Vulgar language and its censorship play a crucial role in human communication today. Many forms of media, including television and online chats, censor swear words with either bleeps or asterisks, often with the intent of facilitating a more civil environment. However, in the context of a proposed U.S. bill aiming to help create a more courteous social landscape through penalizing broadcasters who spout obscenities, Natalie Angier rejects the possibility of a “gentle” language. In her article “Almost Before We Spoke, We Swore,” published in the New York Times in 2005, she asserts that swearing is universal across all human cultures and languages.
Within her article, Angier provides several well-supported claims about the universalism of swearing. First, she describes the long historical aspect of swearing to demonstrate the prevalence of obscenity within human culture, supporting her descriptions with details of the use of obscenity by past writers such as Shakespeare and Ben Johnson and works such as the King James translation of the Bible. Second, she asserts that swearing naturally has a neurological base. She proves this through citing numerous studies well-backed by research detailing the place of …show more content…
In addition, social pressure contributes to individuals filtering their language in certain places and events and using swear words elsewhere. For instance, due to the cultural association of swearing with crudeness and taboos, people often refrain from swearing in formal places such as churches or their workplace. In addition, people often use polite speech when conversing with strangers or authority figures to maintain a good impression. Even within one’s family, it is considered impolite to swear in front of children as it is assumed that obscenity conflicts with children’s
Within her article, Angier provides several well-supported claims about the universalism of swearing. First, she describes the long historical aspect of swearing to demonstrate the prevalence of obscenity within human culture, supporting her descriptions with details of the use of obscenity by past writers such as Shakespeare and Ben Johnson and works such as the King James translation of the Bible. Second, she asserts that swearing naturally has a neurological base. She proves this through citing numerous studies well-backed by research detailing the place of …show more content…
In addition, social pressure contributes to individuals filtering their language in certain places and events and using swear words elsewhere. For instance, due to the cultural association of swearing with crudeness and taboos, people often refrain from swearing in formal places such as churches or their workplace. In addition, people often use polite speech when conversing with strangers or authority figures to maintain a good impression. Even within one’s family, it is considered impolite to swear in front of children as it is assumed that obscenity conflicts with children’s