Why 'sex' and 'fight' have stood the test of time: Scientists say 'arousing' words are most likely to endure in our language

Words like ‘sex’ and ‘fight’ are most likely to stand the test of time because they are exciting, according to a new study.

Research has found words that are ‘arousing’ endure in our language in a ‘survival of the fittest’ way, similar to natural selection.

While the recent announcement of Word of the Year explores new words such as ‘rizz’ or ‘situationship’, experts wanted to explore why some words survive in our modern language while others don’t.

The first part of the study involved a story-retelling experiment where more than 12,000 people were asked to retell a collection of thousands of short stories, each on average 200 words long.

For the second part, psychologists analysed millions of words of language from fiction and non-fiction books, newspapers, and magazines, over hundreds of years, from 1800 up to 2000.

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Words like ‘sex’ and ‘fight’ are most likely to stand the test of time because they are exciting, according to a new study (stock image)

The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, revealed that the words with the strongest lasting power include those acquired earlier in life, and words that are more arousing including ‘sex’ and ‘fight’.

The researchers said ‘arousal’ words tap into feelings of being excited, with highly arousing words evoking excited, stimulated, frenzied, jittery, and wide-awake feelings.

They also discovered that words associated with things people can see or imagine, called ‘concrete’ words, are more likely to survive.

For example, ‘cat’ is more concrete than ‘animal’, which is more concrete than ‘organism’.

The researchers suggest these findings shed light on how the human brain processes and filters information—a process known as ‘cognitive selection.’

Research has found words that are ‘arousing’ endure in our language in a ‘survival of the fittest’ way, similar to natural selection (stock image)

This becomes crucial in today’s world, where various information forms continually compete for our attention, they said.

Thomas Hills, professor of Psychology at the University of Warwick and an author of the study, said: ‘Information is a complex organism, constantly evolving as it undergoes cognitive selection within our minds.

‘Languages change due to social, cultural, and cognitive influences. Information environments evolve due to war, disease, population changes, and technological innovations.

‘However, the mind remains relatively stable, capable of exerting lasting impacts on language evolution. This cognitive selection influences what, in an information marketplace, will endure.

‘Our study finds that properties like early acquisition, concreteness, and arousal give linguistic information a selective advantage.’