Skip to content
You are not logged in |Login  
     
Limit search to available items
Book Cover
book
BookBook
Author Wajnryb, Ruth.

Title Expletive deleted : a good look at bad language / Ruth Wajnryb.

Publication Info. New York : Free Press, [2005]
©2005

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Enfield, Main Library - Adult Department  422 WAJ    Check Shelf
 Manchester, Main Library - Non Fiction  422 WAJNRYB    Check Shelf
 Middletown, Russell Library - Adult Nonfiction  422 WAJ    Check Shelf
 New Britain, Main Library - Non Fiction  422 W13    Check Shelf
 Windsor, Main Library - Adult Department  422 WA    Check Shelf
Description vii, 290 pages ; 20 cm
Note The characters $&#@*! appear after the title on the t.p.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-274) and index.
Contents 1. Falling foul -- 2. Precisely foul -- 3. Foul is as foul does -- 4. Where the fuck? -- 5. The wild thing -- 6. A cunt of a word -- 7. Shit happens -- 8. In the name of God -- 9. Son of a bitch -- 10. Born to be foul -- 11. Bootleggers and asterisks -- 12. Cross-culturally foul.
Summary Has creative cursing developed because we can't just slug people when they make us angry? Throughout the twentieth century there seems to have been a dramatic escalation in the use and acceptance of offensive language in English, both verbally and in print. Just how have we become such a bunch of cursers and what does it tell us about our language and ourselves? A look at the power of words to shock, offend, insult, amuse, exaggerate, let off steam, establish relationships, and communicate deep-felt emotions, this book seeka to discover how what was once considered unfit-for-company argot has become standard fare. Wajnryb steps outside the confines of English in her search for answers, exploring whether offensive words in English are mirrored in other languages and examining cultural differences in the usage of dirty words.--From publisher description.
Subject English language -- Obscene words.
Taboo, Linguistic.
Swearing.
ISBN 0743274342
Standard No. 9780743274340
-->
Add a Review