Forbidden Words

Taboo and the Censoring of Language

Keith Allan author Kate Burridge author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:5th Oct '06

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

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Forbidden Words cover

This 2006 book examines how we use language to swear, to insult, and also to be politically correct.

A fascinating insight into taboo language and its role in everyday life, showing how we use language in order to swear, to insult, and also to be politically correct. This lively and revealing 2006 book will fascinate anyone interested in how and why we use and avoid taboos in daily conversation.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 2006 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.

' … accessible and wide-ranging publication … this is a thoroughly engaging and fascinating book, written with brio and humour.' Journal of Politeness Research

ISBN: 9780521525640

Dimensions: 226mm x 157mm x 18mm

Weight: 520g

314 pages