What the fuck?!

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What the fuck?!. Taboo words and cussing! . Shhh … don’t say the ‘F-word’:. Difficult area of research as many allow themselves to be affected by the ‘taboo’ and destructive notion of swearing: it makes you look bad, social ill, corrupts language - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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What the fuck?!

What the fuck?!Taboo words and cussing!

Shhh dont say the F-word!Difficult area of research: affected by the taboo and destructive notion of swearing: it makes you look bad, social ill, corrupts language

Cuss control Academy: run workshops to reduce vulgarity, profanity, and offensive slang: The ten tips of taming the tonguePresident of the Academy: we swear because we are lazyThe Clean Airwaves bill

Sticks and stonesPublishers and lexicographers have been unwilling to include swear words for fear of offending the literate publicOxford Dictionary: four letter words appeared in early 1970sRandom House publisher agonised for decades: not until 1987

Its a sickness to society!We live in an age defined by the smashing of taboos. Its all part of the assault on the suburban, the respectable. But as taboos get smashed, new ones emerge so the frontiers of shockability get pushed ever outwards

Embodies an absence of self restraint, increasing casualty bespeaks an erosion of public values and consideration of others

Attitudes in AustraliaSoftening social attitude towards swear words a general symptom of lightening up. That we all have at some point abused an uncooperative computer or printer or laughed at a raunchy joke at a barWe laugh, almost on reflex!

Why do we swear? Catharsis: the almost instinctive BASTARD! Emitted when you stub your toeStraightforward: bump your head, get caught going through a red light swearing.David Crystal: expressive/emotional function of language: release excessive nervous energyConsidered as venom cleansing

Why do we swear? Abusive: requires a target audience, to inflict harm Motive is nasty as your language use You fuckwit!

Social: you old bastardIn relaxed settings, where people are comfortable, their language comprises of high degrees of swearingFuck! You sure bought a lot of beer!Fucking fantastic!Put your shit over there and come and have a drinkImbues their language with colour and emotionFlattens the hierarchySemantic changesAttitudes towards swearing, as encoded in cultural constructs such as taboo or church rules, have the belief that certain words used in certain ways have symbolic power: a reflexive relationship

The view that certain words have power invests these words with power: manifests and reinforces it

Origins of F**KLatin: Future or O.E- French: Foutre or German: Fricken Physical violence, to hit To engage in sexual actsBlend between Latin (FU) and German (CK)Dutch: fokken, Swiss: focka: striking/ thrusting/ pushing type meaningShit, Turd, Arse and Fart: Anglo-Saxon originF***, Crap, bum, C** and Twat: uncertainFornicate Under Command of the King: During time of great plagueWide spread in the 1800s but liberated in the 1960sF*** Me!It started as a taboo word because of its referential function: a sexual act but has now gravitated towards a more emotional outlet:

acting as an intensifier- however it no longer intensifies.

How do we define it?You fucking fuck, fuck you I dont give a flying fuckfuck someone offfuck someone upfuck someone over

Fuck head fuck off fuck up fucker fucking fuck-a-duck

Finite Verb [subject and tense]: youve gone and fucked it nowGerund [verbs ing]: Stop fucking around.Adjective: Youre a fucking retardAdverb: thats fucking ridiculousExclamative: Fuck! Thats big dog!Noun: Get the fuck out of here!Negative command: Dont fuck with meInfinite verb: Try not to fuck up this time

Displeasure: What the fuck is going on?!Intensifier: Its fucking hot in here!Abuse: You fucking fuckwit. Dont fuck with me!Go figure: Oh fuck itLost: Where the fuck are we?Perplexed: I know fuck all about itSuspicious: Who the fuck are you?Disbelief: How the fuck did that happen?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26UA578yQ5g

How to define it?Oxford failsCollins dictionary gives a variety of derivativesMacquarie dictionary gives a variety of grammatical phrases

Difficult because the word seems to grow legs and move about

Why is it still a taboo word?The taboo still lurks but not as strong as twenty years ago. YET institutions claim that it is taboo in all sense even though admitting the word is rarely used referentially.

C. S. Lewis believes that we lack a language that can comfortably talk about sexhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnDUqof1KoM