Stops. Most of the "hard" words you'll find in any language will have a glottal or palatal stop in them -- a tongue or throat movement that produces a hard, sudden sound.
I imagine that the evocation of spitting has something to do with it -- say "fuck" sharply enough, and there's a definite shower. It also may be related to the sounds we perceive predators as making -- low, dangerous, hard noises that indicate superiority or threat.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2005-11-27 06:26 pm (UTC)I imagine that the evocation of spitting has something to do with it -- say "fuck" sharply enough, and there's a definite shower. It also may be related to the sounds we perceive predators as making -- low, dangerous, hard noises that indicate superiority or threat.
..not that I'm a geek.