Profanity, also called cursing, cussing, bad words, swearing, bad language, abusive language, foul language, obscenity, expletives, vulgarism, or vulgarity, involves the use of notionally offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion, as a grammatical intensifier or emphasis, or to express informality or conversational intimacy. In many formal or polite social situations, it is considered rude (a violation of social norms), and in some religious groups it is considered a sin. [1] Profanity includes slurs, but there are many insults that do not use swear words.
Swear words can be discussed or even sometimes used for the same purpose without causing offense or being considered rude if they are obscured (e.g. "fuck" becomes "f***" or "the f-word") or substituted with a minced oath like "flip".
Different languages and cultures construct swear words and phrases from violations of different social taboos, and many names for offensive language derive from the source topic.
Profanity in the religious sense involves desecration of the sacred, whether by blasphemy or other words causing religious offense, such as taking the Lord's name in vain. Many religions include the notion of casting a curse, which is both disrespectful and intentionally harmful, and is often also taboo. Hence curse phrases like "God damn it to hell", which can be shortened to just "damn". To swear an oath in a highly religious society often involved invoking a sacred entity or event; this act has evolved into profanity. [2] For example, "I swear to God" can be used as an intensifier or to express strong emotion in a potentially offensive way. An oath can also be shortened to simply saying the name of a holy figure, for example yelling "Jesus!" when surprised.
Many cultures have taboos surrounding human sexual activity, and obscenity sometimes refers specifically to depictions or acts related to sex. Some obscenities simply mention sex acts or genitalia or erogenous zones. They can be turned into personal insults by involving the target in the sex act (e.g. "fuck you!") and can be intensified by adding details that invoke disgust or violate more taboos, such as the involvement of family members or animals. Spanish profanity often involves references to prostitution or homosexuality. The term "bastard" invokes a taboo against children born out of wedlock. Swear words like puta (whore), bitch, maricón ( faggot ), and bastard are also slurs which refer to specific groups of people; their use is sometimes challenged by advocates of social equality and those who oppose the underlying taboos.
Foul language is also derived from taboo bodily functions or body parts, especially those which produce disgust, such as the foul odor of excrement. Specific words referring to the same thing can be marked as offensive or polite arbitrarily; for example, "shit" is considered offensive, whereas "poop" is informal but inoffensive, and "feces" while referring to a disgusting object is considered appropriate for formal and polite contexts, such as scientific discussion. Likewise, "asshole" is usually a derogatory term for a person, but "anus" is formal and scientific.
The older sense of "vulgar" is "common"; for example, Vulgar Latin is the colloquial language of the common people of Rome, which does not carry a connotation of being offensive. Terms like "vulgar" and "colloquial" can be used as euphemisms to describe speech which is not only informal but also offensive. Vulgarism refers to a linguistic error typical of an uneducated speaker.
An expletive in the general linguistic sense is a word or phrase that is a grammatical placeholder or extraneous, including auxiliary verbs like "do" (in Standard English), and expletive pronouns like "it" and "there" (e.g. "there is a man at the door"). Another subcategory, expletive attributive, is an adjective or adverb used as an intensifier. Many of these are swear words, but not all.
The term profane originates from classical Latin profanus, literally 'before (outside) the temple', pro meaning 'outside' and fanum meaning 'temple, sanctuary'. The term profane carried the meaning of either "desecrating what is holy" or "with a secular purpose" as early as the 1450s. [3] [4] 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 in the majority-Christian Western world. Moreover, many Bible verses speak against swearing. [5] 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. [6] [7] [8] [9]
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. [10] : 110
In English, swear words like shit have a Germanic root, [11] as likely does fuck , [12] though damn and piss come from Old French and ultimately Latin. The more technical and polite alternatives are often Latin in origin, such as defecate or excrete (for shit) and fornicate or copulate (for fuck). Due to the stereotype of English profanity being largely Germanic, profanity is sometimes referred to colloquially as "Anglo-Saxon", in reference to the oldest form of English. [13] This isn’t always the case. The word "wanker" is considered profane in Britain, but it dates only to the mid-20th century. [14] [15]
Words currently considered curse words or profanity were common parlance in medieval English. [16] In the Elizabethan era, some playwrights, like Shakespeare, largely avoided direct use of these words, but others, like Ben Jonson, did use them in his plays. [17] The word fuck was likely first used in English (borrowed) in the 15th century, though the use of shit in English is much older, rooted in the Proto-Germanic word skit-, then evolved in Middle English to the word schitte, meaning excrement, and shiten, to defecate. [18]
Swearing performs certain psychological functions, and uses particular linguistic and neurological mechanisms; all these are avenues of research.
