Some Good Words about Curses, and a Few Damning Ones about Bowdlerization
Sean Patrick O’Neill
Log in to download the full text for free
> Citation
> Similar
> References
> Add Comment
Abstract
Open peer commentary on the article “Euphemisms vs. Dysphemisms, or How we Construct Good and Bad Language” by Andrey S. Druzhinin. Abstract: Swearwords sometimes get a bad reputation in the academic literature on language, often getting expunged from the published records, based on their potentially offensive emotional character. Yet supposedly innocuous euphemisms often pass, without much notice, despite the darker references they sometimes mask. Such issues get right to the heart of the philosophy of language, in terms of reaching an audience in both emotional and intellectual terms.
Citation
O’Neill S. P. (2021) Some good words about curses, and a few damning ones about bowdlerization. Constructivist Foundations 17(1): 018–020. https://constructivist.info/17/1/018
Export article citation data:
Plain Text ·
BibTex ·
EndNote ·
Reference Manager (RIS)
References
Aristotle (1984) The complete works of Aristotle. The revised Oxford translation. Edited by Jonathan Barnes. Two volumes. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Bakhtin M. M. (1981) The dialogic imagination: Four essays. Edited by Michael Holquist. Translated by Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist. University of Texas Press, Austin TX.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Cahill T. (1999) Desire of the everlasting hills: The world before and after Jesus. Anchor Books, New York.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Daly N., Holmes J., Newton J. & Stubbe M. (2004) Expletives as solidarity signals in FTAs on the factory floor. Journal of Pragmatics 36: 945–996.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Headman L. & O’Neill O. (2019) Dictionary of the Ponca people. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln NE.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Humboldt W. von (1988) The diversity of human language-structure and its influence on the mental development of mankind. Translated by Peter Heath. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge MA. German original published in 1836.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Hymes D. H. (1972) On communicative competence. In: Pride J. B. & Holmes J. (eds.) Sociolinguistics: Selected readings. Penguin, London: 269–293.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
O’Neill S. (2008) Language contact and linguistic relativity among the Indians of Northwestern California. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
O’Neill S. (2013) Mikhail Bakhtin. In: McGee R. J. & Warms R. L. (eds.) Encyclopedia of theory in social and cultural anthropology. Sage, Thousand Oaks CA: 42–45.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
O’Neill S. (2015) Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. In: Tracy K. (ed.) The international encyclopedia of language and social interaction. Blackwell, Oxford: 1325–1334.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Sapir E. (1946) The selected writings of Edward Sapir in language, culture, and personality. Edited by David Mandelbaum. University of California Press, Berkeley CA.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Sean O’Neill is an anthropologist who specializes in the indigenous languages of the Americas, particularly in relation to artistic expressions in the form of poetry, music, and song. He earned his doctorate at the University of California at Davis, and is currently a Full Professor at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles on the languages of the Americas, including The Collected Works of Edward Sapir Volume XIV: Northwest California Linguistics (2001, together with Victor Golla) and Cultural Contact and Linguistic Relativity among the Indians of Northwestern California (2008) His musical background includes making stringed instruments (guitars, ouds, and violins) as well as writing and performing in multiple musical genres.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Whorf B. L. (1956) Language, thought, and reality: Selected writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf. Edited by John B. Caroll. MIT Press, Cambridge MA.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Comments: 0
To stay informed about comments to this publication and post comments yourself, please log in first.
