Why We Curse

A neuro-psycho-social theory of speech

Timothy Jay | Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams, Massachusetts

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027221865 (Eur) | EUR 39.00

ISBN 9781556197581 (USA) | USD 35.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027298485 | EUR 39.00 | USD 35.00

Psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, linguists and speech pathologists currently have no coherent theory to explain why we curse and why we choose the words we do when we curse. The Neuro-Psycho-Social Theory of Speech draws together information about cursing from different disciplines and unites them to explain and describe the psychological, neurological, cultural and linguistic factors that underlie this startling phenomenon.
Why We Curse is divided into five parts. Part 1 introduces the dimensions and scope of cursing and outlines the NPS Theory, while Part 2 covers neurological variables and offers evidence for right brain dominance during emotional speech events. Part 3 then focuses on psychological development including language acquisition, personality development, cognition and so forth, while Part 4 covers the wide variety of social and cultural forces that define curse words and restrict their usage. Finally, Part 5 concludes by examining the social and legal implications of cursing, treating misconceptions about cursing, and setting the agenda for future research.
The work draws on new research by Dr. Jay and others and continues the research reported in his groundbreaking 1992 volume Cursing in America. A psycholinguistic study of dirty language in the courts, in the movies, in the schoolyards and on the streets.

[Not in series, 91] 2000. xv, 328 pp.

Publishing status: Available
Published online on 21 October 2008

https://doi.org/10.1075/z.91

Table of Contents

I. Introduction to the Study of Cursing

1. Tourette Syndrome and Coprolalia: The Need for a Theory | p. 3

2. Psycholinguistics and Cursing | p. 9

3. The Neuro-Psycho-Social (NPS) Theory of Cursing | p. 19

4. Postulates of the NPS Theory | p. 25

II. Neurological Factors Underlying Cursing

5. Propositional Speech, Nonpropositional Speech, and the Right Cerebral Hemisphere | p. 33

6. Emotional Speech and the Emotional Brain | p. 45

7. Anger and Verbal Aggression | p. 55

8. Coprolalia and Mental Disorders | p. 63

9. Neurological Control of Cursing | p. 73

III. Psychological Factors Underlying Cursing

10. Psychological Aspects of Cursing | p. 81

11. Language, Acquisition and Cognitive Growth | p. 91

12. Memory and Awareness of Cursing | p. 99

13. Personality, Religiosity, and Sexual Anxiety | p. 107

14. Speech Habits and Social Learning | p. 115

15. The Sexual Lexicon | p. 123

16. Syntax and Sematics | p. 135

IV. Social and Cultural Factors Underlying Cursing

17. Pragmatics and Cultural Contexts | p. 147

18. Speaker Power | p. 157

19. Gender Identity | p. 165

20. Slang | p. 173

21. Humor Elicitation | p. 181

22. Religion, Taboo Speech, and Word Magic | p. 189

23. Scatology and the Language of Disgust | p. 199

24. Customary Restrictions: From Etiquette to Law | p. 205

25. Evolving Language Standards | p. 215

26. Tourette Syndrome: Cross-Cultural Comparisons | p. 235

V. Why Do We Swear? Why Do We Choose the Words We Do?

27. Social and Legal Issues Involving Cursing | p. 247

28. Ignorance, Misinformation, and Fallacies about Cursing | p. 254

29. Future of Cursing Research | p. 269

Index | p. 319

“[...] a book which will do much to inspire further investigations into emotional uses and effects of language [...]”

Dr. Francisco Gomes de Matos, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil

“[...] this is an excellent contribution to the study of offensive language, bringing together a variety of perspectives and a vast amount of research.”

Edwin Battistella, Southern Oregon University

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