Why people swear

Dr. John Grohol over at PsychCentral summarizes a new study examining why people swear. (Hat tip, once again, to Andrew Sullivan.)

Virtually all people swear, and people swear pretty consistently throughout their lifetime — from the moment they can speak to the day they die. Swearing is almost a universal constant in most people’s lives. Research, according to (the study's author Timothy) Jay, has shown we swear on average from 0.3% to 0.7% of the time — a tiny but significant percentage of our overall speech (frequently-used personal pronouns occur at approximately 1.0% rate in speech). Swearing is more common than you might think...(and) is not just for the uneducated or people of a lower socioeconomic class — it knows no social boundaries in its expression.

My executive summary would be that we swear for a variety of reasons in a variety of situations. Swearing can inject an emotion into conversation, or can be used to make a foreceful point. Swearing can also be used to express a high degree of emotion (good or bad). And while swearing may often be socially offensive, the goals achieved by swearing may occasionally be beneficial, such as when it is used as an emotional release or in the place of physical violence.

That covers the "who and why" of swearing, but what about the "what and when"?

We make choices about which word to use depending upon the company we’re in, and what our relationship is to that company, as well as the social setting. We’re more apt to use less offensive terms in mixed company or in settings where more offensive swear words might result in recrimination (such as work)*. For instance, people are more comfortable and are more likely to use technical terms for sexual references in mixed crowds, and to reserve the taboo words for same sex crowds or with their sexual partner. Most people feel uncomfortable saying, “F--k” in a business or public crowd, instead falling back on less offensive words like, “Damnit.”

The article also mentions that swearing is a normal part of language development as we learn what words are appropriate in what circumstances, and what words may be tabboo in all.

The author of the original study compares swearing to using the horn of your car in that it can be used for a variety of different reasons. I would add that, like a "honk" on a car horn, swearing exists on a continuum from benign to inappropriately aggressive.

*or school...