What the F : What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Ourselves

Nearly everyone swears—whether it’s over a few too many drinks, in reaction to a stubbed toe, or in flagrante delicto. And yet, we sit idly by as words are banned from television and censored in books. We insist that people excise profanity from their vocabularies and we punish children for yelling the very same dirty words that we’ll mutter in relief seconds after they fall asleep. Swearing, it seems, is an intimate part of us that we have decided to selectively deny.That’s a damn shame. Swearing is useful. It can be funny, cathartic, or emotionally arousing. As linguist and cognitive scientist Benjamin K. Bergen shows us, it also opens a new window onto how our brains process language and why languages vary around the world and over time.In this groundbreaking yet ebullient romp through the linguistic muck, Bergen answers intriguing questions: How can patients left otherwise speechless after a stroke still shout __Goddamn!__ when they get upset? When did a __cock__ grow to be more than merely a rooster? Why is __crap__ vulgar when __poo__ is just childish? Do slurs make you treat people differently? Why is the first word that Samoan children say not __mommy__ but __eat shit__? And why do we extend a middle finger to flip someone the bird?Smart as hell and funny as fuck, __What the F__ is mandatory reading for anyone who wants to know how and why we swear. It may be starred, beeped, and censored — yet profanity is so appealing that we can't stop using it. In the funniest, clearest study to date, Benjamin Bergen explains why, and what that tells us about our language and brains. Nearly everyone swears-whether it's over a few too many drinks, in reaction to a stubbed toe, or in flagrante delicto. And yet, we sit idly by as words are banned from television and censored in books. We insist that people excise profanity from their vocabularies and we punish children for yelling the very same dirty words that we'll mutter in relief seconds after they fall asleep. Swearing, it seems, is an intimate part of us that we have decided to selectively deny. That's a damn shame. Swearing is useful. It can be funny, cathartic, or emotionally arousing. As linguist and cognitive scientist Benjamin K. Bergen shows us, it also opens a new window onto how our brains process language and why languages vary around the world and over time. In this groundbreaking yet ebullient romp through the linguistic muck, Bergen answers intriguing questions: How can patients left otherwise speechless after a stroke still shout Goddamn! when they get upset? When did a cock grow to be more than merely a rooster? Why is crap vulgar when poo is just childish? Do slurs make you treat people differently? Why is the first word that Samoan children say not mommy but eat shit ? And why do we extend a middle finger to flip someone the bird? Smart as hell and funny as fuck, What the F is mandatory reading for anyone who wants to know how and why we swear. "Everyone swears. Only the rare individual can avoid ever letting slip an expletive, whether after a few cocktails, a stubbed toe, or in flagrante delicto. And yet at the same time, we all accept all limits on swearing--tacitly, through censorship, and actively, as we hold our tongues around children in the vain effort to shield them. We even punish children for uttering, in passing, the very same words that we use to release tension, express pain, or inflame passions. Swearing is the part of us that we selectively deny. We rely on it to express emotions and cement social relations while at the same time we act as though it didn't exist. In What the F, language and cognition expert Benjamin Bergen reveals new insights into how the brain computes language, how people avoid making speech errors ("Freudian slips"), and what determines a child's first word. The study of swearing reveals that the brain has more than one way to produce language, enabling, for example, people with aphasia from strokes, who are typically unable to communicate, to nevertheless still say "fuck" when upset--but not when they are asked to say it. In turn, other types of brain damage leave people unable to swear when upset even as they can still speak normally. Clearly there's a lot we can learn by sifting through some shit. Don't know dick? It's time you became acquainted. In this groundbreaking book, Bergen shows us how and why we swear, and reveals to us the wondrous workings of the brain in the process" "Smart as hell and funny as fuck, this book explains why we can't stop swearing and what it tells us about our language and brains. Everyone swears. Only the rare individual can avoid ever letting slip an expletive. And yet, we ban the words from television and insist that polite people excise them from their vocabularies. That's a fucking shame. Not only is swearing colorful, fun, and often powerfully apt, as linguist and cognitive scientist Benjamin K. Bergen shows us, the study of it can provide a new window onto how our brains process language. How can patients left otherwise speechless after a stroke still shout out "Goddamn!"? Why did Pope Francis say "fuck" in the middle of a speech? When did a cock cease to be a rooster? Why is "crap" vulgar when "poo" is just childish? And what are we shooting when we give someone the bird? What the F? Let me effing tell you"-- Provided by publisher Machine generated contents note: 1. Holy, Fucking, Shit, Nigger -- 2. What Makes a Four-Letter Word? -- 3. One Finger Is Worth a Thousand Words -- 4. The Holy Priest with the Vulgar Tongue -- 5. The Day the Pope Dropped the C-Bomb -- 6. Fucking Grammar -- 7. How Cock Lost Its Feather -- 8. Little Samoan Potty Mouths -- 9. Fragile Little Minds -- 10. The $100,000 Word -- 11. The Paradox of Profanity Holy, fucking, shit, nigger -- What makes a four-letter word? -- One finger is worth a thousand words -- The holy priest with the vulgar tongue -- The day the Pope dropped the c-bomb -- Fucking grammar -- How cock lost its feathers -- Little Samoan potty mouths -- Fragile little minds -- The $100,000 word -- The paradox of profanity -- Epilogue: What screwed the mooch?.