According to Steven Pinker, there are five possible functions of swearing: [19]
Another reason for swearing is coprolalia, which is an occasional characteristic of tic disorders, is involuntary swearing or the involuntary utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks. [20] It encompasses words and phrases that are culturally taboo or generally unsuitable for acceptable social use, when used out of context. The term is not used to describe contextual swearing. [21] It can be distinguished from voluntary profanity by characteristics such as interrupting the flow of dialogue, differences in tone and volume relative to a normal voice, variable frequency that increases with anxiety, and association with brain disorders. [20] It is usually expressed out of social or emotional context, and may be spoken in a louder tone or different cadence or pitch than normal conversation. It can be a single word, or complex phrases. [21]
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. [22] [23]
Analyses of recorded conversations c. 1972 revealed that an average of roughly 80–90 words that a person spoke each day — 0.5% to 0.7% of all words — were curse words, with usage varying from 0% to 3.4%. [24] In comparison, first-person plural pronouns (we, us, our) make up 1% of spoken words. [25]
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. [26]
New York Times author Natalie Angier notes 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". [27]
A 2017 paper by Gilad Feldman and co-workers [28] claimed to show a correlation between swearing and various measures of honesty. From three separate studies, the authors "found a consistent positive relationship between profanity and honesty; profanity was associated with less lying and deception at the individual level and with higher integrity at the society level". However, the methodology of this study has been challenged by other psychologists, [29] and the study is a subject of ongoing controversy.[ needs update ]
There is no evidence that swearing has harmful effects, such as leading to increased physical violence. [30]
A 2009 study by Stephens, Atkins, and Kingston found that swearing increases pain tolerance by eliciting a fight-or-flight response, quashing the link between the fear of pain and the perception of pain itself. [30] Stephens said "I would advise people, if they hurt themselves, to swear". [31] However, the overuse of swear words tends to diminish this effect. [31] 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. [32]
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. [33]
An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Warsaw investigated bilingual swearing, and how it is easier to swear in a foreign language, 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, doing both statistically significantly only in the case of ethnophaulisms (ethnic slurs), leading the scientists 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. [34]
Research by Jay and Janschewitz [35] suggests that swearing emerges by age two. By the time children enter school, they have a working vocabulary of 30–40 "offensive words", and their swearing becomes similar to that of adults around the age of 11 to 12.
Unlike the rest of language, children are generally not taught the grammatical aspects of how to swear competently in school, raising the question of how they do learn this skill. There is no established consensus as to how children learn to swear, although it is an inevitable part of language learning, and begins early in life. [36] Young school children may adopt various "toning down" strategies when swearing depending on the context in which they are talking. [37]
New York Times author Natalie Angier notes that functionally similar behavior can be observed in chimpanzees, and may contribute to our understanding. [27]
Profanity is widely considered socially offensive and strongly impolite; slurs, however, are both intended to be and by definition are derogatory, as they are meant to harm another individual. Although profanity has been seen to improve performance or relieve anxiety and anger, and can be used in a lighthearted way, this effect and impact cannot be observed with slurs. [38] Though slurs are considered profanity by definition, being both socially offensive and strongly impolite, profanity can be used in a non-targeted manner where slurs cannot. For example, in the sentence "If I don't get an A on this exam, I'm fucked", the word "fucked" is profanity; however, the way it is embedded is not intended to offend anyone, as the speaker is not making an offensive claim. [39]
Minced oaths are euphemistic expressions made by altering or clipping profane and blasphemous words and expressions to make them less or not 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. [40] [41]
Philosopher Rebecca Roache considers the Western cultural taboo against swearing in the presence of women (and against women swearing) to be sexist, especially when it restricts the expressiveness of the speech of women more than men. Roache also relates an example of disrespect and ableism: a person who uses a digital speech synthesizer found that instead of the normal reaction of being offended when cursed at, people laughed at the curse words coming out of the synthesizer instead of a person's mouth. [42]
In every Australian state and territory it is a crime to use offensive, indecent or insulting language in or near a public place. [43] These offences are classed as summary offences. This means that they are usually tried before a local or magistrates court. Police also have the power to issue fixed penalty notices to alleged offenders. [44] It is a defence in some Australian jurisdictions to have "a reasonable excuse" to conduct oneself in the manner alleged. [45]
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. [46] The analysis of the offence is considered "subjective", depending on the context of the discussion and the relationship between the parts. [47]
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. [48] In June 2016, a man in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was arrested for using profane language at a protest against Bill C-51. [49]
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. [50] 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. [51] In May 2019 during the election campaign, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi listed out the abusive words the opposition Congress party had used against him and his mother during their campaign. [52]
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). [53] 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, such as "mother fucker". [54]
In an increasing market for OTT content, several Indian web series have been using profanity and expletives to gain attention of the audiences. [55]
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". [56]
Political leaders in Pakistan have been consistently picked up for using profane, abusive language. While there is no legislation to punish abusers, the problem aggravated with abusive language being used in the parliament and even against women. [57]
The Department of Education in the Philippine city of Baguio expressed that while cursing was prohibited in schools, children were not following this prohibition 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 [58] and the Department of Education in Cordillera. [58] [59]
Swearing in public is an administrative crime in Russia. However, law enforcement rarely targets swearing people. The punishment is a fine of 500–1000 roubles or even a 15-day imprisonment. [60]
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. [61] 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. [62] In Scotland, a similar common law offence of breach of the peace covers issues causing public alarm and distress.
