Profanity

Profanity is socially offensive language,[1] which may also be called cursing, cussing or swearing, cuss words (American English vernacular), curse words, swear words, bad words, or expletives. Used in this sense, profanity is language that is generally considered by certain parts of a culture to be strongly impolite, rude, or offensive. It can show a debasement of someone or something[2], or be considered as an expression of strong feeling towards something.

"Abusive language" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Abusive language (law).
For the software, see Profanity (instant messaging client).
In cartoons and comics, profanity is often depicted by substituting symbols for words ("grawlixes" in the lexicon of cartoonist Mort Walker)

In its older, more literal sense, "profanity" refers to a lack of respect for things that are held to be sacred, which implies anything inspiring deserving of reverence, as well as behaviour showing similar disrespect or causing religious offense.[3]

Etymology

The term profane originates from classical Latin profanus, literally "before (outside) the temple", "pro" being outside and "fanum" being temple or sanctuary. It carried the meaning of either "desecrating what is holy" or "with a secular purpose" as early as the 1450s.[4][5] Profanity represented secular indifference to religion or religious figures, while blasphemy was a more offensive attack on religion and religious figures, considered sinful, and a direct violation of The Ten Commandments. Moreover, many Bible verses speak against swearing.[6] In some countries, profanity words often have Pagan roots that after Christian influence were turned from names of deities and spirits to profanity and used as such, like famous Finnish profanity word perkele, which was believed to be an original name of the thunder god Ukko, the chief god of the Finnish pagan pantheon.[7][8][9][10]

Profanities, in the original meaning of blasphemous profanity, are part of the ancient tradition of the comic cults which laughed and scoffed at the deity or deities: an example of this would be Lucian's Dialogues of the Gods satire[11].

English

In English, swear words and curse words tend to have Germanic rather than Latin etymology.[12] Shit has a Germanic root,[13] as likely does fuck.[14] The more technical alternatives are often Latin in origin, such as defecate or excrete and fornicate or copulate respectively. Because of this, profanity is sometimes referred to colloquially as "Anglo-Saxon".[15] This is not always the case. For example, the word "wanker" is considered profane in Britain, but it dates only to the mid-20th century.[16][17]

History

The history of curse words and profanity was part of spoken words in the medieval era. The word fuck was used in English in the fifteenth century, though the usage in earlier times of the 13th century was not with abusive intent. The word shit is the oldest of words in use with early references found in German and Scandinavian languages.[18]

Research

Analyses of recorded conversations reveal that an average of roughly 80–90 words that a person speaks each day – 0.5% to 0.7% of all words – are swear words, with usage varying from 0% to 3.4%[19]. In comparison, first-person plural pronouns (we, us, our) make up 1% of spoken words.[20]

A three-country poll conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion in July 2010 found that Canadians swear more often than Americans and British when talking to friends, while Britons are more likely than Canadians and Americans to hear strangers swear during a conversation.[21]

Swearing performs certain psychological functions, and uses particular linguistic and neurological mechanisms; all these are avenues of research. Functionally similar behavior can be observed in chimpanzees, and may contribute to our understanding, notes New York Times author Natalie Angier.[22] Angier also notes that swearing is a widespread but perhaps underappreciated anger management technique; 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".[22] Swearing over time may gain roots as a habit with the involuntary utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks. This has been referred to as coprolalia, which is an occasional characteristic of tic disorders.

Keele University researchers Stephens, Atkins, and Kingston found that swearing relieves the effects of physical pain.[23] Stephens said "I would advise people, if they hurt themselves, to swear".[24] However, the overuse of swear words tends to diminish this effect.[24] The Keele team won the Ig Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for their research.

A team of neurologists and psychologists at the UCLA Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research suggested that swearing may help differentiate Alzheimer's disease from frontotemporal dementia.[25]

Neurologist Antonio Damasio noted that despite the loss of language due to damage to the language areas of the brain, patients were still often able to swear.[26]

A group of researchers from Wright State University studied why people swear in the online world by collecting tweets posted on Twitter. They found that cursing is associated with negative emotions such as sadness (21.83%) and anger (16.79%) thus showing people in the online world mainly use curse words to express their sadness and anger towards others.[27][28]

