politicians using, 195
harm, 181–195
AAP statement on, 180
indirect use of slurs causing, 226–227
profanity causing children, 179–181
from slurs, 202, 225
Supreme Court limiting speech causing, 228
See also Pediatrics (journal)
hell, 222–223
Hibbert, Roy, 198
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 228
Holy, Fucking, Shit, Nigger Principle, 18, 22, 146
blending categories in, 21
different languages and, 19
fucking-category languages in, 20
gestures and, 61
holy-category languages within, 20
nigger-category languages in, 21
offensiveness of words in, 199–200, 200 (fig.), 225
shit-category languages in, 21
worldview on, 19
Holy-category language
defining, 20
Italian as, 20
Quebecois French as, 20
Spanish as, 20
homosexuality slurs, 203–206
horns effect, 195
hummerbird, 148, 148n
iconicity
in American Sign Language, 73–79, 78 (photo)
defining, 60
in FUCK for ASL and BSL, 76–79, 78 (photo)
of gestures, 60–62, 66–68
Japanese Sign Language and, 79–80
signed languages and, 69, 76, 77–80
sound symbolism compared to, 61
imperative, 129
fuck yourself as, 130–131
inferior frontal gyrus, 114–115, 115 (fig.)
infixes, 6
internal editing process
factory analogy of, 106–107
fMRI and, 114
inferior frontal gyrus in, 114–115, 115 (fig.)
picture-word interference and, 118–119, 118n31, 119 (fig.)
psycholinguists on, 106
taboo word testing on, 107–112, 109 (fig.), 111 (fig.), 112 (fig.)
internal quality control of language. See internal editing process
interpersonal conflict
language describing, 150
tear someone a new one example of, 150
Italian, 102n8
bestemmie in, 20
coglione (asshole) in, 204
Francis using profanity in, 99–100, 102
frocio (faggot) in free-association study in, 203
as holy-category language, 20
reappropriation of frocio in, 206
Jakobson, Roman
on children and language development, 175, 176
Linguistics Circle of Prague founded by, 175
Janschewitz, Kristin, 14–15
data on slurs by, 199, 206
Japan
coprolalia in, 94, 94n22
profanity in, 23–24
sign language in, 79
You Only Live Twice and profanity in, 23
Japanese Sign Language, 79
iconicity and, 79–80
Jay, Timothy, 6
cathartic benefits of profanity by, 224
Why We Curse by, 8
Johnson
The Big Lebowski popularizing, 151–152
Cheadle usage of term, 152
Journal of a Trip Across Canada (Cheadle), 152
Journal of Early Adolescence, 206
Kaepernick, Colin, 198–199
Kelleher, T. J., 151
Knight, Bobby, 219
Laertius, 59
Lanfrank, 154
language
babbling in learning, 170–171
baby analogy for profanity in, 2–3, 6
the brain and, 85–88
brain damage and profanity in, 4, 84, 86–88, 91–92
changing words and, 162–163
children first words of, 165, 167–168
connected speech in, 100–101
coprolalia in different, 94, 94n22
diphthong in, 172
emojis in, 51
emoticons in, 51
four-letter words in, 33
generational change in use of, 4–5
gestures in, 49–51, 50 (photo), 51 (photo), 52n4
interpersonal conflict in, 150
Lordat theory on, 83
multiple meanings of words in, 155–158
obstacles to studying the brain and, 96
parent labels in, 173–174, 174 (fig.)
powerful words in, 7
profanity importance in studying, 1–2
scholars of, 3
signed, 69–80
similar word sets in, 42–43
universal features of, 25–26
word frequency and children learning, 186–188, 187 (fig.)
word length and frequency in, 31–33, 32 (fig.)
See also children, language development; speech errors
Lazarus, Emma, 128
Lehrer, Tom, 218
lexical decision, 204–205
linguistic self-determination principle, 228
success of, 227
Linguistic Society of America conference, 209
Linguistics Circle of Prague, 175
Lives of Eminent Philosophers (Laertius), 59
logographic characters, 33
Lordat, Jacques
background of, 83
parish priest case study, 84
theory of language by, 83
Lord’s Prayer, 141
Los Angeles Lakers
Bryant as shooting guard for, 197
Bryant twitter response to fans of, 198
Los Angeles Times, 179–180
maledictions, 8
mat’, 24
defining, 19
McCawley, James, 130n
Mexican Spanish, 33
the middle finger. See the Bird
MILF
American Pie and use of, 151
Kelleher and origins of, 151–152
Playboy usenet post using, 151
minced oaths, 161–162
Cockney rhyming slang as, 160
coprolalia and, 160
minimizers
examples of, 125–126
general grammatical rule of, 125–126
vulgar, 126–127, 127n4, 163
Mirus, Gene, 72–73
monosyllables. See closed monosyllables
moral thinking
halo effect in, 195
horns effect in, 195
psychological biases in, 196
rationalization in, 196
Morris, Desmond, 60, 61
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), 216
parental ratings board for, 216
rules of censorship for, 216
South Park ratings by, 219
Motley, Michael, 103
exchange error study by, 107–109, 109 (fig.)
