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Swearing Is Good for You: The Amazing Science of Bad Language
Swearing Is Good for You: The Amazing Science of Bad Language | Emma Byrne
25 posts | 7 read | 40 to read
An irreverent and impeccably researched defense of our dirtiest words. Were often told that swearing is outrageous or even offensive, that its a sign of a stunted vocabulary or a limited intellect. Dictionaries have traditionally omitted it and parents forbid it. But the latest research by neuroscientists, psychologists, sociologists, and others has revealed that swear words, curses, and oathswhen used judiciouslycan have surprising benefits. In this sparkling debut work of popular science, Emma Byrne examines the latest research to show how swearing can be good for you. With humor and colorful language, she explores every angle of swearingwhy we do it, how we do it, and what it tells us about ourselves. Not only has some form of swearing existed since the earliest humans began to communicate, but it has been shown to reduce physical pain, to lower anxiety, to prevent physical violence, to help trauma victims recover language, and to promote human cooperation. Taking readers on a whirlwind tour through scientific experiments, historical case studies, and cutting-edge research on language in both humans and other primates, Byrne defends cursing and demonstrates how much it can reveal about different cultures, their taboos and their values. Packed with the results of unlikely and often hilarious scientific studiesfrom the ice-bucket test for coping with pain, to the connection between Tourettes and swearing, to a chimpanzee that curses at her handler in sign languageSwearing Is Good for You presents a lighthearted but convincing case for the foulmouthed.
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julesG
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@ravenlee - the Franken-Sweater. My kid took the picture: "never mind the blurry book, the focus is on the sweater" (he asked me to choose a book that represents me)

It has lots of positive ease, I'll be able to wear it over several layers. It's cool today, so I might as well give it an outing, but it's not going to be a summer staple I hope.

#KnittersOfLitsy #LitsyCrafters

TrishB I agree with the book 😁 4mo
Mollyanna Sweater looks great! I, too, agree with the book. 4mo
squirrelbrain Cool with you today?! It‘s boiling here! 4mo
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julesG @squirrelbrain 21°C and a cool breeze, but it's sunny and probably warmer in the sun. If it's hot where you are now, it's boiling here midweek. 🫠🥵 4mo
julesG @TrishB @Mollyanna - you know me so 🤬 well 🤣🤣🤣 4mo
Ruthiella Beautiful! 🤩 4mo
ravenlee It‘s fantastic! Well done. It looks great and so very comfortable. 4mo
AnnCrystal 😎👍💝. 4mo
Oryx Great pic of you and fab jumper 4mo
Deblovestoread Love the pic! 4mo
Leniverse That's a good look. You look happy! 3mo
julesG @Leniverse Thank you 😘 3mo
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julesG
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#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

"When I was about nine years old, I was smacked for calling my little brother a 'twat'."

#SuperSeptember @Andrew65 @EadieB

ShyBookOwl 😂 3y
squirrelbrain 🤣🤣🤣 3y
EadieB Interesting first line! 3y
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arlenefinnigan OMG same 🤣 3y
ravenlee When I was about 6 I called my older brother a bastard. I‘d heard it on Fawlty Towers so I knew it was an insult; but I‘d never heard it from the older kids on the school bus so I didn‘t think it was swearing. When my mom heard my reasoning she started laughing and told me not to do it again but didn‘t punish me. 😆 3y
LeahBergen My brother deserved to be called a “twat”. 🤣 3y
GingerAntics I need to read this book!!! 3y
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julesG
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First but last book from my #SceptreSummer #TBR. @DuckOfDoom @Maike

Thank you, @squirrelbrain, for giving it to me.