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Warsaw investigated bilingual swearing: why is it easier to swear in a foreign language? Their finding that bilinguals strengthen the offensiveness of profanities when they switch into their second language, but soften it when they switch into their first tongue, but do both statistically significantly only in the case of ethnophaulisms (ethnic slurs) led the scientist to the conclusion that switching into the second language exempts bilinguals from the social norms and constraints (whether own or socially imposed) such as political correctness, and makes them more prone to swearing and offending others.[29]

Types by purpose

According to Steven Pinker, there are five possible functions of swearing:[30]

  • Abusive swearing, intended to offend, intimidate or otherwise cause emotional or psychological harm
  • Cathartic swearing, used in response to pain or misfortune
  • Dysphemistic swearing, used to convey that the speaker thinks negatively of the subject matter and to make the listener do the same
  • Emphatic swearing, intended to draw additional attention to what is considered to be worth paying attention to
  • Idiomatic swearing, used for no other particular purpose, but as a sign that the conversation and relationship between speaker and listener is informal

Legality

Australia

Three Australian states (New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria) have laws against using "offensive language" in public. These offenses are classed as a summary offence. However, if the court is satisfied that the individual concerned had "a reasonable excuse to behave in such a manner", no offense is committed. In Australia's remaining states and territories, swearing is not illegal per se, but depending on circumstances may constitute disorderly conduct or a breach of the peace.[31]

Brazil

In Brazil, the Penal Code does not contain any penalties for profanity in public immediately. However, direct offenses against one can be considered a crime against honor, with a penalty of imprisonment of one to three months or a fine.[32] The analysis of the offense is considered "subjective", depending on the context of the discussion and the relationship between the parts.[33]

Canada

Section 175 of Canada's Criminal Code makes it a criminal offence to "cause a disturbance in or near a public place" by "swearing […] or using insulting or obscene language". Provinces and municipalities may also have their laws against swearing in public. For instance, the Municipal Code of Toronto bars "profane or abusive language" in public parks.[34] In June 2016, a man in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was arrested for using profane language at a protest against Bill C-51.[35]

India

Sections 294A and 294B of Indian penal code have legal provisions for punishing individuals who use inappropriate or obscene words (either spoken or written) in public that are maliciously deliberate to outrage religious feelings or beliefs.[36]. In February 2015, a local court in Mumbai asked police to file a first information report against 14 Bollywood celebrities who were part of the stage show of All India Bakchod, a controversial comedy stage show known for vulgar and profanity based content[37]. In May 2019 during the election campaign, the Prime minister of India listed out the abusive words the opposition Congress party had used against him and his mother during their campaign[38].

In January 2016, a Mumbai-based communications agency initiated a campaign against profanity and abusive language called "Gaali free India" (Gaali is the Hindi word for profanity).[39] Using creative ads, it called upon people to use swatch (clean) language on the lines of Swachh Bharat Mission for nationwide cleanliness. It further influenced other news media outlets who further raised the issue of abusive language in the society especially incest abuses against women.[40]

New Zealand

In New Zealand, the Summary Offences Act 1981 makes it illegal to use "indecent or obscene words in or within hearing of any public place". However, if the defendant has "reasonable grounds for believing that his words would not be overheard" then no offence is committed. Also, "the court shall have regard to all the circumstances pertaining at the material time, including whether the defendant had reasonable grounds for believing that the person to whom the words were addressed, or any person by whom they might be overheard, would not be offended".[41]

Philippines

The Department of Education in the Philippine city of Baguio expressed that while cursing was prohibited in schools, children were failing to imbibe it at home. Thus as part of its anti profanity initiative, in November 2018, the Baguio City government in the Philippines passed an anti profanity law that prohibits cursing and profanity in areas of the city frequented by children. This move was welcomed by educators[42] and the Department of Education (DepEd) in Cordillera.[42][43]

United Kingdom
In public

Swearing, in and of itself, is not usually a criminal offence in the United Kingdom although in context may constitute a component of a crime. However, it may be a criminal offence in Salford Quays under a public spaces protection order which outlaws the use of "foul and abusive language" without specifying any further component to the offence, although it appears to be unclear as to whether all and every instance of swearing is covered. Salford City Council claims that the defence of "reasonable excuse" allows all the circumstances to be taken into account.[44] In England and Wales, swearing in public where it is seen to cause harassment, alarm or distress may constitute an offence under section 5(1) and (6) of the Public Order Act 1986.[45] In Scotland, a similar common law offence of breach of the peace covers issues causing public alarm and distress.

