Profanity and the FCC

Profanity on the airwaves is outlawed, and subject to steep fines, at least some of the time. But why do these forbidden words carry such an emotional charge?

Steven Pinker is author of seven books, including The Blank Slate. He is a professor at Harvard University. His new book, The Stuff of Thought, tackles the wide world of semantics, and how they can reveal the truth about human nature.

Pinker says he wrote his latest book to explore and explain the links between the ways we speak and the thoughts and feelings that shape that speech.

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No matter what language or culture one examines, says Pinker, the same general types of linguistic taboos can be found.