#SuperSeptember @Andrew65 @EadieB

squirrelbrain Hope it‘s a good one! 3y
EadieB @JulesG Just be careful swearing in front of children! They repeat everything they hear! 3y
julesG @EadieB Too late. They both swear like sailors. All my fault. 😁😁😁 3y
EadieB @julesG Ha-ha! It happens when we get into a bad habit of swearing 🤬 3y
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ashsbookmarks
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Been working on some new bookmarks. Loving this one! I‘m a lady with a potty mouth 😉
#fuckoff #bookmark

Cinfhen 💕😜 3y
BarbaraTheBibliophage I would buy that one! Handy visual when the DH can‘t stop interrupting me. 3y
ashsbookmarks @BarbaraTheBibliophage 😂 I have them available in my Etsy shop (ashsbookmarks.Etsy.com) plus many more 😉 3y
guinsgirlreads 😍😍 3y
39 likes5 comments
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coffees
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Pickpick

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but I was quite pleased. The reasons why swearing is good for you aren't out of this world and we might know them if we really think about it, but I also enjoyed this book because it introduced me to actual studies being made in #language in relation to swearing, which is news to me. It even touches on translation which I 💕💕. I'm curious to learn more! #nonfiction

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coffees
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More technical and science-y than I expected but really enjoying all the info, I think I might want to learn more!! #nonfiction #language

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coffees
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Yes I've been meaning to read this book since I discovered it on the shelves 😆😆🧐 #nonfiction #language

review
Lindy
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Pickpick

“Swearing is like mustard; a great ingredient but a lousy meal.” I really enjoyed this informative and rollicking exploration of scientific studies about swearing. Most interesting: profanity helps reduce pain. Saddest: aphasia patients who retain only swear words are often prevented from using them. Byrne also writes about gender difference, swearing in the workplace and Tourette‘s (“Why This Chapter Shouldn‘t Be in This Book).

CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian This looks great! 5y
Lindy @CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian I recommend it! At book club yesterday, a friend mentioned that someone who recently gave a presentation for a library management interview included “ffs” (not spelled out) on one of her slides. The friend said reading this book helped her untangle her strong reaction to ffs, as used in this context. 5y
Soubhiville That quote is perfect! 5y
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saresmoore I happen to love mustard. Sounds like a fascinating read! 5y
Lindy @saresmoore 😁💛 5y
Lindy @keithmalek He likes swearing AND the taste of soap. His parents obviously need to take a different approach. 4y
keithmalek @Lindy Ha ha! Correct. 4y
Lindy @keithmalek Well done on the writing, btw 4y
keithmalek @Lindy Thanks. You should follow me on there. I just started on that platform the other day, but I plan on publishing a lot more. @keithmalek1" rel="nofollow" target="_top">https://medium.com/@keithmalek1 4y
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Lindy
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Pulp Fiction‘s script clocks in at 1.74 fucks-per-minute. […] a significant chunk of the film is made up of f-words and yet it doesn‘t get monotonous. In English, fuck can be used as a verb (Fuck you), adjective (It‘s fucked), noun (I don‘t give a fuck), and either literally (We fucked), figuratively (Don‘t fuck with me), or as an interjection on its own (FUCK!).

saresmoore Ha! I‘m a big fan of this film. 5y
Lindy @saresmoore I plan to watch it one of these days. It gets mentioned often. 5y
Suet624 Haha. This is a great post. 5y
Lindy @Suet624 😉 5y
27 likes4 comments
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Lindy
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The spread at Feminist Book Club last night, where we discussed the tagged book, which everyone loved. It was fun to talk about swearing. Here‘s another quote: “Emotions come not as single spies but in battalions.”

TrishB Looks fab 👍🏻 5y
Lindy @TrishB I know not to have supper before these meetings because members seem to try outdoing each other each month. That‘s fresh homemade rosemary bread, hot from the oven, for example. 5y
Penny_LiteraryHoarders @Lindy ha!! We do the same for our book club too! It's my turn to host and I've already been out shopping for all the goodies! 5y
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Lindy
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Winston Churchill claimed he was rebuked by one American society hostess for asking for breast meat when offered chicken. According to Sir Winston she replied: “In this country we ask for white meat or dark meat.” To make amends, he sent the offended lady an orchid. Being Winston, he attached a note that read, “I would be obliged if you would pin this on your white meat.”