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. [63] 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". [64] Within the UK, the appropriateness of swearing can vary largely by a person's industry of employment, though it is still not typically used in situations where employees of a higher position than oneself are present. [64]
In 2006, 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 ended 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." [65]
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. [66] 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. [67] In 2015, the city of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina passed an ordinance that makes profane language punishable with fines up to $500 and/or 30 days in jail. [68] An amount of $22,000 was collected from these fines in 2017 alone. [69]
Rabbi Yisroel Cotlar wrote in Chabad.org that Judaism forbids the use of profanity as contradicting the Torah's command to "Be holy", which revolves around the concept of separating oneself from worldly practices (including the use of vulgar language). [70] The Talmud teaches that the words that leave the mouth make an impact on the heart and mind; he stated that the use of profanity thus causes the regression of the soul. [70] Judaism thus teaches that shemirat halashon (guarding one's tongue) is one of the first steps to spiritual improvement. [70]
Various Christian writers have condemned the use of "foul language" as being sinful, a position held since the time of the early Church. [71] [1] Proponents of this view cite Bible commands including "Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them" (Ephesians 4:29) [72] and also "Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving" (Ephesians 5:4). [73] These teachings are echoed in Ecclesiasticus 20:19, [74] Ecclesiasticus 23:8-15, [75] and Ecclesiasticus 17:13-15, [76] all of which are found in the Deuterocanon/Apocrypha. [77] Jesus taught that "by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (cf. Matthew 12:36 [78] ), [79] with revilers being listed as being among the damned in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. [80] [81] Profanity revolving around the dictum "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain", one of the Ten Commandments, is regarded as blasphemy as Christians regard it as "an affront to God's holiness". [82] [83] Paul the Apostle defines the ridding of filthy language from one's lips as being evidence of living in a relationship with Jesus (cf. Colossians 3:1-10 [84] ). [85] The Epistle to the Colossians teaches that controlling the tongue "is the key to gaining mastery over the whole body." [77] The Didache 3:3 included the use of "foul language" as being part of the lifestyle that puts one on the way to eternal death. [1] The same document commands believers not to use profanity as it "breeds adultery". [71] John Chrysostom, an early Church Father, taught that those engaged in the use of profanity should repent of the sin. [86] The Epistle of James holds that "blessing God" is the primary function of the Christian's tongue, not speaking foul language. [77] Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, a bishop of Eastern Orthodox Church, lambasted profanity and blasphemy, teaching that it is "extremely unbefitting [for] Christians" and that believers should guard themselves from ever using it. [87]
According to Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini, the use of "bad words" is haram in Islam. Additionally, impertinence and slander are considered immoral acts. [88]
A dysphemism is an expression with connotations that are derogatory either about the subject matter or to the audience. Dysphemisms contrast with neutral or euphemistic expressions. Dysphemism may be motivated by fear, distaste, hatred, contempt, or humour.
The term four-letter word serves as a euphemism for words that are often considered profane or offensive.
Quebec French profanities, known as sacres, are words and expressions related to Catholicism and its liturgy that are used as strong profanities in Quebec French and in Acadian French. Sacres are considered stronger in Québec than the foul expressions common to other varieties of French, which centre on sex and excrement.
Bloody, as an adjective or adverb, is an expletive attributive commonly used in British English, Irish English, and Australian English; it is also present in Canadian English, Indian English, Malaysian/Singaporean English, South African English, and a number of other Commonwealth nations. It has been used as an intensive since at least the 1670s. Considered respectable until about 1750, it was heavily tabooed during c. 1750–1920, considered equivalent to heavily obscene or profane speech. Public use continued to be seen as controversial until the 1960s, but the word has since become a comparatively mild expletive or intensifier.
A bleep censor is the replacement of offensive language or classified information with a beep sound, used in television and radio.
A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by deliberately misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo word or phrase to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. An example is "gosh" for "God".
Mat is the term for vulgar, obscene, or profane language in Russian and some other Slavic language communities.
