26 May, 2019 @ 10:30
1 min read

A PUT-DOWN A DAY: New Spanish book praises ‘therapeutic’ quality of insulting

INSULTS have been branded ‘therapeutic’ in a new book by Catalonian author Sergio Parra.

In Mecaguen!, published by Vox, Parra says that expletives are ‘necessary’ for reducing tension and regulating bodily hormones.

Drawing upon neurological research, Parra even maintains that individuals who lose language through brain trauma can still ‘swear’ as curse words are stored in a completely separate part of the brain.

“I do not apologise for foul language. It is a resource that we cannot do without, but shouldn’t abuse,” Parra told a Spanish news agency.

“Like a knife, it can be used to kill, or to spread butter.”

‘LIKE A KNIFE’: Illustrations in Parra’s book show two sides of an insult

Parra defends slurs and put-downs as ‘cultural richness’, while stressing that he does not mean crude, modern swear words that shock rather than amuse.

His book favours Spanish words from the Siglo de Oro, which would be contemporaries of old English slurs like ‘driggle-draggle’, ‘fustylugs’ and ‘saddle-goose’.

His book looks at blasphemy and taboo words, and compares 18th century puritanism with the modern-day ‘witch-hunting’ of politically incorrect words on social media.

Joshua Parfitt

Joshua James Parfitt is the Costa Blanca correspondent for the Olive Press. He holds a gold-standard NCTJ in multimedia journalism from the award-winning News Associates in Twickenham. His work has been published in the Sunday Times, Esquire, the Mail on Sunday, the Daily Mail, the Sun, the Sun on Sunday, the Mirror, among others. He has appeared on BBC Breakfast to discuss devastating flooding in Spain, as well as making appearances on BBC and LBC radio stations.

Contact me now: joshua@theolivepress.es or call +44 07960046259. Twitter: @jjparfitt

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