The Anatomy of Swearing

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University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001 - 370 páginas

Although the act of swearing, or cursing, has today been reduced to the four-letter interjection and unimaginative put-down, this has not always been the case. Elegant, sublime oaths and vicious imprecations mark the history of human conduct and language. Shedding light on the forbidden, misunderstood, and clandestinely pursued forms of interpersonal communication, The Anatomy of Swearing uniquely documents the history of taboo words and phrases. It presents the curious inquirer with a summary of what the best minds and most accomplished practitioners of the art have said and done inventively in the form of indiscrete, insulting, spiteful, or otherwise objectionable speech.

Swearing is one of the most cathartic and common modes of language. Montagu examines the genre in all its aspects--its origins, philosophy, and psychology--as well as its evolution and differing manifestations in various ages and cultures. Montagu demonstrates that the human race, regardless of time and culture, has always used invective to lighten its burden. The Anatomy of Swearing traces this phenomenon from the ancient Egyptians, Hebrews, and Babylonians through Elizabethan England to the middle class of contemporary America.

A list of the most common and offensive expletives in the English language is bound to make you laugh, but there is much to learn about human interaction and behavior by examining the significance of swear words throughout human history. And what better reason to read a book littered with the world's unacceptable speech.

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Contenido

Why Swearing?
1
The Antiquity of Swearing 55 56
5
Cursing
35
The Curse and the Oath
55
Why Do Men Swear? The Physiology and Psychology of Swearing
65
Their Sources and
90
Forms of Swearing 98
98
Before the Reformation
107
As Observed in the Urquhart and Motteux Translation of Rabelais
188
Swearing in the Eighteenth Century
200
Swearing in the Nineteenth Century
224
The Natural History of a Word
239
Damn
278
The FourLetter Words
300
OllaPodrida
321
NOTES
345

Swearing in Shakespeare
136
Swearing in the Seventeenth Century
154

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Acerca del autor (2001)

Ashley Montagu is a writer, editor, and anthropologist. He was born in London, England, on June 28, 1905. Montagu studied psychology and anthropology at the University of London and the University of Florence. For nearly twenty years, Montagu taught anatomy at New York University, Hahnemann Medical College, and Rutgers University. He became the chairman of the anthropology department at Rutgers. Montagu is the author or editor of more than 60 books. He has written articles for such magazines as The Ladies Home Journal and The Saturday Review. Montagu received numerous awards and honors, including the Distinguished Achievement Award of The American Anthropological Association and the Darwin Award of the Society of American Physical Anthropologists.

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