Swearing after Traumatic Brain Injury
A Linguistic Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.v7i1.21570Keywords:
traumatic brain injury, swearing, profanities, linguistic analysis, verbal aggressionAbstract
This research examines the case of an individual with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and his swearword use. Verbal aggression in the form of swearwords is frequently reported in the clinical treatment of language after TBI, however it has not been examined from a linguistic perspective. This paper uses the principles of systemic functional linguistics to reveal the complex skills necessary to manipulate and employ swearwords. Hence, although clinicians often attribute excessive swearing in this population to reduced control of automatic responses, this paper reveals the skills employed in use of these words, which may pave the way for future strength based linguistic treatments for this population.
References
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Young, S. (2004). What the ___ is your Problem?: Attribution theory and perceived reasons for profanity usage during conflict. Communication Research Reports, 21 (4): 338–347. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08824090409359998
Zenicus, A. H., Wesolowski, M. D., and Burke, W. H. (1990). The use of a visual cue to reduce profanity in a brain injured adult. Behavioral Residential Treatment, 5 (3): 143–147.
Zencius A. H. and Wesolowski, M. D. (1991). Verbal aggression in adults with brain injury. Behavioral Residential Treatment, 6 (3): 155–164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bin.2360060302
Damasio, A. (1994). Descartes’ Error. New York: Putnam.
Ducharme, J.M. (1999). A conceptual model for treatment of externalizing behaviour in acquired brain injury. Brain Injury, 13 (9): 645–668. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/026990599121232
Eckert, P. and McConnell-Ginet, S. (2013). Language and Gender, (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139245883
Eggins, S. and Slade, D. (1997). Analysing Casual Conversation. London: Equinox Publishing Ltd.
Grafman, J., Schwab, K., Warden, D., Pridgen, A., Brown, H. R. and Salazar, A. (1996). Frontal lobe injuries, violence, and aggression: A report of the Vietnam Head Injury Study. Neurology 46: 1231–1238. http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.46.5.1231
Halliday, M. A. K. and Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2004). An Introduction to Functional Grammar (3rd ed.). London: Arnold.
Harré, R. and van Langenhove, L. (1999). The dynamics of social episodes. In R. Harré and L. van Langenhove (Eds) Positioning Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
Jay, T. and Janschewitz, K. (2008). The pragmatics of swearing. Journal of Politeness Research, 4: 267–288. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/JPLR.2008.013
Jones, K. D., Young, T. and Leppma, M. (2010). Mild traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder in returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans: Implications for assessment and diagnosis. Journal of Counseling and Development, 88: 372–376. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2010.tb00036.x
Keegan, L. C. (2012). The Linguistic Construction of Identity in Individuals with TBI. (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Lezak, M. D. (1990). The walking wounded of head injury: When subtle deficits can be disabling. Trends in Rehabilitation, III: 4–9.
Manchester, D., Hodgkinson A., and Casey T. (1997) Prolonged, severe behavioural disturbance following traumatic brain injury: What can be done? Brain Injury, 11: 605–617. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/026990597123296
Martin, J. R. and White, P. R. R. (2005). The Language of Evaluation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
McKee, A. C., Cantu, R. C., Nowinski, C. J., Hedley-Whyte, T., Gavett, B. E., Budson, A. E., Santini, V. E., Lee, H., Kubilus, C. A. and Stern, R. A. (2009). Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in athletes: Progressive tauopathy following repetitive head injury. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol., 68 (7): 709–735. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NEN.0b013e3181a9d503
Miller, J. and Iglesias, A. (2010). Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT), Instructional Version 2010 [Computer software]. SALT Software LLC.
Müller, N., Mok, Z. and Keegan, L. (2014). Systemic functional linguistics and qualitative research in clinical applied linguistics. In M. J. Ball, N. Müller and R. L. Nelson (Eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research in Communication Disorders. New York: Psychology Press.
Rao, V., Rosenberg, P., Bertrand, M., Salehinia, S., Spiro, J., Vaishnavi, S., et al., (2009). Aggression after traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 21 (4): 420–429. http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.21.4.420
Shorland, J. and Douglas, J. (2010). Understanding the role of communication in maintaining and forming friendships following traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury, 24 (4): 569–580. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/02699051003610441
Togher, L., McDonald, S., Tate, R., Power, E. and Rietijk, R. (2009). Training communication partners of people with traumatic brain injury: Reporting the protocol for a clinical trial. Brain Impairment, 10 (2), 188–204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1375/brim.10.2.188
Vaishnavi, S. Rao V. and Fann, J. R. (2009). Neuropsychiatric problems after traumatic brain injury: Unravelling the silent epidemic. Psychosomatics, 50 (3), 198–205. http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.psy.50.3.198
Van Lancker, D. and Cummings, J. L. (1999). Expletives: Neurolinguistic and neurobehavioral perspectives on swearing. Brain Research Reviews, 31: 83–104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0165-0173(99)00060-0
World Health Organization. (2002). Projections of Mortality and Burden of Disease to 2030. Geneva: WHO.
Ylvisaker, M. and Feeney, T. (2000). Reconstruction of identity after brian injury. Injury, 1 (1): 12–28.
Ylvisaker, M. and Feeney, T. (1998). Collaborative Brain Injury Intervention: Positive Everyday Routines. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group Inc.
Ylvisaker, M. McPherson, K., Kayes, N., Pellet, E. (2008). Metaphoric identity mapping: Facilitating goal setting and engagement in rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 18 (5/6): 713–741. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09602010802201832
Young, S. (2004). What the ___ is your Problem?: Attribution theory and perceived reasons for profanity usage during conflict. Communication Research Reports, 21 (4): 338–347. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08824090409359998
Zenicus, A. H., Wesolowski, M. D., and Burke, W. H. (1990). The use of a visual cue to reduce profanity in a brain injured adult. Behavioral Residential Treatment, 5 (3): 143–147.
Zencius A. H. and Wesolowski, M. D. (1991). Verbal aggression in adults with brain injury. Behavioral Residential Treatment, 6 (3): 155–164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bin.2360060302
Published
2016-06-21
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Keegan, L., & McAdam, H. (2016). Swearing after Traumatic Brain Injury: A Linguistic Analysis. Journal of Interactional Research in Communication Disorders, 7(1), 101-122. https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.v7i1.21570
