I caught a very interesting lecture by Stephen Pinker author of The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature
on CSPAN this weekend. Pinker discussed some of the interesting or in his words crazy aspects of our language. Such as why we use terms like underground and underwater when we mean surrounded by ground or water. He also delved into his theories as to why we use profanity. He says that when we use profanity, it triggers a unique part of our brain. And his research determined there are 34 words in the english language for feces.
