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Blessing and cursing in social interaction - Swearing, cursing and insulting are meant to offend, to injure the other. These phenomena can be captured within functionalism, the sociology of human figurations, exchange theory and symbolic interactionism. Originally cursing was the opposite of blessing. The main characteristic of blessing is its reciprocity : even in its degeneration to greeting the feature is still present. Insulting is still a form of communication, however close the latter may have come to breaking point. Cursing, on the other hand, is fundamentally concerned with calling up, originally involving the invocation of (evil) spirits. As for swearing, this frequently involves only swearing at random. As a matter of fact, it leads to emotional discharge and relief and thus compensates for any disequilibrium, while also often taking the place of solid arguments. In many cases swearing and insulting are a prelude to conflict. Swearing is looked upon as uncivilized, but it is nevertheless a part of culture, just like language in its entirety.
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How to Cite: Kuiper, G. (1992) “Gelukwensen en verwensen in het maatschappelijk verkeer”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen. 37(3). doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.95112