silentrequiem 🤣🤣🤣 5y
squirrelbrain 🤣🤣🤣 5y
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julesG 🤣🤣🤣🤣 5y
Come-read-with-me @lindy 🤣🤣🤣 Gotta love Churchill! 5y
Kimberlone 🤣 Churchill definitely knew how to make a pun 5y
Lindy @Come-read-with-me @Kimberlone Yep! 5y
37 likes7 comments
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Lindy
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Dr Johnson, on being praised by two society ladies for having left ‘naughty words‘ out of his dictionary, replied, ‘What! My dears! Then you have been looking for them?‘

Lcsmcat 🤣 5y
Lindy @Lcsmcat Lots of great lines in this book 😊 5y
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Lindy
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In Germany you can be fined anywhere from €300 to €600 for calling someone a daft cow, and up to €2,500 for ‘old pig.‘ Dutch, meanwhile, has a whole host of bad language to do with illness: calling a police officer a cancer sufferer (Kankerlijer) can net you two years incarceration.

Lindy @julesG Is it true that calling someone a pig is so awful? I remember that was the epithet used most often by the foster mother in 5y
julesG It depends on the context, as usual. Calling a police officer or traffic warden or any other civil servant anything, especially in a temper, might get you a fine or court order. Road raging and calling another driver pig can also end in a fine. Rude gestures are an offense, too. We do have strict laws about it. I think awareness changed during the 1990s and with that came the fines. 5y
julesG It also depends on which animal of the pig family you call someone. Call someone a piglet or a dirty piglet means they made a mess and it's all in good fun. Call them a sow or dirty sow is on the fence between still okay and rude. Dirty pig, or worse, filthy pig gets you into trouble unless it is definitely clear it's used jokingly. 5y
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julesG I didn't like the German swearing in The Book Thief. Some of it was a literal translation from English to German and then back into English. 5y
Lindy @julesG Thanks for filling me in. I suspected that the situation was complex, as it usually is with swearing. Have you had a look at how the swearing was translated in the German edition of The Book Thief? 🐷 5y
julesG Good idea. I'll check the German edition next time I'm at the library. 5y
Lindy @julesG Library research. 🤓 5y
Lindy @julesG In Swedish translations of The Catcher in the Rye, about 470 (out of the original 778) swear words were omitted because in Swedish culture “a little swearing goes a lot further than it does in English.” (edited) 5y
julesG Now that's a cool fact. 5y
Lindy @julesG 🤓 5y
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Lindy
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Insane asylums were open to the public as freak shows and drew large crowds.

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Lindy
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Social pain, feelings of being rejected or excluded, is as real as physical pain. Experiments with acetaminophen and marijuana (not at the same time) show that identical analgesics can relieve both social and physical pain.

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Lindy
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Ashley Montagu, writing in the 1960s: “If women wept less they would swear more… Today instead of swooning or breaking into tears, she will often swear and then do whatever is indicated. It is, in our view, a great advance upon the old style.”
Too fucking right.

Kimberlone Great quote 5y
Fairyvixen Fuck yeah! Didn‘t realized how much I swore until I couldn‘t. Was so nice to go back to my hometown London ( am now living in LA) could swear there with impunity 5y
Lindy @Fairyvixen The author, who‘s British too, found that Americans are pretty uptight about swearing. 5y
Lindy @Kimberlone 😊👍 5y
38 likes4 comments
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Lindy
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Life has been getting in the way of reading (and time on Litsy) lately. Stressful stuff like my sweetie having major surgery (she is healing well) and delightful stuff like dog sitting this adorable monkey. But I will finish the tagged book in time for Feminist Book Club on Sunday and I‘m back on track with my one short story a day project. 😊

