TABOO WORDS and SWEARWORDS in English --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.) Introduction Many languages have words which are considered dangerous, holy, magic or shocking, and which are only used in certain situations, or by cer- tain people. For instance, in some African tribes the names of dead chiefs must not be said; in many cultures, words associated with reli- gious beliefs are used only on religious occasions, or by priests.Words of this kind can be called 'taboo words'. English has three groups of taboo words and expressions: 1 A number of words connected with the Christian religion (e.g.the na- mes Christ,God) are considered holy by some people. These people prefer to use such words only in formal and respectful contexts, and they may be shocked by their 'careless' use. 2 Many words relating to sex (e.g. fuck, balls) are regarded as shock- ing. (Until recently, some of these words could not be printed.) In po- lite or normal speech, and in writing, these words are generally avoid- ed, or replaced by other words and expressions (e.g. make love or have sexual intercourse; testicles). 3 Some words referring to the elimination of body wastes (what one does in the lavatory) are also regarded as 'dirty' or shocking (e.g. piss, shit). They are often replaced by more 'polite' words and expressions with the same meaning (e.g. go to the lavatory, urinate, dafecate). Because taboo words are shocking, they are often used in situations when people want to express powerful emotions by using 'strong' langua- ge. This is called 'swearing'. When people swear, taboo words usually change their meanings completely. For instance, the literal meaning of fuck is 'have sexual intercourse(with)', and piss means 'urinate', but if one tells someone to fuck off or piss off, the meaning is simply (in a more violent form) 'go away'. The strength of the taboo word remains, but the original meaning disappears. Linguistic taboos are less strong than they used to be. However, stu- dents should be very careful about using taboo words and swearwords. There are two reasons for this. First of all, it is not easy to know the exact strength of these expressions in a foreign language, or to know what kind of people are shocked by them, and in what circumstan- ces. One may easily say something that is meant as a joke, but which se- riously upsets the people one is talking to. And secondly, swearing ge- nerally indicates membership of a group: one most often swears in front of people one knows well, who belong to one's own 'social circle', age group, etc. (Children usually avoid swearing in front of adults, so as not to annoy or shock them, and adults avoid swearing in front of chil- dren for similar reasons.) So if a foreigner uses swearwords, he may give the impression that he is claiming membership of a group that he does not belong to. 2.) Taboo words The following are the most common taboo words in English. Their appro- ximate 'strength' is shown by stars *** : a one-star word will not up- set many people, while a four- or five-star word may be very shocking if it is used in the wrong situation. (Note, however, that not everybo- dy reacts to the same words in the same ways.) The first six words are associated with religion; these are not shocking when used with their literal meaning, and the stars show their strength when used as swear- words. The strength of the other words is mostly the same whether they are used literally or for swearing. taboo word meaning damn* condemn to hell (rare in literal sense; mainly used as a swearword) blast* (GB only) strike down with divine punishment (rare in literal sense;mainly used as a swear- word) hell* God** Jesus*** Christ*** piss*** urine, urinate crap*** excrement, defecate (same as shit) arse*** (US ass) bottom, buttocks; anus arsehole (US asshole) anus balls*** testicles bollocks*** (GB only) testicles tits*** breasts bastard*** illegitimate child (rare in literal sen- se; mainly used as a swearword) shit**** excrement, defecate prick**** penis (man's sexual organ) cock**** penis bugger**** (GB only) have anal sexual intercourse with a per- son or animal; person who does so sod**** (GB only) homosexual (abbreviation of sodomite; ra- re in literal sense) fuck**** have sexual intercourse (with) screw**** (especially US) have sexual intercourse (with) come**** reach a sexual climax (orgasm) wank**** (GB only) masturbate cunt***** woman's sexual organs 3.) Swearwords Most of the words in the list above are used in swearing. (In addition, in British