Freudian slip study by, 104–105
Mountza gesture, 56, 57 (photo)
iconicity of, 60
MPAA. See Motion Picture Association of America
MRC Psycholinguistic Database, 39
multiple meanings of words, 158
the brain response to, 155
double entendres and, 156
homonyms and, 157n
Nixon example of, 155, 156 (photo)
non-profane examples of, 157
pussy example of, 155, 156
The Simpsons example of, 156–157
Tea-bag example of, 156
word frequency and, 157
Murdock, George, 174
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 207
negation
grammar of, 125–126, 126n
vulgar minimizers and, 126–127
Neurology (journal), 91–92
neuroscience, 84
“The New Colossus” (Lazarus), 128
new words
creation of, 148
ctfu as, 152, 153 (fig.)
differential influence and, 150–151
film popularizing, 151
intrinsic properties of, 148–149
Johnson origins of, 151–152
language community impacting, 150, 152
linguistic niche of, 150
MILF as, 151–152
minced oaths as, 160–162
motivated words becoming, 149
properties of successful, 148–151
replacement words as, 158–162
social media and, 150, 153 (fig.)
taint as, 148, 149
tear someone a new one example of, 150
transparency versus opacity of, 149
New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority (NZBSA)
profanity research for, 11–12, 11 (fig.)
research methodology of, 10
NFL
Fritz Pollard Alliance statement of, 202
slurs of athletes in, 198–199
nigga
AAE use of, 207–209
as different from nigger, 207
as generic noun, 209
linguistic uniqueness of, 209
as pronoun, 209
Shakur comparing nigger to, 208
slur reappropriation and, 207–209
twitter research on use of, 209
nigger
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn using, 201
Barkley on use of, 212
Fritz Pollard Alliance on, 202, 207
linguistic differences between nigga and, 209
NAACP funeral ceremony for, 207
nigga as different from, 207
origins of, 201
Shakur comparing nigga to, 208
Sherman on ban of, 212
as slur, 201
as taboo, 8
nigger-category language, 21
Nixon, Richard, 155, 156 (photo)
normative social behavior, 9
number, taboo, 33
four as, 33, 223n
NZBSA. See New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority
Ochs, Elinor. See Samoa study
offensiveness ranges, taboo words, 11–17, 11 (fig.), 13 (fig.), 15 (fig.), 16 (fig.), 200 (fig.)
Dooling on, 225
Old English, 141
onomatopoeia. See sound symbolism
orifice-creation, 134
origins, profanity, 144–146
of the Bird, 59
of bitch, 147
of Chinaman, 202
of cock, 142–145, 143 (fig.) 147, 152–153
creation of new word or usage as, 148–151
of cripple, 202
of cunt, 153–154
of dick, 152–153
of fuck, 145–146, 153
metaphor as, 147
of MILF, 151–152
of nigger, 201
visual similarities and, 147
Oxford comma, 121, 121n
pain tolerance, 223–224
Parker, Trey
censorship response by, 219–220
creating South Park, 219–220
passivization rule, 138, 139
Pediatrics (journal)
AAP statement based on, 180
aggression and profanity in, 180–182, 188–189, 191–194
Brigham Young University researcher study, 190
causation versus correlation in, 189–191, 192
debunking direct harm claim in, 181–185
“Desensitization to Television Violence: A New Model” in, 189
exposure increasing profanity study in, 185, 189–191
hidden variables in, 191, 192
physiological responses in, 182–183
reverse causation in, 191, 192–193
Scandinavian study on abuse in, 183–184
self reporting in, 190, 191
perseveratory error, 110–112, 112 (fig.)
phallic symbolism, gestures, 60, 61
physical abuse, 184
Pinker, Steven, 6, 169
Playboy (magazine), 151
polygamy, 221–222
polysyllabic words, 44–45
portmanteau word, 159
positive polarity anymore, 126n
prescriptive rules of grammar, 121
profanity
abuse and, 183–185, 224–225
acronyms in, 135, 145–146, 151, 153, 153 (fig.), 161
athletes fined for using, 197–199, 202, 212
benefits of, 223–224
brain damage and, 4, 84, 86–88, 91–92
Broadcasting Standards Commission of Great Britain researching, 12–14, 13 (fig.)
