Expletives and taboos

There is a show called Inside the Actor's Studio where the host asks, among other things, the same ten questions to each guest. One of them is "What is your favorite curse word?"

Mine is f**k. It's short, attention getting, and best of all, onomatopoeic: it sounds just like what it means. Picture this scenario. You get up in the middle of the night to pee, you're walking across the hall and stub your toe on some piece of furniture that shouldn't be there. What sound would be more appropriate or descriptive? You were doing fffffine, ffffeeling good, everything is ffffabulous, when it all comes to a sudden stop: **k! See? It means exactly what it sounds like.

You could argue that the real definition of that word has nothing do with any of that and you'd be right. But we're not talking about real words, we're talking about curse words. An expletive is an ancient psuedo-verbal vocalization of distress, not real speech. It's halfway between a grunt and true communication. "Meaning" is irrelevant. No one is thinking about intercourse when they just stubbed their toe. They just want to invoke a taboo, which is why curse words have to be impolite. And most importantly, cursing needs to be reflexive, requiring no thought whatsoever. Speech requires thought, which might take too long.

Here's another scenario: In prehistoric times, a group of hunters spread out to flush some game from some tall grass, shouting and beating the grass with their hands. One of them comes across a tiger. Now, time is of the essence, so saying something like "TIGER!", would be optimal, but something like "Hey guys, its one of those things with the claws, what was that name again..." would mean getting eaten. A wordless cry might work, but everyone is yelling, so the message might get lost. A random word might draw attention, but it would confuse everyone for a potentially fatal second or so. But a taboo, something forbidden, shouted out brazenly, would draw attention. It would focus thought on the fact that something bad just happened, and need to be reacted to. Most likely by running away, but that's another matter.

Another proof that cursing is handled differently in the brain from speech is provided by sufferer's of Tourette Syndrome, specifically those with coprolalia (which means almost literally "potty mouth"). For those too lazy to look at the links, it's a disorder that, among other things, causes sufferers to curse uncontrollably, often in very inappropriate settings. The point here is that they don't shout random words, they shout curse words. They invoke taboos. These words must be stored in a different way in the brain. They have no meaning, just a purpose. A genetically encoded need to focus attention on a pressing and immanent problem. The exact taboo and the words are determined culturally, but the internal mechanism is universal.

And therefore, the need to suppress extraneous cursing is also universal. A taboo that is acceptable to the general ear is useless. It has to shock, or it subverts the survival mechanism it sprang from. So, for the good of society, I'll try to limit my f-bombs to actual emergencies, like when I'm driving in heavy traffic or playing video games.