This morning I walked past a woman talking on her cell phone and heard her shout “What the f---!” She turned to notice me and immediately apologized, “I’m sorry m’am.” The experience made me wonder about profanity — how it is defined, its history, its legality, use in popular culture, etc.
According to Wikipedia, the term “profane” originates from classical Latin profanus, literally "before (outside) the temple" — "pro" being outside and "fanum" being temple or sanctuary. It carried the meaning of either "desecrating what is holy" or "with a secular purpose" as early as the 1450s. In English, swear words and curse words tend to have Germanic rather than Latin etymology. Because of this, profanity is sometimes referred to colloquially as "Anglo-Saxon." The history of curse words and profanity was part of spoken words in the medieval era. The word f--- was used in English in the 15th century, though the usage in earlier times of 13th century was not with abusive intent. The word sh-- is the oldest of words in use with early references found in German and Scandinavian languages.
Analyses of recorded conversations reveal that an average of roughly 80–90 words that a person speaks each day – 0.5% to 0.7% of all words – are swear words. In comparison, first-person plural pronouns (we, us, our) make up 1% of spoken words.
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.
New York Times author Natalie Angier also notes that swearing is a widespread but perhaps underappreciated anger management technique; 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." Swearing over time may gain roots as a habit with involuntary utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks. This has been referred to as coprolalia, which is an occasional characteristic of tic disorders.
Keele University researchers Stephens, Atkins, and Kingston found that swearing relieves the effects of physical pain. Stephens said "I would advise people, if they hurt themselves, to swear." However, the overuse of swear words tends to diminish this effect. The Keele team won the Ig Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for their research.
Neurologist Antonio Damasio noted that despite loss of language due to damage to the language areas of the brain, patients were still often able to swear.
In fact, one of my former co-workers constantly stuttered — except when he was swearing.
According to Steven Pinker, there are five possible functions of swearing:
· Abusive swearing, intended to offend, intimidate or otherwise cause emotional or psychological harm.
· Cathartic swearing, used in response to pain or misfortune.
· Dysphemistic swearing, used to convey that the speaker thinks negatively of the subject matter, and to make the listener do the same.
· Emphatic swearing, intended to draw additional attention to what is considered to be worth paying attention to.
· Idiomatic swearing, used for no other particular purpose, but as a sign that the conversation and relationship between speaker and listener is informal.
Legality
Three Australian states (New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria) have laws against using "offensive language" in public. These offenses are classed as a summary offense. However, if the court is satisfied that the individual concerned had "a reasonable excuse to behave in such a manner," no offense is committed. In Australia's remaining states and territories, swearing is not illegal per se, but depending on circumstances may constitute disorderly conduct or a breach of the peace.
In Brazil, the penal code does not contain any penalties for profanity in public in a direct manner. 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. The analysis of the offense is considered "subjective," depending on the context of the discussion and the relationship between the parts.
Section 175 of Canada's criminal code makes it a criminal offense 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 own laws against swearing in public. For instance, the municipal code of Toronto bars "profane or abusive language" in public parks. In June 2016, a man in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was arrested for using profane language at a protest against Bill C-51.
Sections 294A and 294B of the 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. In February 2015, a local court in Mumbai asked police to file a first information report against 14 Bollywood celebrities who were part of All India Bakchod, a controversial comedy stage show known for vulgar and profanity based content. In May 2019 during the election campaign, the Prime minister of India listed out the abusive words the opposition Congress party had used against him and his mother during their campaign.
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). Using creative ads, it called upon people to use swacch (clean) language for nationwide cleanliness. It further influenced other news media outlets who raised the issue of abusive language in the society — especially incest abuses against women.
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 offense 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."
In November 2018, the Baguio City government in 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 and the Department of Education.
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.
According to a UK site on work etiquette, the "fact that swearing is a part of everyday life means that we need to navigate a way 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." With respect to swearing between colleagues, the site explains that "although it may sound strange, the appropriateness [of] swearing [...] is influenced largely by the industry you are in and the individuals you work with." The site continues to explain that, even in a workplace in which swearing is the norm, there is no need to participate in it. The site stresses that swearing is, in general, more problematic in the presence of senior management or clients, but it also mentions that a "holier than thou" attitude towards clients may be problematic.
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 behavior.
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. 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. In 2015 the US city of Myrtle Beach passed an ordinance that makes profane language punishable with fine up to $500 and/or 30 days in jail. An amount of $22,000 was collected from these fines in 2017 alone.
A study at Stanford in 2016 indicated a direct correlation between profanity and honesty. Based on this study of 307 participants, it turned out that the top two U.S. states (Connecticut and New Jersey) on profanity were also the highest on integrity.
In popular culture
“Gone with the Wind,” a 1939 film based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell includes the line "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." This has been claimed to be among the first uses of profanity in a major American film.
“The Catcher in the Rye” published in novel form in 1951 by J. D. Salinger became controversial for its use of the word f---.
“Seven Dirty Words” is a 1972 comedy monologue by George Carlin in which he named the seven words that, he said, must never be used in a television broadcast.
Kurt Vonnegut's use of profanity in his novel “Slaughterhouse-Five” became a subject of much controversy and led to his books being banned — and in some cases physically destroyed — by several public and school libraries.
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