Who the F knew!

[Tugg Speedman]

People who are really good at swearing have an important advantage
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/people-who-are-really-good-at-swearing-have-an-important-advantage-a6770486.html

Those who are liberal in their use of swear words are not the lazy and uneducated individuals they are often made out to be, a new study claims.

In fact, a well-stocked vocabulary of swear words is actually a healthy indicator of other verbal abilities.

Writing in the Language Sciences journal, US-based psychologists Kristin Jay and Timothy Jay, dismiss the long-held belief that swearing is a sign of inarticulateness.

Working with the "poverty of vocabulary" concept (the assumption that people swear because they lack the intellectual capacity to find another way to express themselves) their experiment aimed to find out whether those more fluent in the art of swearing are less fluent in other forms of vocabulary.

Using students as research subjects the psychologists then asked their participants to say as many different swear words as they could think of in 60 seconds. Other non-swearing tasks such as saying as many animal names in the same space of time were also set to compare the findings.

The results found that volunteers who could produce the greatest quantity of swear words could also produce the most words in other categories. If the "poverty of vocabulary" explanation was true then the opposite should have been the case.

In the journal entry, the co-authors wrote: "We cannot help but judge others on the basis of their speech. Unfortunately, when it comes to taboo language, it is a common assumption that people who swear frequently are lazy, do not have an adequate vocabulary, lack education, or simply cannot control themselves.

"The overall finding of this set of studies, that taboo fluency is positively correlated with other measures of verbal fluency, undermines the POV [Poverty of Vocabulary] view of swearing. That is, a voluminous taboo lexicon may better be considered an indicator of healthy verbal abilities rather than a cover for their deficiencies.

"Speakers who use taboo words understand their general expressive content as well as nuanced distinctions that must be drawn to use slurs appropriately."

[mu03eng]

As one with a prodigious ability to swear with great volume and inventiveness, I wholeheartedly endorse this study.

Ya hairy wet cats.

[Lennys Tap]

People who are really good at swearing have an important advantage
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/people-who-are-really-good-at-swearing-have-an-important-advantage-a6770486.html

Those who are liberal in their use of swear words are not the lazy and uneducated individuals they are often made out to be, a new study claims.

In fact, a well-stocked vocabulary of swear words is actually a healthy indicator of other verbal abilities.

Writing in the Language Sciences journal, US-based psychologists Kristin Jay and Timothy Jay, dismiss the long-held belief that swearing is a sign of inarticulateness.

Working with the "poverty of vocabulary" concept (the assumption that people swear because they lack the intellectual capacity to find another way to express themselves) their experiment aimed to find out whether those more fluent in the art of swearing are less fluent in other forms of vocabulary.

Using students as research subjects the psychologists then asked their participants to say as many different swear words as they could think of in 60 seconds. Other non-swearing tasks such as saying as many animal names in the same space of time were also set to compare the findings.

The results found that volunteers who could produce the greatest quantity of swear words could also produce the most words in other categories. If the "poverty of vocabulary" explanation was true then the opposite should have been the case.

They proved the obvious - people able to develop and recall the largest vocabulary of "non swear" words would also be the ones who could develop and recall the largest vocabulary of swear words. IOW, people wither higher IQs remember more words.

That doesn't mean that swearing in common conversation isn't a lazy habit.

[mu03eng]

They proved the obvious - people able to develop and recall the largest vocabulary of "non swear" words would also be the ones who could develop and recall the largest vocabulary of swear words. IOW, people wither higher IQs remember more words.

That doesn't mean that swearing in common conversation isn't a lazy habit.

I don't think laziness or intelligence has anything to do with swearing in common conversation....it is purely a function of whether it is acceptable within the conversation/society the words are being used in.

Using the F word as an intensifying adverb is no different than using very in the same way, it is just as intellectually relevant.  The question is, is it acceptable, and I would argue knowing when and how to use swears is a sign of higher order thinking as you are almost thinking in a 3rd dimension of language.

[Benny B]

I don't think laziness or intelligence has anything to do with swearing in common conversation....it is purely a function of whether it is acceptable within the conversation/society the words are being used in.

Using the F word as an intensifying adverb is no different than using very in the same way, it is just as intellectually relevant.  The question is, is it acceptable, and I would argue knowing when and how to use swears is a sign of higher order thinking as you are almost thinking in a 3rd dimension of language.

This.  Only the people who inject swear words into every conversation are the lazy and unintelligent ones... because when you only have 150 words in your vocabulary, you need to use the swears a lot more often (like how "smurf" has nearly infinite meaning deep in the forest so too does "f---" carry universal definition in a trailer park).

I've been in many a situation where someone much more respected and proper than I dropped an f-bomb, and the first thing on everyone's mind was "damn it, he's right" as opposed to "what's he drinking, Boone's Farm?"

[tower912]

My children, and the children I coach, have never heard me swear.   My co-workers and golf partners have never heard me NOT swear.  I am renowned for my ability to string together impressive streams of expletives.   Know your audience.   

[4everwarriors]

I'm fluent my own self, ai na?

[GooooMarquette]

My children, and the children I coach, have never heard me swear.   My co-workers and golf partners have never heard me NOT swear.  I am renowned for my ability to string together impressive streams of expletives.   Know your audience.

That's the f**&in' key.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

I don't always give out F-bombs, my friends. But when I do I prefer to string them out in long utterances.

 

[4everwarriors]

Beauty of fook is its versatility. Gotscha covered as a noun, verb, or adjective, hey?

[keefe]

F#cking A!

[Stronghold]

I especially enjoy shouting Unnatural Carnal Knowledge in public

[Lighthouse 84]

Beauty of fook is its versatility. Gotscha covered as a noun, verb, or adjective, hey?

Never not funny...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvPbxZmZxZ8 NSFW