monalyisha Happy to see you posting, happy your love is recovering well, happy to see this cute pup pic, and happy to be looking forward to your review on the tagged! 💝 5y
thegirlwiththelibrarybag Life! Glad she‘s healing well and that there is a gorgeous 🐶 around! 5y
wanderinglynn So happy to hear she‘s healing well. Positive thoughts & healing vibes for continued recovery. 💚 5y
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BookNAround Glad your love is healing well and what a snuggly reading partner you‘ve got there. 5y
Come-read-with-me @lindy It‘s wonderful that she is at home and on the mend. Life is always better with a book, a dog, and seeing someone you love on the road to recovery. Don‘t forget to take care of yourself too. 💖 5y
batsy I'm glad your love's on the mend! ❤️ 5y
Lindy @batsy I think we will be returning the rental walker this weekend (after 2 weeks) because she is able to walk quite well now. 😊 5y
batsy @Lindy Great news ❤️❤️ 5y
LeahBergen I‘m glad to hear she‘s on the mend! 😘 5y
Fridameetslucy That such great news! She‘s getting better and better. Thanks for the update. I was wondering how you both are. 5y
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Bookwomble
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"Legally and politically, the journey to impeachment is unlikely to be as straightforward as blowing the bad guy out of the window. Neurologically, though, it just feels so good to say. Three words with seemingly unlimited power. Impeach the motherfucker."

https://lithub.com/the-scientific-case-for-calling-the-president-a-motherfcker/

Aimeesue A-fucking-men to that! 5y
Aimeesue And the above is known as an expletive infixation, just so we can all feel smart about cussing. 😁 5y
Bookwomble @Aimeesue Ha, ha! 😂 One to remember 😄 5y
19 likes3 comments
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gilroyc
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Eggs
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gradcat I always knew it was 😂😂 6y
Cinfhen Ha!!!! Effin love this!!! 6y
Eggs @Cinfhen @gradcat 😂😂❣️ 6y
vivastory 😂😂😂 6y
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review
shanaqui
Pickpick

Enjoyable and interesting. Some really sad facts about the way women who swear are viewed, though -- women with cancer who swear (more than they used to, due to the pain and stress but not necessarily about the cancer) lose most of their support networks.

Karkar I find the f word very useful. 🤣 now I can tell my mother it is good for me. 😀 6y
13 likes1 comment
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CatchMyBookBreath
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This is an amazing book! ⭐🌟🌟🌟 Ever wonder why the increase in swear words online, especially in female-to-female marketing? 🤔

Research is showing that strong language can form stronger social bonds. In certain scenarios (office environment) it can help unify teams.😲 I'm loving the breakdown of the social cues and in what contexts cussing is used effectively. Check it out! 📚

Kaye I know I NEVER used to use foul language , but anymore, I let ‘ er rip. I‘m getting older and crabbier and put up with enough crap to fill a doggone backloader. So my language can be pretty colorful. I even let loose at my specialist the last visit. He said What is This, Talk Like A Pirate Day ? Funny. 😁 7y
CatchMyBookBreath @Kaye lol Yeah, I've always sworn like a sailor even prior to meeting one. 😁 7y
Kaye That‘s a good one. I‘ve yet to meet a sailor myself. 😁 (edited) 7y
BookNAround There‘s a great podcast all about cursing that I enjoy listening to. It‘s called Very Bad Words. It‘s quite thorough with each word. 😂 7y
CatchMyBookBreath @BookNAround Ohhhhhh thanks for the tip! This sounds perfect for me ! 😀 7y
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CourtSmall
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#26 for 2018
Loved it!!! Highly recommend !!

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dariazeoli
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I‘m trying to squeeze the tagged book in before February. I swear. Is it really good for you? I feel like we should ask Samuel L. Jackson 😉

RaimeyGallant It is! 7y
keithmalek I've read Holy Sh*t: A History of Swearing. Have you? 7y
Tamra WTF? 😹 7y
GripLitGrl I feel like the audiobook should be read by him 7y
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Clare_Riley
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I‘ve been pretty much on internet silence over most of Christmas (I can‘t believe I managed it 😂), but thought I‘d share my Christmas books with you all! My friend bought me the book about swearing. It‘s scary how well she knows me!😂