"swearing1" - 1 õppematerjal

To swear or not to swear ?

In this paper I am going to discuss the positive and negative sides of swearing and why people swear. Firstly, people swear beacause it helps to relieve stress and blow off steam, like crying does for small children, to camouflage a person's fear or insecurity, establish a group identity, establish membership in a group and maintain the group's boundaries, express solidarity with other people or just to add humor, emphasis or "shock value" (http://people.howstuffworks.com/swearing1.htm). As can be seen, swearing has many reasons, but the first one is probably the most common. Using a swear word to emphasize something is often necessary as it shows how people really feel about things Secondly, swearing can be also quite beneficial. It can be a a useful substitute to physical violence as swearing often frees people from anger or frustation.Swear words can also be used in a more positive manner, in the form of jokes and humor, storytelling, self-deprecation or even social