Many words and expressions are viewed as 'taboo', such as those used to describe sex, our bodies and their functions, and those used to insult other people. This 2006 book provides a fascinating insight into taboo language and its role in everyday life. It looks at the ways we use language to be polite or impolite, politically correct or offensive, depending on whether we are 'sweet-talking', 'straight-talking' or being deliberately rude. Using a range of colourful examples, it shows how we use language playfully and figuratively in order to swear, to insult, and also to be politically correct, and what our motivations are for doing so. It goes on to examine the differences between institutionalized censorship and the ways individuals censor their own language. Lively and revealing, Forbidden Words will fascinate anyone who is interested in how and why we use and avoid taboos in daily conversation.
By:
Keith Allan (Monash University Victoria),
Kate Burridge (Monash University,
Victoria)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 226mm,
Width: 157mm,
Spine: 18mm
Weight: 520g
ISBN: 9780521525640
ISBN 10: 0521525640
Pages: 314
Publication Date: 05 October 2006
Audience:
General/trade
,
Professional and scholarly
,
ELT Advanced
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
List of figures; Acknowledgements; 1. Taboos and their origins; 2. Sweet talking and offensive language; 3. Bad language? Jargon, slang, swearing and insult; 4. The language of political correctness; 5. Linguistic purism and verbal hygiene; 6. Taboo, naming and addressing; 7. Sex and bodily effluvia; 8. Food and smell; 9. Disease, death and killing; 10. Taboo, censoring and the human brain; Notes; References; Index.
Keith Allan is Reader in Linguistics and Convenor of the Linguistics Program at Monash University. Kate Burridge is Chair of Linguistics at Monash University.
Reviews for Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language
' … accessible and wide-ranging publication … this is a thoroughly engaging and fascinating book, written with brio and humour.' Journal of Politeness Research
