Why We Curse is divided into five parts. Part 1 introduces the dimensions and scope of cursing and outlines the NPS Theory, while Part 2 covers neurological variables and offers evidence for right brain dominance during emotional speech events. Part 3 then focuses on psychological development including language acquisition, personality development, cognition and so forth, while Part 4 covers the wide variety of social and cultural forces that define curse words and restrict their usage. Finally, Part 5 concludes by examining the social and legal implications of cursing, treating misconceptions about cursing, and setting the agenda for future research.
The work draws on new research by Dr. Jay and others and continues the research reported in his groundbreaking 1992 volume Cursing in America. A psycholinguistic study of dirty language in the courts, in the movies, in the schoolyards and on the streets.
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Table of contents
I. Introduction to the Study of Cursing 1. Tourette Syndrome and Coprolalia: The Need for a Theory 3 2. Psycholinguistics and Cursing 9 3. The Neuro-Psycho-Social (NPS) Theory of Cursing 19 4. Postulates of the NPS Theory 25 II. Neurological Factors Underlying Cursing 5. Propositional Speech, Nonpropositional Speech, and the Right Cerebral Hemisphere 33 6. Emotional Speech and the Emotional Brain 45 7. Anger and Verbal Aggression 55 8. Coprolalia and Mental Disorders 63 9. Neurological Control of Cursing 73 III. Psychological Factors Underlying Cursing 10. Psychological Aspects of Cursing 81 11. Language, Acquisition and Cognitive Growth 91 12. Memory and Awareness of Cursing 99 13. Personality, Religiosity, and Sexual Anxiety 107 14. Speech Habits and Social Learning 115 15. The Sexual Lexicon 123 16. Syntax and Sematics 135 IV. Social and Cultural Factors Underlying Cursing 17. Pragmatics and Cultural Contexts 147 18. Speaker Power 157 19. Gender Identity 165 20. Slang 173 21. Humor Elicitation 181 22. Religion, Taboo Speech, and Word Magic 189 23. Scatology and the Language of Disgust 199 24. Customary Restrictions: From Etiquette to Law 205 25. Evolving Language Standards 215 26. Tourette Syndrome: Cross-Cultural Comparisons 235 V. Why Do We Swear? Why Do We Choose the Words We Do? 27. Social and Legal Issues Involving Cursing 247 28. Ignorance, Misinformation, and Fallacies about Cursing 254 29. Future of Cursing Research 269 Bibliography 277 Index
