If you’re, erm, of a certain age, chances are you went through something in childhood that would horrify social services today; you’d repeat a word that a friend had taught you, or that you’d heard from an adult, in front of your mum, dad or gran, and next thing you knew you’d been marched off into the bathroom to get your mouth washed out with soap! With a mouthful of bubbles you’d promise to never do it again—but, here you are on the motorway, and you’re definitely not sticking to that promise!
Saying your first curse word might be a milestone, but, as we get older, swearing becomes part of the rich lexicon of language that we use to express ourselves, and while we might associate swear words with negative communication, only eight per cent of people actually swear to cause
