Taboo Words
"The strange emotional power of swearing--as well as the presence of linguistic taboos in all cultures-- suggests that taboo words tap into deep and ancient parts of the brain. In general, words have not just a denotation but a connotation: an emotional coloring distinct from what the word literally refers to, as in principled versus stubborn and slender versus scrawny. The difference between a taboo word and its genteel synonyms, such as shit and feces, c**t and vagina, or f***ing and making love, is an extreme example of the distinction. Curses provoke a different response than their synonyms in part because connotations and denotations are stored in different parts of the brain...
On the whole, the acceptability of taboo words is only loosely tied to the acceptability of what they refer to, but, in the case of taboo terms for effluvia, the correlation is fairly good. The linguists Keith Allan and Kate Burridge have noted that shit is less acceptable than piss, which in turn is less acceptable than fart, which is less acceptable than snot, which is less acceptable than spit (which is not taboo at all). That's the same order as the acceptability of eliminating these substances from the body in public."
Language warning, of course.
On the whole, the acceptability of taboo words is only loosely tied to the acceptability of what they refer to, but, in the case of taboo terms for effluvia, the correlation is fairly good. The linguists Keith Allan and Kate Burridge have noted that shit is less acceptable than piss, which in turn is less acceptable than fart, which is less acceptable than snot, which is less acceptable than spit (which is not taboo at all). That's the same order as the acceptability of eliminating these substances from the body in public."
Language warning, of course.
Labels: linguistics, WTF
posted by scalpel at 5:00 PM
9 Comments:
Some people have been puzzled about why **** should be taboo. It is not just an unprintable word for the vagina but the most offensive epithet for a woman in America. One might have thought that, in the male-dominated world of swearing, the vagina would be revered, not reviled. After all, it's been said that no sooner does a boy come out of it than he spends the rest of his life trying to get back in.
Hee.
flat out philosophical.
OK, I'm just curious as to how you came across this article.
Trying to upstage CrankyProf for invective?
It seems that one's sweetheart's parts are never called a c***, but rather the warmer, fuzzier P-word. Ex sweethearts and ex wives, different story.
I was just surfing around and found the article. I'm very interested in the subtleties of language, and I enjoy the rare occasions when I can find just the right word to precisely express my thoughts. And since I do have a bit of a cursing problem myself, I was a bit comforted by this article in the sense that it provides a bit of rationalization for my bad habit.
And it was somewhat timely given Nurse K's recent "bastard" discussion.
I just had to laugh at the newest response to the "bastard" comments over at ER stories. I tried reading some of the comments over at Nurse K. but, those comments sound like they were written by a bunch of psycho's.
wow. And very interesting. I find words interesting, especially their origin and usage throughout time.
Part of the problem is that many people do not pay much attention to words, unless they are shouted, offensive, or extreme in some other way.
We seem to have as much desire to understand the meaning of words as we do to understand math. Both are far from adequate.
We have little appreciation for subtlety.
Let us not overlook the idea of association as well. There are a whole subset of people who use these words in a meaningless, habitual way. Almost every other word is f*** this, f*** that and sh**. They are people who obviously don't care who they offend. This give others an impression of their character. To use these words causes you to be associated with such people, and maybe it is the association that people do not want. mdoncall.blogspot.com
Post a Comment
<< Home