Khanitin Jornkokgoud
Lecturer in Psychology at ::the affiliate will be shown here when you decide.::
Taboo language across the globe: A multi-lab study
The use of taboo words is one of the most universal yet under-researched aspects of human language. This multi-lab study collected taboo word databases from 17 countries and 13 languages (N = 1046), alongside semantic ratings on six dimensions (valence, arousal, offensiveness, tabooness, concreteness, and age of acquisition) from 455 participants per dimension. Results show taboo words are consistently characterized by extremely low valence, high arousal, and low written frequency, but reveal substantial cross-cultural variation in offensiveness and tabooness. The study offers an unprecedented open database and provides new insights into the psychological, social, and linguistic functions of taboo language across cultures.