cop·ro·la·li·a - cursing, uttering obscenities, the explosive utterance of foul or "dirty" words or more elaborate sexual, aggressive or insulting statements (e.g., racial slurs). Literally, "dung talking", because of a compulsion to do so. The speech is not always swearing words, is neither intentional nor purposeful, and is not necessarily directed towards anyone.
Coprolalia is considered a complex vocal tic and is undoubtedly the most striking, socially distressing, and dramatic symptom of Tourette Syndrome. However, coprolalia is not, as many people once thought, prerequisite to the diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome
How it works…
The coprolalia type outburst usually disrupts communication, speech, or something that a patient is involved in. Following the disruption, the patient continues about their communication, speech, or project normally. These disruptions will usually continue to enter in and out of a patients normal behaviors and events.
For example. A patient with coprolalia could be talking with someone who mentions the word "duck". The word "duck" trips a vocal tic in the coprolalia patient of which follows three quick vocal burst of, "**** a duck, **** a duck, **** a duck". The conversation keeps flowing as it was prior to the vocal disruption.
An observer, who is not familiar with coprolalia nor understands it, may believe the outburst is the result of a conscious and voluntary decision to swear. However the outburst are neither intentional nor purposeful.
"While obscenities and profanities may be common in everyday conversation in our culture, coprolalia is different from simply swearing or using bad language. These vocal tics usually are not uttered within social or emotional contexts, and are often spoken or repeated compulsively in a louder tone or different cadence or pitch than normal conversational speech. Particularly embarrassing for some individuals with coprolalia are involuntary outbursts within social contexts, such as racial or ethnic slurs in the company of the very people who would be most offended by such remarks." - Understanding Coprolalia, by Sue Levi Pearl and Joanne E. Cohen
