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The Right Coast
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Origins of the naughtiest swear words in the English language

By Thomas A. Smith

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 right side of our gray matter associated with emotion and cathartic expression lights up on imaging scans, reveals Columbia linguistics professor John McWhorter. 

Curse words are not words, in a sense, McWhorter told The Post. They re eruptions.  

McWhorter loves swear words so much he s written a book about their origins, Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever (Avery), out May 4. 

via nypost.com

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