English, there is a swearword that has no modern taboo mean- ing - bloody***.) The meaning of a swearword is always different from its literal (taboo) meaning - see introduction above - and often chan- ges with its grammatical form. For instance, piss off is an aggressive way of saying 'go away', pissed is British slang for 'drunk',and pissed off (American pissed) means 'fed up'. Swearwords are often grammatical- ly very flexible. Bloody (and several other words) can act both as ad- jectives and as intensifying adverbs (e.g. bloody fool, bloody good, bloody soon, it's bloody raining, bloody well shut up); they are the only words in the language that can be used in exactly this way. The following list shows some of the most common expressions used in swearing; they are grouped according to their meaning. a exclamation of annoyance Damn (it)! God damn (it)! (especially US) Hell! God! My God! Jesus! Christ! Jesus Christ! Shit! Fuck (it)! (GB only): Blast (it)! Bugger (it)! Sod (it)! Christ! It's raining again! Oh, fuck! I've lost the address. Damn it! Can't you hurry up? b exclamation of surprise God! My God! Jesus! Christ! Jesus Christ! God damn! (especially US) Well, I'll be damned! (Mainly GB): Damn me! Bugger me! Sod me! Fuck me! Well, I'm damned! Well, I'm buggered! Well, I'll be buggered! My God! Look at those tits! Well, I'm damned! What are you doing here? Bugger me! There's Mrs Smith - I thought she was on holiday. c surprised question What the hell...? Who/Where/How/Why/When the hell...? What the fuck...? Who/Where/How/Why/When the fuck...? What the hell do you think you're doing? Where the fuck are the car keys? d insult (noun) prick cunt bastard fucker shit (GB) sod (GB) bugger (GB) wanker (GB) asshole (US) You bastard! He's a prick! Stupid fucker! That guy's a real asshole! (Note that these words have no real meaning; they simply express an emotion such as hatred, anger or contempt.) e insult (imperative verb + object) Damn... Blast... (GB) Sod... (GB) Bugger... (GB) Fuck... Screw... (especially US) Screw the government! Damn that child! Fuck you! f insulting request to go away Fuck off! Piss off! Bugger off! (GB) Sod off! (GB) 'Can I have a word with you?' - 'Fuck off!' g expression of unconcern (='I don't care') I don't give a damn. I don't give a shit. I don't give a fuck. I don't give a bugger. (GB) 'Mary is very angry with you.' - 'I don't give a fuck.' h violent refusal (I'll be) damned if I will! (I'll be) fucked if I will! (I'll be) buggered if I will! (GB) Stuff it! Get stuffed! 'Give me a kiss.' - 'Get stuffed!' 'Mr Parsons wants you to clean out the lavatories.' - 'Fucked if I will.' i expression of defiance Balls! Balls to...! Bollocks! (all GB) 'You are afraid to fight!' - 'Balls!' Balls to the lot of you - I'm going home! j intensifying adjective/adverb (used to emphasize an emotion such as surprise, anger, disappointment, contempt) damn(ed) goddam (US) blasted (GB) bloody (GB) sodding (GB) bleeding (GB) fucking Where's the bloody swith? Put the fucking cat out! It's bloody raining again. That car's going damn(ed) fast. She's a fucking marvellous singer. When these words are used before verbs, the word well is often added. It's bloody well raining again! I'm not fucking well paying this time. I damn well hope you never come back! k miscellaneous Fuck (up), screw (up) and bugger (up) (GB) can mean 'ruin', 'spoil' or 'destroy'. You've buggered my watch! Somebody's fucked up the TV. Fucked and buggered can mean 'exhausted' (GB). 'Want another game of tennis?' - 'No, I'm fucked.' Screw (especially US) can be used to mean 'cheat'. Don't buy a car from that garage - they'll screw you. Cock up (GB), balls up (GB), fuck up and screw up can be used (as verbs) to refer to mistakes of organization. That bloody secretary's ballsed up my travel arrangements. The nouns cock-up, balls-up, fuck-up and screw-up are used in the same sense. Sorry you didn't get your invitation to the party - Mary made a balls-up. The conference was a complete fuck-up. Balls (GB), bullshit (US) and crap are used to mean 'nonsense'. Don't talk crap! 'What is his new book like?' - 'A load of balls.' Bugger all and fuck all are used in British English to mean 'nothing'. There's fuck all in the fridge. We'll have to eat out. Pissed means 'drunk' in British English, and 'fed up' in American Engl- ish. One glass of beer and she's pissed. In British English, pissed off means 'fed up'. I'm getting pissed off with London. March 18th, 1993 by: Milan Gr f (what a fuckin' hell of a day!) Bratislava, Slovakia