Han S' English Language A Level Blog: Swearing is NOT a sign of limited intelligence

You read that damn right I DON'T think swearing decreases your intelligence or makes you less human. Allow me to educate you on taboo language specifically on swearing... because why not?

According to ‘ThoughtCo.’, Taboo language are words and phrases that are considered inappropriate in certain contexts or conditions. Edmund Leach, a social anthropologist, identifies three major categories of taboo language in English which are: dirty words that are linked with sex and excretion (such as “shit”), words that are linked with religion (such as “Jesus”) and words which are used in “animal abuse” (such as “bitch”).

We hear people swear everywhere, in public and private settings, in films, on television and even on the radio but why do people swear or use taboo language anyway? Well, swear words intensify the message being said so people mostly swear when they express strong feelings or when they threaten others with their words.

There are thousands and thousands of articles and posts online that agrees that swearing is REALLY good for you. First on the list is ‘The Telegraph’. Believe it or not, swearing can boost up muscle strength and stamina so if you can’t open a stubborn jar just swear at it and voila!

Psychologists actually conducted tests and found out that swearing led to significant improvements in performance. In the tests, volunteers were asked to swear before intense sessions on an exercise bike or squeezing a device that measures hand grip strength. Dr Richard Stephens from the University of Keele stated “…swearing makes people more able to tolerate pain”, “it stimulates the body’s sympathetic nervous system” and “…swearing to make people stronger too, and that is just what we found in these experiments”.

Still don’t believe me? Okay, here’s another one. Swearing is a natural pain relief. Researchers conducted an experiment where they asked volunteers to hold their hand in iced water for as long as they could endure while repeating a swear word and then asked them to do the same again on a separate occasion but this time they repeated a non-swear word and their heart rate was monitored. What they found was that those who swore rated their experience as less painful and their hands were in the water for longer compared to when they repeated a neutral word.

Still need a little kick? Well, Elite Daily listed up 11 reasons why cursing is good for the soul: it makes you feel less pain, it makes you feel stronger, it actually doesn’t mean you’re stupid or ignorant, it serves as a great coping mechanism, it helps you feel much more resilient, it makes you feel so much f*cking better, it’s more engaging while watching television and movies (because it’s so fun seeing famous actors and actresses swear), it helps create close bonds with other people, it’s innate and expressive, it shows you are creative and it helps you emphasise your points.

But why do other people think that swearing is bad or just don’t simply accept it?

Well, if you’re religious swearing is considered as a sin. In Luke 6:45, Jesus said “Your words show what is in your heart”, meaning our words reflect the type of person we already are so swearing makes you look like a bad person. This leads to the next point, swearing damages your reputation. Everyone wants to make a good impression especially when meeting new people but swearing makes you look uneducated and aggressive and it might even restrict opportunities like making new friends. Also, it degrades the English language because it neglects more meaningful words, it’s harsh, it lacks imagination and it doesn’t communicate clearly.

Overall, I think swearing is acceptable as long as you’re old enough to know what they actually mean and why you actually use it (not just 10 year-olds running aroud and swearing because they think it’s “cool”).