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来源：小宇宙
Why swearing might mean you're smarter
Bloody hell, shit, bugger. There, I said it. You've probably been told that swearing reflects poor vocabulary or bad manners. But that assumption doesn't really hold up.
Several studies suggest that people who use more profanity don't just score higher on IQ tests, they also tend to have broader vocabulary overall.
So why would swearing be linked to intelligence?
In 2015, linguist Kristen and Timothy Jay ran a study comparing people's performance on a verbal fluency test, the COWAT, with their ability to generate swear words. Participants who performed best linguistically were also the ones who could produce the most taboo terms.
The takeaway? Knowing and using profanity doesn't signal weak language skills. If anything, it can reflect the opposite. The research also suggested that people comfortable using coarse language often score higher on openness, one of the five major personality traits in psychology.
And there's more. Psychologist Emma Serpala at Stanford tracked 600 parents and children over two decades. Her findings indicated that people who express their emotions more freely, including through swearing, also tend to score higher on measures of intelligence.
According to her interpretation, that emotional expressiveness can reflect stronger cognitive and emotional abilities.
And can being rude actually be good for your health?
Some evidence suggests it might. UK researcher Richard Stephens has shown that swearing can have a real therapeutic effect. Profanity provides an emotional release, helping reduce stress and soothe nerves.
A British-Swedish study published in 2022 points in the same direction. Participants were asked to submerge their hands in ice water, and those allowed to swear tolerated the discomfort longer.
Similar effects appear during physical effort. Repeating a swear word before exertion seemed to boost strength and power. One explanation is that the brain processes taboo words differently, activating emotional and memory-related regions and triggering a small surge of adrenaline. There you have it.
词汇表
bloody hell [ˌblʌdi] （英式粗话）见鬼，该死
bugger [ˈbʌɡə(r)] int. （英式粗话）该死，妈的
swearing [ˈsweərɪŋ] n. 说脏话，咒骂
hold up （论点、理论等）站得住脚，成立
profanity [prəˈfænəti] n. 亵渎语言，脏话，不敬的言语
linguist [ˈlɪŋɡwɪst] n. 语言学家
verbal fluency [ˈvɜːbl ˈfluːənsi] 言语流利度，口语流畅性
linguistically [lɪŋˈɡwɪstɪkli] adv. 在语言学上，语言方面地
taboo terms [təˈbuː tɜːmz] 禁忌词汇，避讳用语
takeaway [ˈteɪkəweɪ] n. 要点，主要结论
coarse [kɔːs] adj. 粗俗的，粗鲁的，无礼的
openness [ˈəʊpənnəs] n. （人格特质）开放性
five major personality traits 五大核心人格特质
expressiveness [ɪkˈspresɪvnəs] n. 表达能力；表现力
therapeutic [ˌθerəˈpjuːtɪk] adj. 治疗的，有疗效的
soothe nerves [suːð nɜːvz] 安抚神经，缓解紧张
submerge [səbˈmɜːdʒ] v. （使） 潜入水中，浸没
exertion [ɪɡˈzɜːʃn] n. 用力，努力，体力消耗
a small surge of adrenaline [əˈdrenəlɪn] 少量肾上腺素的释放，轻微的肾上腺素激增
🪴翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进入【打卡交流群】
Bloody hell, shit, bugger. There, I said it. You've probably been told that swearing reflects poor vocabulary or bad manners. But that assumption doesn't really hold up.
Several studies suggest that people who use more profanity don't just score higher on IQ tests, they also tend to have broader vocabulary overall.
So why would swearing be linked to intelligence?
In 2015, linguist Kristen and Timothy Jay ran a study comparing people's performance on a verbal fluency test, the COWAT, with their ability to generate swear words. Participants who performed best linguistically were also the ones who could produce the most taboo terms.
The takeaway? Knowing and using profanity doesn't signal weak language skills. If anything, it can reflect the opposite. The research also suggested that people comfortable using coarse language often score higher on openness, one of the five major personality traits in psychology.
And there's more. Psychologist Emma Serpala at Stanford tracked 600 parents and children over two decades. Her findings indicated that people who express their emotions more freely, including through swearing, also tend to score higher on measures of intelligence.
According to her interpretation, that emotional expressiveness can reflect stronger cognitive and emotional abilities.
And can being rude actually be good for your health?
Some evidence suggests it might. UK researcher Richard Stephens has shown that swearing can have a real therapeutic effect. Profanity provides an emotional release, helping reduce stress and soothe nerves.
A British-Swedish study published in 2022 points in the same direction. Participants were asked to submerge their hands in ice water, and those allowed to swear tolerated the discomfort longer.
Similar effects appear during physical effort. Repeating a swear word before exertion seemed to boost strength and power. One explanation is that the brain processes taboo words differently, activating emotional and memory-related regions and triggering a small surge of adrenaline. There you have it.
词汇表
bloody hell [ˌblʌdi] （英式粗话）见鬼，该死
bugger [ˈbʌɡə(r)] int. （英式粗话）该死，妈的
swearing [ˈsweərɪŋ] n. 说脏话，咒骂
hold up （论点、理论等）站得住脚，成立
profanity [prəˈfænəti] n. 亵渎语言，脏话，不敬的言语
linguist [ˈlɪŋɡwɪst] n. 语言学家
verbal fluency [ˈvɜːbl ˈfluːənsi] 言语流利度，口语流畅性
linguistically [lɪŋˈɡwɪstɪkli] adv. 在语言学上，语言方面地
taboo terms [təˈbuː tɜːmz] 禁忌词汇，避讳用语
takeaway [ˈteɪkəweɪ] n. 要点，主要结论
coarse [kɔːs] adj. 粗俗的，粗鲁的，无礼的
openness [ˈəʊpənnəs] n. （人格特质）开放性
five major personality traits 五大核心人格特质
expressiveness [ɪkˈspresɪvnəs] n. 表达能力；表现力
therapeutic [ˌθerəˈpjuːtɪk] adj. 治疗的，有疗效的
soothe nerves [suːð nɜːvz] 安抚神经，缓解紧张
submerge [səbˈmɜːdʒ] v. （使） 潜入水中，浸没
exertion [ɪɡˈzɜːʃn] n. 用力，努力，体力消耗
a small surge of adrenaline [əˈdrenəlɪn] 少量肾上腺素的释放，轻微的肾上腺素激增
🪴翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进入【打卡交流群】
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