When researchers asked people around the world to list every taboo word they could think of, the differences found were revealing. For example, the length of each list varied greatly.
While English speakers in the UK and Spanish speakers in Spain pronounced an average of 16 words, the Germans tripled this figure, averaging 53 words, ranging from sufferers of intellectual allergiesa person with an allergy to intelligence, to hodenenboldor “testicle goblin”, one who is annoying.
The findings, the researchers say, hint at how an overlooked area of social error—whether it's swearing, insults or other taboo language—could help us better understand the values, boundaries and changing norms that shape different cultures.
“These words can be more offensive or less offensive, they can be filled with negativity or irony,” said John Andoni Dunabetia, a cognitive scientist and professor at Nebrija University of Madrid. “But taken together, they provide a small insight into the realities of each culture.”
When it came to the differences between Spanish and German speakers, Andoni Dunyabeitia had two theories. The German language, with its seemingly endless ability to create new complex words, may simply offer more possibilities, he says. “But it may also be that some people [speaking other languages] just don’t have those words close at hand, otherwise it will be harder for them to say them in a very neutral environment,” he said.
The study, which looked at taboo words in 13 languages, from Serbian to Cantonese to Dutch, in 17 countries, found other differences. The word “shit” or its translated equivalent, for example, was among the most frequently used in several languages, including English, Finnish and Italian, but was not in the top rankings in French, Dutch, Spanish or German.
In contrast, words intended to demean women, such as “bitch,” were found across cultures. “I think it has to do with the terribly sexist traditions of many countries,” said Andoni Dunyabeitia, who was among four dozen researchers involved in the project. with the 2024 study. “The vocabulary reflects the reality of a society where women are mistreated, excluded from everyday tasks and relegated to the background.”
Sexually suggestive terms also surfaced repeatedly, hinting at near-universal discomfort with topics deemed personal or inappropriate.
Other words, such as “feminazi,” show how words evolve with social and political changes. In the current era of social media platforms and the anonymity they often offer, researchers have also traced the spread and hardening of language used, revealing how taboo words can be used as weapons to attack people based on race, religion, gender or sexuality.
When Simone Sulpizio, professor of psychology at the University of Milan-Bicocca and lead author of the 2024 study, began the study, he expected to hear a cacophony of church-related invective. “But we were surprised, because although blasphemy was present in all languages, it was only one of the most common in Italy– said Sulpizio.
Italians who took part in the study came up with more than 24 taboo words associated with the church, including 17 different versions of what the researchers translated as “fucking God.”
Sulpizio suggested that this may be due to Italy's proximity and long-standing relationship with the Vatican, as well as the enduring strength of the country's Catholic tradition. “So this is an example of the impact cultural or social differences,” he said.
Another difference was how people used insults. “Everyone has insults, but depending on the culture of the country, the purpose of the insults changes,” Sulpizio said.
The study revealed several constants that are common to most cultures: men, like extroverts, use taboo words more often than women. On average people fight once for every two minutes of performance. However, this indicator can vary widely depending on the setting, topic, and relationships between the participants in the conversation.
after promoting the newsletter
“What makes taboo words interesting is that, unlike most other parts of our vocabulary, they can be used both positively and negatively,” Sulpizio said. They have extraordinary power, say researchers, who say they can be used to cause harm or undermine power structures or, in turn, relieve stress and evoke humor.
Swearing can even have physical benefits, Sulpizio said, citing a study that asked questions people can say a normal word or a taboo word while holding their hand in ice.
“When they said the taboo word, they were able to keep their hand in the ice longer,” he said. “So these words can be used as a kind of emotional regulation tool.”
The wide range of their use may help explain the persistence of these words, even as generations of parents, teachers and authority figures actively discourage their use and their traces are erased from official written texts.
“Usually the most frequently used words in a language are the most familiar words. But with taboo words the situation is reversed,” Sulpizio said. “So the more familiar taboo words are, or the more famous they are, the less often they are written about in newspapers or blogs or whatever.”
The team behind the 2022 study found that using taboo words can profoundly affect how we think, act and treat each other. “It used to be a topic of serious research for a long time because it was thought to simply be a sign of aggression, poor language skills, or even low intelligence,” the researchers note. recently in Conversation. “We now have quite a bit of evidence that challenges this view and encourages us to reconsider the nature—and power—of swearing.”
