Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths and Profanity in English

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Overview

Swearing in the English language has a long history that encompasses a rich variety of modes, including heroic oaths, sacred undertakings, profane and blasphemous curses, taboo insults charged with sexual and excremental "four-letter" words, competitive foul language, and racist "hate speech." Tracing the history of this intriguing cultural phenomenon from its Anglo-Saxon traditions and those of the Middle Ages, through Shakespeare, the Enlightenment, and the Victorian Era to the Lady Chatterley's Lover trial and...
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More About This Book

Overview

Swearing in the English language has a long history that encompasses a rich variety of modes, including heroic oaths, sacred undertakings, profane and blasphemous curses, taboo insults charged with sexual and excremental "four-letter" words, competitive foul language, and racist "hate speech." Tracing the history of this intriguing cultural phenomenon from its Anglo-Saxon traditions and those of the Middle Ages, through Shakespeare, the Enlightenment, and the Victorian Era to the Lady Chatterley's Lover trial and various current trends, Geoffrey Hughes explores a fascinating, little-discussed, yet irrepressible part of our linguistic heritage. This edition contains a new Postscript updating various contemporary developments, such as the growth of political correctness.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780631187356
  • Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 1/1/1993
  • Series: The Language Library
  • Pages: 283

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
Sources and Abbreviations
1 A Cursory Introduction 1
2 Unlocking the Word-hoard: the Germanic Heritage 37
3 Paynims and Charlatans: Swearing in Middle English 55
4 Schismatic Vituperation: the Reformation 91
5 Creativity and Suppression in the Renaissance 101
6 Expansionism and Xenophobia 126
7 The Reign of Decorum: Augustan and Victorian Attitudes 139
8 Quakers to Convicts: Swearing in the New Worlds 164
9 The Modern Explosion and its Accompanying Restraints 184
10 Sexuality in Swearing 206
11 Conclusion 236
Appendices 258
Epigraph Sources 266
Postscript to the 1998 edition 268
Bibliography 280
Subject Index 286
Word Index 290
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