Author: Ruth Wajnry
Publisher: Free Pre
Keywords: language, deleted, expletive
Number of Pages: 304
Published: 2005-07-05
List price: $18.00
ISBN-10: 0743274342
ISBN-13: 9780743274340

Have we always "sworn like sailors"? Has creative cursing developed because we can’t just slug people when they make us angry? And if such verbal aggression is universal, why is it that some languages (Japanese, for instance) supposedly do not contain any nasty words? 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. Today it seems almost commonplace to hear the "f" word in casual conversation, and even on television. Just how have we become such a bunch of cursers and wh