In the workplace

In the United Kingdom, swearing in the workplace can be an act of gross misconduct under certain circumstances. In particular, this is the case when swearing accompanies insubordination against a superior or humiliation of a subordinate employee. However, in other cases, it may not be grounds for instant dismissal.[46] According to a UK site on work etiquette, the "fact that swearing is a part of everyday life means that we need to navigate away through a day in the office without offending anyone, while still appreciating that people do swear. Of course, there are different types of swearing and, without spelling it out, you really ought to avoid the 'worst words' regardless of who you’re talking to".[47] Concerning swearing between colleagues, the site explains that "although it may sound strange, the appropriateness [of] swearing [...] is influenced largely by the industry you are in and the individuals you work with". The site continues to explain that, even in a workplace in which swearing is the norm, there is no need to participate in it.[47] The site stresses that swearing is, in general, more problematic in asymmetric situations, such as in the presence of senior management or clients, but it also mentions that a "holier than thou" attitude towards clients may be problematic.[47]

The Guardian reported that "36% of the 308 UK senior managers and directors having responded to a survey accepted swearing as part of workplace culture", but warned about specific inappropriate uses of swearing such as when it is discriminatory or part of bullying behaviour. The article ends with a quotation from Ben Wilmott (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development): "Employers can ensure professional language in the workplace by having a well-drafted policy on bullying and harassment that emphasises how bad language has potential to amount to harassment or bullying."[48]

United States
See also: Actionable indecency and United States obscenity law
Local law in Virginia Beach prohibiting the use of profanity along the boardwalk of Atlantic Avenue.

In the United States, courts have generally ruled that the government does not have the right to prosecute someone solely for the use of an expletive, which would be a violation of their right to free speech enshrined in the First Amendment. On the other hand, they have upheld convictions of people who used profanity to incite riots, harass people, or disturb the peace.[49] In 2011, a North Carolina statute that made it illegal to use "indecent or profane language" in a "loud and boisterous manner" within earshot of two or more people on any public road or highway was struck down as unconstitutional.[50] In 2015 the US city of Myrtle Beach passed an ordinance that makes profane language punishable with fines up to $500 and/or 30 days in jail.[51] An amount of $22,000 was collected from these fines in 2017 alone.[52]

Minced oaths
Main article: Minced oath

Minced oaths are euphemistic expressions made by altering or clipping profane words and expressions to make them less objectionable. Although minced oaths are often acceptable in situations where profanity is not (including the radio), some people still consider them profanity. In 1941, a judge threatened a lawyer with contempt of court for using the word darn.[53][54].

Impact on society

A 2011 research by Jeffrey Bowers affirms the use of swearing has impact on and alters human behaviour.[55] This study was conducted to study linguistic relativity with regards to swear words and euphemisms. As a part of this study, 24 volunteers between ages of 18 - 26 with mean age 21 were subject to a 20-minute experiment involving their responses on swear words spoken aloud and their responses noted. Additionally their electrodermal activity was measured using an in-house device that measured changes in skin resistance in response to the swear words.[56]

Another study[57] at Stanford in 2016 indicated a direct correlation between profanity and honesty. Based on this study of 307 participants, it turned out that the top two US states (Connecticut and New Jersey) on profanity were also the highest on integrity. Previous notions about children picking swearing from adult behavior have found to be incorrect while experience shows that they learn to swear as the behaviour of conformity.[58]

"I’ve taken a little bit of criticism from certain readers for the swearing I put into these books. I know that most of you consider things like ‘damn’ and ‘hell’ to be very weak curses if even swear words at all. However, to some people, they can be offensive."[65]

gollark: (To clarify, this is sarcastic)
gollark: I love your dismissal of all criticism as either hate or trolling.
gollark: The ones I frequent seem to be pretty okay with *relevant* ones, or at the worst DMing people if they ask.
gollark: Also retention issues, which we are investigating solutions for.
gollark: Yes, we have difficult ones like "how do we properly optimize bot count" and "how do we automatically find bot prefixes".