Les goddams is an obsolete ethnic slur historically used by the French to refer to the English, based on their frequent expletives. The name originated during the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) between England and France, when English soldiers were notorious among the French for their frequent use of profanity and in particular the interjection "God damn".
A wordfilter is a script typically used on Internet forums or chat rooms that automatically scans users' posts or comments as they are submitted and automatically changes or censors particular words or phrases.
Profanity in Finnish is used in the form of intensifiers, adjectives, adverbs and particles. There is also an aggressive mood that involves omission of the negative verb ei while implying its meaning with a swear word.
Fuck is an English-language profanity which often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to around 1475. In modern usage, the term fuck and its derivatives are used as a noun, a verb, an adjective, an interjection or an adverb. There are many common phrases that employ the word as well as compounds that incorporate it, such as motherfucker, fuckwit, fuckwad, fuckup, fucknut, fuckhead, fuckface, fucktard, and fuck off.
Git is a term of insult denoting an unpleasant, silly, incompetent, annoying, senile, elderly or childish person. As a mild oath it is roughly on a par with prat and marginally less pejorative than berk. Typically a good-natured admonition with a strong implication of familiarity, git is more severe than twit or idiot but less severe than wanker, arsehole or twat when offence is intended.
The five most common Cantonese profanities, vulgar words in the Cantonese language are diu (屌/𨳒), gau (鳩/㞗/𨳊), lan (撚/𨶙), tsat (柒/杘/𨳍) and hai (屄/閪), where the first ("diu") literally means fuck, "hai" is a word for female genitalia and "gau" refers to male genitalia. They are sometimes collectively known as the "outstanding five in Cantonese" (廣東話一門五傑). These five words are generally offensive and give rise to a variety of euphemisms and minced oaths. Similar to the seven dirty words in the United States, these five words are forbidden to say and are bleep-censored on Hong Kong broadcast television. Other curse phrases, such as puk gai (仆街/踣街) and ham gaa caan (冚家鏟/咸家鏟), are also common.
Like natural languages, the constructed language Esperanto contains profane words and indecent vocabulary. Some of this was formulated out of the established core vocabulary, or by giving specific profane or indecent senses to regularly formed Esperanto words. Other instances represent informal neologisms that remain technically outside the defined vocabulary of the language, but have become established by usage.
Profanity in science fiction (SF) shares all of the issues of profanity in fiction in general, but has several unique aspects of its own, including the use of alien profanities.
It is common to find minced oaths in literature and media. Writers often include minced oaths instead of profanity in their writing, to avoid offending their audience or incurring censorship.
Word taboo, also called taboo language, language taboo or linguistic taboo is a kind of taboo that involves restricting the use of words or other parts of language due to social constraints. This may be due to a taboo on specific parts of the language itself, or due to the need to avoid a taboo topic. The taboo against naming the dead in parts of the world is an example. Taboo words are commonly avoided with euphemisms, such as the English euphemism pass away, meaning "die". It is a common source of neologisms and lexical replacement.
Tagalog profanity can refer to a wide range of offensive, blasphemous, and taboo words or expressions in the Tagalog language of the Philippines. Due to Filipino culture, expressions which may sound benign when translated back to English can cause great offense; while some expressions English speakers might take great offense to can sound benign to a Tagalog speaker. Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, is the standard register of Tagalog, so as such the terms Filipino profanity and Filipino swear words are sometimes also employed.
The Polish language, like most others, has swear words and profanity. Some words are not always seen as very insulting, however, there are others that are considered by some greatly offensive and rude. Words that might be considered most derogatory, based on multiple sources, are not necessarily a general and have not been decided upon in a more definite manner.
The Hindi language employs a large number of profanities across the Hindi-speaking diaspora. Idiomatic expressions, particularly profanity, are not always directly translatable into other languages, and make little sense even when they can be translated. Many English translations may not offer the full meaning of the profanity used in the context.
But the way of death is this. First of all, it is evil and full of curses: murder, adultery, lust, promiscuity, theft, idolatry, magical arts, witchcraft, robbery, false testimony, hypocrisy, duplicity, treachery, pride, malice, stubbornness, greed, foul language, jealousy, arrogance, pride, and boasting.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)The city was stunned with fear when John Chrysostom entered the pulpit to prepare his congregation to enter the forty-day fast. Never was a congregation more ripe for repentance than the Christians of Antioch were at the beginning of the fast that year. The preacher lamented the sins of the city and challenged its citizens not merely to fast but to lay aside every form of sin, especially the sins of swearing and cursing. All through the twenty-one sermons John preached during the fast, this theme keeps recurring. Perhaps our preacher planned to mount a special crusade against the making of oaths, the use of foul language, and other expressions of anger during the fasting season, or maybe he had intended to challenge his congregation to rid themselves of the sins of the...