Swearing, cursing and the magical power of language

To continue my week inspired by the film, Precious . . .I’m thinking about the power of language. The mom character demonstrated one of the most stunning and brutal uses of language I’ve ever heard, one constructed almost entirely from swearwords and cursing.

It got me to wondering, “how does that work and why?” What is it about swear words that has such power? I used to swear a lot as a kid, but never really knew why. I was a good hearted, well behaved child. I didn’t call people names, but I broke taboos and relished it. I swear less now, and know it isn’t just about breaking a taboo or creating shock value, because it’s usually when I’m alone, and accidentally drop, or spill, or break something, or hurt a finger or toe -- and when I watch the news.

A web site called “how stuff works” has a great article on swearing. A few things in that article struck me as especially interesting:

Almost every culture has “magic words” and some magic has as its purpose to cause harm. Of course! Cursing is connected with the idea of putting a curse on some one. That makes sense. It fits with the theme of the movie.

Swearing can physically reduce pain. I remember seeing the original brain research on this, but had forgotten. So my cursed reaction to a stubbed toe is functional. What about emotional pain? Does swearing help with that too? I bet it does, because swearing activates the part of the brain associated with emotion, not with deliberate decision-making. That "salve effect" may explain my sailor's mouth as a pretty young child.

Males swear more in conventional ways, but females may use a different set of “bad magic” words. That’s an interesting way to look at girls' mean namecalling.

Here’s a sweet video about how a high school girl, who was disciplined for profanity, used Ripple Effects to change her behavior. In her case, the experience was an empowering one. She realized there were other words that came closer to expressing who she is. I’m glad the program worked with her, but now realize we could have done a better job of helping students understand why they may be swearing.

If we take away their magical swear words, we need to give them something in exchange, not just a larger vocabulary, but effective tools for addressing grievances and managing pain.