See also

References

Notes

  1. "Definition of Profanity", Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, retrieved on 2014-08-31.
  2. Marquis, A.N. (1940). "The Monthly Supplement: a current biographical reference service, Volumes 1-2". The Monthly Supplement. United States: A.N. Marquis. 1–2: 337.
  3. "Definition of profanity". Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English – online. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  4. Oxford English Dictionary Online, "profane", retrieved 2012-02-14
  5. Harper, Douglas. "profane". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  6. "Bad Words [in the Bible]". OpenBible.info. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  7. Siikala, Anna-Leena (2013). Itämerensuomalaisten mytologia. Helsinki: SKS.
  8. Salo, Unto (1990). Agricola's Ukko in the light of archeology. A chronological and interpretative study of ancient Finnish religion: Old Norse and Finnish religions and cultic place-names. Turku. ISBN 951-649-695-4.
  9. "Miten suomalaiset kiroilivat ennen kristinuskoa?". Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  10. Suomen kielen etymologinen sanakirja. 3. Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura. 1976. ISBN 951-9019-16-2.
  11. Meletinsky, Eleazar Moiseevich The Poetics of Myth (Translated by Guy Lanoue and Alexandre Sadetsky) 2000 Routledge ISBN 0-415-92898-2 p.110
  12. "Swear words, etymology, and the history of English | OxfordWords blog". OxfordWords blog. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  13. Harper, Douglas. "shit". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  14. Harper, Douglas. "fuck". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  15. "Definition of Anglo-Saxon". Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  16. A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: Colloquialisms and Catch Phrases, Fossilised Jokes and Puns, General Nicknames, Vulgarisms and Such Americanisms As Have Been Naturalised. Eric Partridge, Paul Beale. Routledge, 15 Nov 2002
  17. wank. Online Etymology Dictionary.
  18. Wiles, Kate (2014-02-23). "Swearing: The Fascinating History of Our Favorite Four-Letter Words". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  19. Nerbonne, G.Patrick; Hipskind, Nicholas M. (1972). "The use of profanity in conversational speech". Journal of Communication Disorders. 5: 47–50. doi:10.1016/0021-9924(72)90029-9.
  20. Jay, T. (2009). "The Utility and Ubiquity of Taboo Words" (PDF). Perspectives on Psychological Science. 4 (2): 153–161. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01115.x. PMID 26158942. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  21. Reid, Angus. (2010). Canadians Swear More Often Than Americans and British Archived 2012-03-08 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-11-19
  22. Angier, Natalie (2005-09-25). "Cursing is a normal function of human language, experts say". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  23. Richard Stephens; John Atkins & Andrew Kingston (2009). "Swearing as a Response to Pain". NeuroReport. 20 (12): 1056–60. doi:10.1097/wnr.0b013e32832e64b1. PMID 19590391.
  24. Joelving, Frederik (2009-07-12), "Why the #$%! Do We Swear? For Pain Relief", Scientific American, retrieved 2012-11-19
  25. Ringman, JM; Kwon, E; Flores, DL; Rotko, C; Mendez, MF; Lu, P (2010). "The Use of Profanity During Letter Fluency Tasks in Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer Disease". Cognitive & Behavioral Neurology. 23 (3): 159–164. doi:10.1097/wnn.0b013e3181e11392. PMC 3594691. PMID 20829665.
  26. Damasio, Antonio (1994) Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. ISBN 978-0-399-13894-2
  27. "#Cursing Study: 10 Lessons About How We Use Swear Words on Twitter". Retrieved 2015-01-05.
  28. "Cursing in English on Twitter" Archived 2015-01-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
  29. Gawinkowska M, Paradowski MB, Bilewicz M (2013). "Second language as an exemption from sociocultural norms. Emotion-Related Language Choice revisited". PLoS ONE. 8 (12): e8122. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...881225G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0081225. PMC 3859501. PMID 24349044.
  30. Pinker, Steven (2007) The Stuff of Thought. Viking Press. ISBN 978-0-670-06327-7
  31. Swearing in Public is Against the Law (Really) – FindLaw Australia
  32. "Código Penal CP com jurisprudência unificada". brasil.mylex.net (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  33. "Calúnia, difamação e injúria: os crimes contra a honra". Blog de Wellington Saraiva (in Portuguese). 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  34. Canada’s weirdest laws: it’s illegal to swear in a Toronto park, FindLaw Canada.
  35. Nova Scotia man facing trial for swearing in public, thestar.com.
  36. "Indian Penal Code" (PDF). indiacode.nic.in. 1 May 1861. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  37. "AIB Roast: Court asks to file FIR against Karan Johar, Deeepika Padukone, Aalia Bhat, Ranvir Singh & Arjun Kapoor". Moneylife NEWS & VIEWS. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  38. PTI (May 8, 2019). "PM Modi lists out abuses hurled at him, says Congress did not even spare his mother". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  39. "Three ad campaigns to watch out for on Republic Day". Indian Television Dot Com. 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  40. "Mother, sister, daughter... whose gaali is it anyway?". DNA India. 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  41. "Summary Offences Act 1981 No 113 (as at 01 March 2017), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". www.legislation.govt.nz.
  42. Share; Twitter. "Educators only have good words for Baguio's anti-cursing law". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  43. News, ABS-CBN. "Bawal magma: Anti-profanity ordinance passed in Baguio". ABS-CBNnews.com. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  44. "Salford Council tries to outlaw swearing at The Quays".
  45. "Public Order Act 1986". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  46. Swearing in the Workplace. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  47. Work Etiquette – Swearing in the Workplace. Retrieved 2012-11-19
  48. Matt Keating (2006-06-03). "Should swearing be tolerated in the workplace?". Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  49. How Swearing Works, HowStuffWorks.
  50. STATE’S ANTI-PROFANITY LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL RULES SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE, ACLU.
  51. Staff, WPDE (2018-08-27). "Watch your mouth! Profanity could cost you in Myrtle Beach". WLOS. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  52. "A beach in South Carolina made over $22,000 by charging people for swearing". The Independent. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  53. Montagu, Ashley (2001). The Anatomy of Swearing. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 298. ISBN 0-8122-1764-0.
  54. "Minced oath". The Phrase Finder.
  55. Pleydell-Pearce, Christopher W.; Bowers, Jeffrey S. (2011-07-20). "Swearing, Euphemisms, and Linguistic Relativity". PLOS ONE. 6 (7): e22341. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...622341B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022341. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3140516. PMID 21799832.
  56. Pleydell-Pearce, Christopher W.; Bowers, Jeffrey S. (2011-07-20). "Swearing, Euphemisms, and Linguistic Relativity". PLOS ONE. 6 (7): e22341. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...622341B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022341. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3140516. PMID 21799832.
  57. Feldman, Gilald (Oct 2016). "Profanity and honesty" (PDF). Stanford: 44.
  58. Hughes, Geoffrey (2015-03-26). An Encyclopedia of Swearing: The Social History of Oaths, Profanity, Foul Language, And Ethnic Slurs in the English-speaking World. Routledge. ISBN 9781317476788.
  59. "Art or trash? It makes for endless, unwinnable debate". The Topeka Capital-Journal. 1997-10-06. Archived from the original on 2003-09-20. Retrieved 2007-12-20. Another perennial target, J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, was challenged in Maine because of the "f" word.
  60. MacIntyre, Ben (2005-09-24). "The American banned list reveals a society with serious hang-ups". The Times. London. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  61. "Raw Dialog Challenges all the Censors". Life Magazine: 92. 10 June 1966.
  62. "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–1999". American Library Association. 2013-03-27. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  63. "Todd v. Rochester Community Schools, 200 NW 2d 90 - Mich: Court of Appeals 1972". Archived from the original on 2019-03-25.
  64. BBFC Case Studies – Sweet Sixteen. bbfc.co.uk
  65. Brandon Sanderson (2008-05-03). "Annotation Mistborn 2 Chapter Thirty-Two".

