Fantastic article from yesterday's Science Times (NYT):
Almost Before We Spoke, We Swore
By NATALIE ANGIER
Published: September 20, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/science/20curs.html?incamp=article_popular
Great article on swearing and the linguistic evolution and importance of it. Includes (of course!) a ref to George Carlin, my *main* man. I think that if I had an opportunity to meet/interview any one celebrity, it would have to be Carlin-- hands down. To be face to face and hear him riff about language alone... He's a brilliant wordwielder; a self-educated genius. He realizes, like almost no one else out there (in entertainment, anyway) how powerful words are. How harsh curse words sound-- physically. As the artice from the Times notes, those gutteral sounds--formed into words like fuck, shit, etc.--make the brain and body respond viscerally. It's so true.
But, then, of course Carlin's most (in)famous schtick is his "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television," his point is words are *just* words. They can't *really* hurt you! [My favorite bit has to be about the word, tits: "it sounds like a nickname! hey Tits! How's it hangin'?!" OR "It sounds like a snack! Cheese Tits!"]
man, that shit is funny.
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