Effective communication lies at the heart of human connection. It helps us collaborate with each other, solve problems and ...

A swear word is like a linguistic punch in the nose. Virtually every language and culture has them—and virtually every language and culture formally disapproves of them. But that doesn’t stop them ...

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 ...

Linguists have noticed that many swear words share the same sharp, punchy sounds—hard consonants like “k,” “t,” and “g” that burst out of the mouth rather than flow. When a study examined those sound ...

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 ...

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

The English language is full of oddities, but some words sound so absurd you’d swear someone made them up after one too many pints. However, they’re real, many with histories stretching back centuries ...