The ecosystem of swearing : How intra- and interpersonal variability sustains the power of offensive language (3/4)

Kristy Beers Fägersten (Université Södertörn, Suède)
The power of swearing

Swearing produces effects that are not observed with other forms of language use. Thus, swearing is powerful. It generates a range of distinctive outcomes: physiological, cognitive, emotional, pain-relieving, interactional, and rhetorical. However, we know that the power of swearing is not intrinsic to the words themselves. How then does swearing get its power? This seminar presents insights from cognitive studies, pragmatics, communication, neuropsychology, and biophysiology, identifying specific effects of swearing, including emotional force and arousal; increased attention and memory; heightened autonomic activity; pain relief; increased strength and stamina; and a range of distinctive interpersonal, relational, and rhetorical outcomes.