Try Cussing
How do you hurry a splinter out?
Needle?
Tweezers?
Knife?
How do you hurry a splinter out?
Cry?
Plead?
Demand?
How do you hurry a splinter out?
You don’t.
You wait.
Then, when it comes out
other things are hurting more
Jonathan Removing a Splinter -- Paul Cadmus
How do you hurry a splinter out?
Needle?
Tweezers?
Knife?
How do you hurry a splinter out?
Cry?
Plead?
Demand?
How do you hurry a splinter out?
You don’t.
You wait.
Then, when it comes out
other things are hurting more
Jonathan Removing a Splinter -- Paul Cadmus
Linguist Benjamin K. Bergen compared profanity to nuclear reactions. "Nuclear reactions tell us how the universe works, and profanity tells us how humans work, how language works, how our brains work. Like nuclear reactions, it can be used, if you harness it, to great ends.” It has been known for over 150 years that stroke victims who have lost the ability to speak are still capable of spontaneously cursing. Linguists are discovering that cussing comes from a different part of the brain than other modes of spoken communication. It’s an older, emotion-regulation part of the brain that we share with other primates and mammals. This primal nature of profanity might explain why so many expletives resemble each other in terms of they way they sound and the way they feel in our mouths. Many expletives in English are 4-letter terms, though once 3- and 5-letter words were just as common. Most often they consist of a single syllable with a strong consonants on the end. Even when new profane words are invented, like acronyms such as MILF or THOT, follow this pattern, as do swear words for invented languages like Dothraki or Klingon.
ReplyDeleteBut there are benefits, too. Several studies indicate that profanity may alleviate pain, and perhaps swearers may seem more confident, powerful, well-adjusted, and even funny to others. Profanity can be used in aggressive contexts, or to assert power over individuals and groups.