting? (Score:5, Interesting)
If we want to really clean up government and speed up processing in the criminal justice system, we should put $100 million into fMIR as lie detectors.
We could have an electoral truth telling challenge between candidates to see who's telling the truth and who isn't.
Not particularly effective (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Not particularly effective (Score:4, Interesting)
The emotional level, such as what a lie detector is supposed to monitor, is then probably the best route for determining guilt. If you think about all of the complications of creating an fMRI-based lie detector, it seems less and less possible.
Parent
rejoin reality (Score:4, Insightful)
I think that researchers who study the evolution of linguistics really don't care much about the "experiences" of "someone who plays a lot of MMOGs".
WoW - Why ? (Score:4, Interesting)
I personally think that WoW should have a 'receive' foul language option to increase entertainment.
So if two people both have the flag on - they can spit what ever they want at each other.
Sort of like VpV.
Re:A better example of online swearing.. (Score:3, Funny)
http://www.ekstremt.net/files/TSRumble.avi [ekstremt.net]
491Kbps as of 8:20pm MDT.
The article is poopy, but I'll comment anyways (Score:5, Interesting)
I have no idea where they got that (and many others of their facts) from, but wiktionary says otherwise [wiktionary.org]. It seems to be pseudo-researched with a couple of reputable quotes here and there... Oh well.
To the point, in reference to their Stroop test (on page 2), where people were startled by obscene words moreso than neutral words, I find it to be the reverse in "comfortable" environments (as they vaguely mentioned). That is to say, so many people swear habitually that it's not even a big deal in casual situations. To find someone that says "poop" instead of "shit" or something unique and unsensical like "fatty arbuckle!" instead of "fuck!" tends to startle people in surprize. At first, at least.
The novelty of profanity has been worn out to the point where it doesn't have the desired effect anymore. Therefore, I subscribe to the alternative: Using unique and creative utterings to describe my feelings.
This way, after people get to know me, and get used to me being profanity-free, and then one day I get REALLY pissed off and say FUCK, they know I MEAN IT!
Works wonderfully. Plus, makes swearing that/i much more fun.
- shazow
Re:The article is poopy, but I'll comment anyways (Score:3, Insightful)
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/golly#Etymology_1 [wiktionary.org]
Wiktionary and Wikipedia are cool concepts, but they must not be used as sources for any research beyond common harmless curiosity.
Re:The article is poopy, but I'll comment anyways (Score:3, Informative)
Last time I checked, the NY Times had some people writing for it who think the QWERTY keyboard was invented to slow typists down. NY Times probably has a better track record than Wiktionary, but it's not always right.
Re:The article is poopy, but I'll comment anyways (Score:3, Interesting)
The thing is, when you're REALLY using profanity, (in the brain states described in the article) you won't have time to be cute about it. There's a difference between what you say when you slam your fingers in the car door and what you say to your friends at the coffee house to sound cute.
Not only monkeys... (Score:3, Interesting)
NPR, Deadwood, Carlin (Score:5, Interesting)
Another interesting observation was made by George Carlin. He was essentially guessing that teaching somebody not to use certain "bad" words is the first step in teaching them to be complacent. If you can teach them not to make certain sounds, you can teach them not to yell at authorities. Often, people who play the "word police" are very controlling. Of course, cursing is not a sign of an educated person, but when you hit your shin on a corner of a desk, "fuck!" is a more appropriate response than "I think I experienced pain" ...
Origin of Swears... (Score:5, Interesting)
Why is it that words come to be 'forbidden' after normal usage before. At one time, none of the swear words used today existed. Remember, someone had to invent all of these words. On the flip side, why is it that swear words, after repeated use, lose their 'evilness'?
Nowadays, the phrase, "Oh, golly!" may be considered almost comically wholesome, but it was not always so. "Golly" is a compaction of "God's body" and, thus, was once a profanity.
Is it that profanity is in the eye of the beholder? If I were talking to somebody in a room can call the person a 'fucktard', chances are the person I'm talking to would take offense. But in a different scenario I'm talking with a French man that doesn't know a word of english. Now I can call him whatever-the-hell I want to. And just as long as I'm using the inflections in my voice as if I were telling a joke, he wouldn't know any better than if I were telling a joke.
