The study aimed at evaluating the social motivations behind the use of swearwords in the language of miraa
traders. The study was carried out in Kῖrῖtirῖ open-air miraa (khat) market in Mbeere South sub-county within Embu
County. Twelve negotiations involving both male and female traders were recorded and subsequently analyzed. The
analysis indicates that swearing is an intricate social practice that is highly gendered, and which is used to not only
socialize but also to achieve highly precious transactional goals in the miraa market. Significantly, swearing is a way
in which the Miraa traders establish both their social and linguistic identity