associated with negative emotions such as sadness (21.83%) and anger (16.79%), thus showing people in the online world mainly use curse words to express their sadness and anger towards others. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Warsaw investigated bilingual swearing, and how it is easier to swear in a foreign language, finding that bilinguals strengthen the offensiveness of profanities when they switch into their second language, but soften it when they switch into their first tongue, doing both statistically significantly only in the case of ethnophaulisms (ethnic slurs), leading the scientists to the conclusion that switching into the second language exempts bilinguals from the social norms and constraints (whether own or socially imposed) such as political correctness, and makes them more prone to swearing and offending others. Types According to Steven Pinker, there are five possible functions of swearing: Abusive swearing, intended to offend, intimidate or otherwise cause emotional or psychological harm Cathartic swearing, used in response to pain or misfortune Dysphemistic swearing, used to convey that the speaker thinks negatively of the subject matter and to make the listener do the same Emphatic swearing, intended to draw additional attention to what is considered to be worth paying attention to Idiomatic swearing, used for no other particular purpose, but as a sign that the conversation and relationship between speaker and listener is informal In addition, Coprolalia, which is an occasional characteristic of tic disorders, is involuntary swearing or the involuntary utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks. It encompasses words and phrases that are culturally taboo or generally unsuitable for acceptable social use, when used out of context. The term is not used to describe contextual swearing. It can be distinguished from voluntary profanity by characteristics such as interrupting the flow of dialogue, differences in tone and volume relative to a normal voice, variable frequency that increases with anxiety, and association with brain disorders. It is usually expressed out of social or emotional context, and may be spoken in a louder tone or different cadence or pitch than normal conversation. It can be a single word, or complex phrases. Slurs vs. profanity Profanity is widely considered socially offensive and strongly impolite; slurs, however, are both intended to be and by definition are derogatory, as they are meant to harm another individual. Although profanity has been seen to improve performance or relieve anxiety and anger,