What makes a word a word? It's not the arrangement of the english characters on the post card that offend me - the association between the arranged letters on the notecard and my past experience with that word that makes it vulgar. Ever since we have been children we have known which words not to say - not by the letters F U C and K, but by the face on my pissed off mother. That surely would explain why a child, illiterate or foreigner wouldn't find our swear words offensive.
So, after reading the article, I question the reactions that the tested subjects had to the swear word on the card. We aren't born with these conections in our head, they are learned.
Lastly, another question for the readers: Can swear words be taught out of existence? You would think that if people stopped taking offense to swear words that people would stop using them. It would make sense that if we were taught that 'shit' was a synonym for Cotton Candy, then it wouldn't really be offensive.
Feasible? bs? i dunno...
Cultural effects and gender based response (Score:4, Insightful)
SHAZBOT! (Score:5, Funny)
What? I said shit.
No you didn't. You said 'shazbot.'
I...left the stove on. *runs*
Obligatory Link (Score:5, Informative)
2743 Curse and Slang words in 162 different languages.
The part we all are most interested in . . . (Score:4, Funny)
"The investigators have found, among other things, that men generally curse more than women, unless said women are in a sorority, and that university provosts swear more than librarians or the staff members of the university day care center."
There. I saved you 5 mins of reading just to be dissapointed that there wasn't really anything about sorority girls and sex, just cursing.
Huh? (Score:3, Funny)
"The title "Much Ado About Nothing," Dr. McWhorter said, is a word play on "Much Ado About an O Thing," the O thing being a reference to female genitalia."
You've got to be shitting me.
question... (Score:3, Funny)
"Researchers point out that cursing is often an amalgam of raw, spontaneous feeling and targeted, gimlet-eyed cunning"
WHAT THE F%@k IS "gimlet-eyed cunning"!?
Sorry....I guess I lost it there....
So what do scientists know? (Score:3, Interesting)
Obligatory Simpsons Quote (Score:3, Funny)
Oh Belgium... (Score:5, Funny)
On-the-fly Creatific Curse Constructions, is a great way to keep even the most guttermouthed cock-master off guard in a linguistic duel.
The grad student's research dream... (Score:5, Funny)
Grad Student: Hey Professor, what's going on? did you spill the bromochloride down your pants on accident again?
Professor: I have had, perhaps, the most wonderful epiphany. It's BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT I TELL YOU.
Grad Student: Okay, I'll bite. What is it?
Professor: You know the Tri-Delt Sorority next door, the one with all the hot women that wouldn't speak to us unles we paid them?
Grad Student: Yeah...
Professor: Well, we're going to pay them to talk dirty to us.
Grad Student: But we barely have enough for Ramen noodles. We cook them here and pack them in our underwear for heat at night. Where are we going to get money?
Professor: That's the genius of it! We'll come up with a grant proposal for a cognitive study about swearing! Then we just tell them we have to find some local subjects who swear a lot, and we're SO IN!!!
Grad Student: It'll never work...
Request for Comment (Score:5, Funny)
I want to propose that language is an advanced form of cursing.
Parent
Re:Request for Comment (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Request for Comment (Score:4, Informative)
Originally it meant the use of Italian, not Latin, for church services. The "Vulgate" was spoken by village dwellers, or "Villeins". Poor and common == bad guys.
Parent
Re:Request for Comment (Score:4, Funny)
Mother mother fuck. Mother mother fuck fuck.
Mother fuck mother fuck.
Noise noise noise.
1 2 1 2 3 4
Noise noise noise.
Smokin weed, smokin weed.
Doin' coke, drinkin beers.
Drinkin beers, beers beers.
Rollin' fatties, smokin blunts.
Who smokes the blunts? We smoke the blunts.
Rollin' blunts and smokin um'
15 bucks, little man, put that shit in my hand.
If that money doesn't show then you owe me owe me owe.
Parent