Language is one of the main ingredients of human identity, reflecting what we think through well-structured and intentional words. Yet, at times, it escapes our control, and raw, unfiltered outbursts breakthrough. This is especially true for some individuals with Tourette Syndrome (TS), a neurological condition characterized by involuntary movements and vocalizations. Our main focus is on coprolalia, a subtype of TS—not everyone with TS experiences coprolalia; only about 10-15% do. Coprolalia is the spontaneous utterance of socially inappropriate words, creating a compelling intersection of linguistics, neurology, and evolutionary biology. But why does this happen? And why do some of these vocal tics resemble the guttural cries of animals when signaling danger?
At its core, Tourette Syndrome is linked to inhibitory dysfunction in the brain. The basal ganglia, a deep brain structure responsible for regulating movement and suppressing involuntary actions, plays an important role in both TS and speech production. In everyday life, our brains function like editors, filtering inappropriate thoughts before they become spoken words. For someone with TS, this editing mechanism falters, allowing unexpected words to emerge, especially emotionally charged ones. Think of it as if you are driving a car, but the brakes are faulty. You can still control the car most of the time, but every now and then, the brakes fail, and you can’t stop at the red light. In TS, the brake system of the brain (basal ganglia) isn’t working properly, leading to involuntary words or movements.
This brings us to the noticeable similarity between some TS vocal tics (grunts, yelling, or sharp curse words) and the alarm calls observed in the animal world. These sounds are neither polite nor structured; they are urgent and instinctive because they need to grab attention immediately. Many species, from primates to birds, rely on instinctive cries to signal the presence of a predator. These vocalizations, like TS tics, don’t register with conscious thought, emerging from the brain’s limbic system, the region responsible for primitive, reflexive communication rather than consciously structured speech. For example, vervet monkeys use instinctive alarm calls to warn others of danger. They produce a sharp bark when they see leopards, to make others climb the trees and a short guttural cough for when they spot eagles. These calls are sudden, emotional, and beyond conscious control, much like Tourette’s vocal tics.
Could the swearing tics of TS be a linguistic echo of our animal instincts? We may no longer need to alert our tribe of approaching wolves, but our brains still carry traces of these ancient survival mechanisms. Language may be a human invention, but the impulses beneath it are as old as life itself. And sometimes, the words we least expect, those raw, unfiltered outbursts, offer us a glimpse into the deeper, unmastered stream of the mind.
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- Filley, C. M. (2016). The history of behavioral neurology. In The Oxford Handbook of History of Clinical Neuropsychology.
- Max Planck Society. (2025). Neural mechanisms of alarm calling behavior. Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence. https://www.bi.mpg.de/2698155/alarm-calls
- Animal Nepal. (2024). Alarm calls in mammals. Animal Nepal. https://animalnepal.org/alarm-calls/