Bryant using, 198–199
in Cantonese, 19–20
Carlin on context and, 229
Catholicism and, 20
censorship contributing to, 154–155, 221
closed monosyllables in, 38–41, 45–47, 47 (fig.), 152
cold pressor test and, 223–224
defining, 8, 9
dog wound licking analogy for, 222
English roots of, 17
ESRB and, 216
FCC and, 10, 216–217
in Finnish, 19
flep example of, 168–169
four-letter words and, 31–33, 31 (fig.), 32 (fig.)
Francis using, 99–100
freedom of speech and, 179–180, 227–228
in French, 22, 33
grammar and, 125–126, 126n, 133–134, 209
history of, 59, 142–154, 143 (fig.), 201, 202
in Japanese, 23–24
language impacted by, 1–2
maledictions and, 8
media contributing to, 150–151
multiple meanings of words and, 155–158
obsolete, examples of, 163, 164 (fig.)
offensiveness of, 11–17, 11 (fig.), 13 (fig.), 15 (fig.), 16 (fig.), 200 (fig.), 225
pain tolerance increased by, 223–224
physiological reactions to, 7, 109–110, 182–183
polysyllabic words in, 44–45
professors using, 5
regional differences for, 13–15
in Russian, 19
social constructs impacting, 220–221
sound symbolism in, 34–37
taboo subjects and, 26–27
television and, 12, 19, 164, 188–191, 217–218
versatility of, 7–8
video games and, 188–189, 192–194, 218
word length and, 29–34, 31 (fig.)
words changing between banal and, 162–164, 164 (fig.), 220
See also aggression; censorship; harm; origins, profanity; slurs
profanus, 17
pronoun
English adding, 209
gender neutral, 209
nigga as, 209
reflexive-self, 130, 209
public language norms, 6
Quebecois French, sacres (consecrations) in, 20
Quelle Barbe, 53
Quiet Revolution, 20
rationalization, 196
Reddit (website), 33
reflexive pronoun test, 130, 131
reflexive-self pronouns, 130, 209
replacement word
acronyms as, 161
adding -er suffix for, 158–159
euphemism as, 161–162
examples of, 158
minced oaths and, 160–162
portmanteau word as, 159
rooster as, 158
repressive regimes, 24
Richie, Nicole, 10
Rondo, Rajon, 198
Russian
censored words in, 19, 24
mat’ as profanity in, 19
profane gestures in, 56
Samoa study, 166–167
’ai tae as first words in, 167–168
care of children in, 168
caregiver expectations in, 176–177, 177n
learning to articulate and, 169–170
parent terms in, 176
peer-learning and, 168
pronunciation in, 172–
173
Sanskrit, 3
Science of Cirurgie (Lanfrank), 154
A Season on the Brink (documentary), 219
“The Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television” (standup routine), 217
Shakur, Tupac, 208
Sherman, Richard, 212
shit-category languages
English as, 21
German as, 21
Shuckford, G. L. J., 189
signed language, 70n, 70n25–26, 79–80
babbling in, 171
BSL in, 76–79
capitalization of translations in, 70
comparing, 76–77
comparing FUCK in ASL and BSL, 76–79, 78 (photo)
iconicity and, 69, 76, 79–80
See also American Sign Language
The Simpsons (television show), 156–157
slur reappropriation, 206, 225–226
banning slurs impacting, 207–210
bitch or slut as, 208
ecology study of, 208–209
linguistic differences in, 209
long-term self-labeling in, 209
nigga and, 207–209
queer or faggot as, 208
slurs
alternative terms for, 8
animal words as source of, 201
athletes fined for using, 198–199, 202, 212
banning, 198–199, 202, 207–213, 223–229
bias created by, 204
body features in, 201
Bryant and, 198
bullying and, 206
Chinaman as, 202
close peers exception to using, 210
cripple as, 202
defamed group interaction study on, 204
defining, 8
dehumanizing impact study on, 203–204
education and, 226
ethical issues in studies on, 204
examples of, 201
freedom of speech and, 227–228
harm from, 202, 225
homosexuality and studies on, 203–206
indirect use of, 226–227
Italian free-association study on, 203
Janschewitz data on, 14–15, 199, 206
Journal of Early Adolescence study on, 206
nigger as, 201
offensiveness of, 200 (fig.), 225
Paki as, 13, 13 (fig.), 15
performance impacted by, 206–207
physical characteristics in, 201
physical distance study on, 204
resource sharing study of, 203
social contexts and neutral words becoming, 201
socially licensed use of, 210–211, 213
sound of people as, 201
stereotype threat with, 206
stereotypical behavior as, 201
subliminal studies on, 204–205
tolerance and, 229
as unique from other profanity, 199
Social Security Administration (US) (SSA), 144, 158
socially driven learning, 96
sound symbolism, 34–35, 174
iconicity compared to, 61
non-English speakers testing, 35–36
profane English words and, 36
profanity in non-English languages and, 37
What the F Page 32