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"When used judiciously, swearing can be hilarious, poignant, and uncannily descriptive. More than any other form of language, it recruits our expressive faculti
by bluishgreen 19y ago
"When used judiciously, swearing can be hilarious, poignant, and uncannily descriptive. More than any other form of language, it recruits our expressive faculties to the fullest: the combinatorial power of syntax; the evocativeness of metaphor; the pleasure of alliteration, meter, and rhyme; and the emotional charge of our attitudes, both thinkable and unthinkable. It engages the full expanse of the brain: left and right, high and low, ancient and modern. Shakespeare, no stranger to earthy language himself, had Caliban speak for the entire human race when he said, "You taught me language, and my profit on't is, I know how to curse."
- Steven Pinker
- asdflkj 19y agoI don't see any swearing, though. How is this relevant?
- bluishgreen 19y agoFor new comers: Before the admins changed the title, the title started with prefix: Holy @#$%&!!. I thought in this case it was worth defending.
- chaostheory 19y agowell then I'm curious - why did you complain?
- asdflkj 19y agoBecause of cartoon swearing. What are we, in kindergarden?