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 ...

Dancing around risky language is common for many forms of on-air media. Sitcoms and family shows have been making substitutions like "sugar" and "fudge" for expletives and curse words for quite some ...

In most people, language is generated on the left side of the brain — the half associated with logic, motor functions and math. But when we let loose with a particularly satisfying swear word, the ...

The use of profanity in music does seem to be more common than in the past. And music fans certainly have an idea of which artists are more likely to swear in their music than others. Which musician ...

These four sounds are missing from some of the seven words you can never say on television, and the pattern prevails in other languages too, researchers say. By Elizabeth Preston “Holy motherforking ...

As a society, we like to swear. Swear words have a strange power over us. It starts when we are young, when they are deliciously taboo. Then, as we age, our dependence on swear words increases to the ...

Ryan McKay receives funding from the NOMIS Foundation. Shiri Lev-Ari does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, ...