Is swearing in another language easier?

Do you always find yourself cursing in Spanish, but not your mother tongue? According to a Boston University psychology professor, Catherine Caldwell-Harris, this is very normal because people tend to tap into their memories while speaking. You usually draw concepts or phrases that you learn from a different language, and you want to replicate that while cursing. 

It is not only limited to swearing. She met with a few Korean women, and when they all sat to talk, most of them spoke in English. Catherine believes that speaking in a different language seems less formal, and it also means less hierarchy in the group.

The emotional resonance

Why do people swear in a different language? According to Catherine, it has less emotional intensity than swearing in your mother tongue. Since the person you are cursing may not know the meaning of the words you uttered, he/she may not react aggressively. The reverse could have happened if you said the same thing in a language that both of you know. Moreover, in addition to the emotional connect, there is also the cultural factor that makes swearing in a different language easier.

Many countries have people who swear all the time. They don’t mind if people swear back at them. That’s their culture. This is one of the reasons why cursing in another language will have less emotional resonance. However, there are countries where swearing is frowned upon. 

Japan is one of those countries where people don’t curse in their mother tongue. If people want to swear, they will do in French or English. Some of them even go to the extent of hiring French translation services to translate a curse phrase from Japanese to French.  

Freedom of speech

Apart from cursing, there is a similar phenomenon most commonly seen in romance or while expressing love. In some of the cultures, people don’t say “I love you.” They don’t say it to their lovers, parents, or anyone else for that matter. But, if they are aware of the phrase and know the meaning, they may have a romantic conversation in Japanese, and they will end the conversation by saying “I love you” or “love ya.” This sudden switch to another language gives them the much-needed freedom to convey their feelings by saying things that they would otherwise feel inhibited to speak or express.

On the contrary, if you consider this phrase in a country like the UK or the US where “I love you” is probably said almost every day, it doesn’t have that same emotional connection as it would, had you spoken in a different language and said the phrase. 

The same holds true when someone else is cursing at you.

When people curse at you in a different language, you don’t really care because the words don’t associate with personal or cultural memories.

They are merely words that have very little emotional resonance. But, when you see a foreigner swearing at you in your language, that can hurt. That’s the flip side of the coin that you need to keep in mind too!