Swear words in different languages have one thing in common

From CNN:

What’s in a swear? The world’s filthiest words typically refer to something vulgar or taboo, for one.

But there’s something else swears across the world’s languages have in common. They’re all missing the more melodic consonant sounds you’re more likely to hear in a lullaby than in a colorful reaction to a stubbed toe.

Swear words lack the consonant sounds l, r, w and y across several languages – including Chinese, English and Spanish, according to a new study from researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London. The team set out to find “phonetic patterns” in profanity in several disparate dialects.

“Swearing – like religion, or music – is a ubiquitous phenomenon across cultures,” study co-author and psychology professor Ryan McKay told CNN. “Our work suggests that it’s not just the semantic content of words that gives them their potency, but that the sounds in these words may also play a role.”

More at link.

[link:https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/10/world/swear-word-similarities-cec/index.html|


I personally have found that my substitution swear words are not as satisfying.