Languages come in all shapes and sizes around the world—but if there’s one thing that languages share, it’s swearing. While the curse words (and phrases) of choice will vary based on geographic location, dialect, and more, world languages have a lot more in common than you might think when it comes to swearing.
Swears originate with the universal experience of being human: being upset, excited, or full of emotions that are hard to put into words. But why do languages often treat their profanities similarly, even when they’ve never had contact? Let’s explore where swear words came from—and why using them might even be good for you.
Why Swear Words Came to Be
In general, people in a society all want to be on the same page. We seek understanding and to be treated equally. However, when a person feels that their role in society’s “understanding of each other” has been breached, they will find ways to make their imbalanced situation known and to correct it quickly and efficiently. Enter: profanities.
Offense escalation
Rebecca Roache of the University of London postulates that a concept called “offense escalation” could be behind the creation of many of the world’s vulgarities. This idea follows the breach of the social contract; for instance, suppose that you are shopping, and someone bumps into your back with a shopping cart. You likely assume it was an accident and continue with your day. Then, a few aisles over, you encounter them again—and they bump you again. Now it’s clear that this is not an accident, and you are being disrespected. Your place of equality in the social construct has been disrupted. Thus, you seek to correct the imbalance by alerting the other person and holding them accountable for their actions.
To do so quickly and effectively, having a single word or phrase on hand is the simplest option. This is how swear words came to be.
Catharsis
Another driver behind the development of swear words is the desire for emotional catharsis after someone has become upset or overwhelmed by their feelings. It is common for people to feel like shouting profanities will make them feel better after something undesirable happens. In fact, studies bear out this belief; a higher use of profanities is associated with significantly reduced stress levels. In other words, humans have discovered that uttering otherwise “unacceptable” or “shocking” phrases produces positive emotional outcomes by encapsulating their experiences in ways that more commonly uttered speech does not.
What Makes a Swear?
So humanity has collectively agreed that profanities serve a purpose—but why do so many around the world behave in the same way, even among cultures sharing no contact with each other? A few main reasons include:
The impression of consonants
Regardless of language, most people recognize that certain sounds (e.g., k, p, ch) are more “explosive” than others. These require a quick ejection of air, which can be perceived as sudden and attention-grabbing. Thus, these sounds are often used for profanities regardless of language, not because of their role within that language, but because of the near-universal way their inherent sound is perceived.
Taboos
One primary purpose of profanity is to draw attention to a specific behavior or event. One of the simplest ways to do so is to call upon concepts and words that grab attention due to their taboo nature—things that people typically refrain from talking about, especially in public. When they hear these otherwise rarely used words, they will naturally look or listen to see what caused such an utterance.
Unpleasantness
Similar to taboos, another word category that people can call upon to draw attention (or to make the person to whom they are directing their ire uncomfortable) is things of an unpleasant nature. Frequently, these are body parts or bodily functions. For instance, the French “Le gland ne tombe jamais loin du chêne” seems to translate as “The acorn doesn’t fall far from the (oak) tree,” but it includes subtle wordplay of the word “acorn,” a euphemism for an area of the genitalia. This profanity, on the surface, appears to simply deride a person for their similarity to someone else (typically a person with undesirable characteristics); however, it does so by introducing discomfort related to socially awkward talk of private body parts.
Swearing is a universal aspect of human culture that exists throughout the world’s many languages (aside from manufactured languages). Similarities such as discussing taboo concepts, calling out bodily functions and body parts, and utilizing the aggressive sounds of some words to create harsh impressions all serve to communicate quickly in tense situations. While each culture will approach its profanity differently, one thing is certain: no matter where you are in the world, someone will always be able to rebuke you with extremely choice words.
