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Forbidden words : taboo and the censoring of language
Keith Allan and Kate Burridge
Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2006
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Book description
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 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.
About the author
Keith Allan is Reader in Linguistics and Convenor of the
Linguistics Program at Monash University. Kate Burridge is Chair of
Linguistics at Monash University.
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