Further reading

  • Almond, Ian (2003). "Derrida and the Secret of the Non-Secret: On Respiritualising the Profane". Literature and Theology. 17 (4): 457–471. doi:10.1093/litthe/17.4.457.
  • Bryson, Bill (1990) The Mother Tongue
  • Bulcke, Camille (2001) [1968]. An English-Hindi Dictionary (3rd ed.). Ramnagar, New Delhi: Chand. ISBN 81-219-0559-1.
  • Croom, Adam M. (2011). "Slurs". Language Sciences. 33 (3): 343–358. doi:10.1016/j.langsci.2010.11.005.
  • Hughes, Geoffrey (2004) [1991]. Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths and Profanity in English. Penguin UK. ISBN 9780141954325.
  • Johnson, Sterling (2004) Watch Your F*cking Language
  • McEnery, Tony (2006) Swearing in English: bad language, purity and power from 1586 to the present, Routledge ISBN 0-415-25837-5.
  • O'Connor, Jim (2000) Cuss Control
  • Sagarin Edward (1962) The Anatomy of Dirty Words
  • Sheidlower, Jesse (2009) The F-Word (3rd ed.)
  • Spears, Richard A. (1990) Forbidden American English
  • Stollznow, Karen. "Swearing is bad?". Archived from the original on 2007-05-21.
  • Wajnryb, Ruth (2005) Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language


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