Using taboo words has real effects on the brain and body.
Languages around the world have taboo words (curse or swear words), and the use of them is commonly frowned upon. But that doesn’t stop researchers from wanting to better understand them. Humans are thought to have been using curse words since the emergence of language. There is evidence of cursing in ancient hieroglyphic inscriptions dating back to 1000 BC.
When we curse, we use a different part of the brain than what’s used during normal speech. In fact, some people who have difficulty speaking after a brain injury can still swear. We know from people who have had strokes that speech comes from the left side of the brain, but people who can’t access the normal language centers can often still curse, suggesting that cursing comes from the right side.
Cursing might activate parts of the limbic system, which is involved in memory and processing emotions.
Cursing may even relieve pain. In experiments where people submerged their hand in icy water, those who swore demonstrated a higher pain tolerance and higher pain threshold than people who uttered neutral words. The researchers reported in Frontiers in Psychology that people who said the F word had a 32 percent increase in pain threshold and a 33 percent increase in pain tolerance compared with people who used made-up words such as “fouch” and “twizpipe.” That’s because cursing triggers the fight-or-fight response, which releases adrenaline and causes an analgesic effect. A study published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology found that cursing increases strength, positive emotion, humor, distraction, and self-confidence. Three studies reported that it’s even associated with honesty.
Research has found that cursing causes others to perceive a speaker less favorably, but it depends on the company. In a mixed group of men and women, swearing made the speaker—regardless of sex—seem less sociable. But in single-sex groups, that effect disappeared.
There is no particular power in the words that have been selected as curse words. Using a swear word from another language does not produce the same effects. Some researchers hypothesize that the power of these words comes from being forbidden. When children are punished for using swear words, it can establish a visceral connection between language use and emotional response. But there are no empirical studies linking such memories and adult responses to cursing.
Taboo words change with the times. In the Middle Ages, there was little taboo around bodily functions or sex, so some of the words we find most offensive now would not have been considered so then. In the 14th century, religious profanities were the most offensive, but by the Victorian era, the worst offenders were words that were related to bodily functions. Of the most common curse words, about one-third have four letters, which gave rise to the term four-letter word in the 1920s.
Both swearing and cursing refer to using taboo words, but technically, swearing refers to using a taboo word that is not directed at another person, while cursing refers to applying that word to someone else.
Men swear more often than women, use stronger swear words, and have a larger taboo vocabulary. Men tend to swear more in front of other men than in front of women. Men are more likely than women to swear when frustrated or angry.
