TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Professor Swears By His Research

ADVERTISEMENT

By GEOFF FOX

gfox@tampatrib.com

Published: February 28, 2009

ST. LEO - The late George Carlin would have enjoyed Timothy Jay's presentation at Saint Leo University.

Within minutes of taking the lectern at the student activities center this week, Jay, a professor of psychology at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, had uncorked a stream of expletives that would have had the late comedian, known for his "Seven Dirty Words" routine, pumping his fist in appreciation.

"Swearing is like the horn in your car," said Jay, who has studied profanity for more than 30 years. "The propensity for swearing is unique to humans. Whether you use it is up to you, but it's like the horn. You can use it when you're happy, excited or want to get someone's attention.

"Swearing is an emotional expression."

Touching on the history of profanity in English, Jay acknowledged "the prudery of America," where he said children as young as 2 can speak blue language as capably as an Alzheimer's patient who can recite alternate terms for body parts, sexual practices and religious figures but may not remember family members' names.

Jay's Wednesday presentation included examples of scatological references, ethnic slurs and a recitation of the profane words most commonly used by men and women.

The author of several books, including "Cursing in America: A Psycholinguistic Study of Dirty Language in the Courts, in the Movies, in the Schoolyards and on the Street," Jay also can cite swearing statistics.

Jay, for instance, has learned that two-thirds of swearing has to do with anger and frustration and that men generally swear more, and differently, than women.

While a common expression among women is, "Oh, my God," men are typically more vulgar. Many of their put-downs use sexual and scatological slang.

Early in his speech, Jay asked the crowd of about 20 to say their favorite swear words at the count of three.

Joseph Gibson, 21, a psychology major at Saint Leo, proudly unleashed his treasured insult: a three-syllable word starting with the letter "C."

"I was expecting to hear a lot of profanity," Gibson said after the talk, "and I wasn't disappointed."

Gibson said it was interesting to learn what "some of the words actually mean and how they affect others."

While foul language is generally frowned upon in schools, churches and many corporations, expletives do serve a valid purpose in everyday life, Jay said.

"People achieve personal outcomes" by cursing, he said. "You serve a need to vent frustration and communicate how you feel to other people."

Profanity also can be used to accentuate storytelling, add punch to a joke or allow a person to make fun of himself.

Cursing also has some "cathartic" benefits, as cancer patients have been shown to gain some relief by swearing through pain, Jay said.

"We've evolved to do this," Jay said. "No other language conveys emotion as effectively as swearing.

"If it had no value, we would have stopped using it."

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT