What is a taboo word? And what can we use instead?



Introduction
What is this all about?

What is a taboo word?  And what can we use instead?

Many Taboo Words
Is there more than one kind? Where did they come from?

New Words
The beginning of new taboo words. 

Using Taboo Terms
How, when and why taboos are used in everyday language.

To Sum It Up
What was this site on?

Terms & Explanations

 

Bibliography

 

It happens often and every time it's uncomfortable again: one person mentions a taboo in a dialogue situation and nobody quite knows how to react. If you are a stranger, one of the first things you will try to find out is what you should avoid saying. Taboos become known to most speakers through observing the reaction of others when discussed. Taboos are accessible to most speakers and therefore do not have to be taught. Taboos are things or ideas which are generally forbidden or discouraged. The origin of the word taboo even indicates sacred character[1]. Taboos can be extremely negative aspects of a social group and often times they are the extremes of a society and threaten its social foundations. 
Of course we are free to use taboo terms despite the fact that they are considered inappropriate in most situations. Taboo words can be used as intensives so as to stress the statement or the content. They can also be applied with the intention of insulting, causing a negative reaction or sentiment on the hearer’s side. Here often times we speak of four-letter words, swear words or curse words, The term four-letter word is a synonym for vulgar expressions, and is a euphemism relating to a group of words consisting of four letters, such as shit, fuck, damn etc. The term swear words includes the term to swear, although it does have a different connotation. To swear means both `to take an oath´ and `to use foul language´. Curse words includes the same root as the term to curse. To curse means both, ´to pray or wish for harm to another person´ and also `to use inappropriate language´. The two terms are usually used synonymously, the difference is widely ignored.
 

 Taboo words generally relate to one of the following subjects:

·        Sex

·        Body functions

·        Defects (bodily or mental)

·        Religion and ethnic aspects

·        Death and the dead

All of those are taboo topics in some cultures. But taboos are always relative to the society in which they occur. Cannibalism, a taboo issue in the western world, was viewed totally differently in those cultures where it was a part of rites and traditions. Yet there are topics, which are to be found taboo in many different societies. Throughout literature in most cultures, the topic of incest has been among the strongest and most commonly found taboo issues, also topics like necrophilia and other subject matters which strike the majority of readers as the abhorrent, often relating to sexuality. In general, everything we don't want to hear about.
 When describing taboos and taboo words, the difference between those two notions needs to be defined. Taboos are the ideas or topics as mentioned above. Uncomfortable terms, usually (but not necessarily) relating to a taboo subject, are the taboo terms or taboo words. Taboo terms
include coarse, obscene words and words of an unpleasant suggestion as well as basically normal, innocent words that are associated with a taboo topic. Usually they are replaced with ones that lack the uncomfortable association with the taboo. Avoiding the unpleasant word intends to eliminate uncomfortable feelings with either the speaker, the hearer or both. Taboo words together with their replacements have always been a part of societies. The term to pick as a substitution for to steal is one of the oldest euphemisms in the English language and has been traced back to the 14th century.[2] The act of replacing taboo words with others exists in many languages. For example the French have an euphemistic term for the coarse word cul (referring to the behind of a person): derrière. This word has been itroduced into the English language as a loan word and there is also used as a euphemism for the vulgar ass[3]

 There are several ways of replacing taboo terms. Although the topic stays the same, the words are replaced so that the mere sound is less offensive to the listener. To replace the terms, one can either alter them or instead use jargon terms, constructions or euphemisms. 


Jargon terms are technical terms from certain topical areas, for example the sciences. The term to defecate is a medical expression, which puts the uncomfortable topic of emptying the bowels into a medical context, and gives it an air of propriety because it avoids a non-standard terminology and, due to its scientific word field, is non-offensive. 

Taboo words can be avoided by whole constructions. The term to do a poo is a common construction used to avoid a more literal description of `defecation´.[4] Children are taught by their parents to use such non-offensive constructions, which are called nursery language

Taboo words may be replaced by words which are close to the one avoided. The spelling is altered in such a way that the reader can identify the original word, but at the same time the variety of spelling is not similar enough to be as offensive as the original term. Since swearing and using blasphemy usually is a taboo, the word damn and its longer form God damn it have been replaced by darn, which is still close enough to identify the words that were avoided by the speaker. Many words still present in the English language of the US are close to swearing, but different enough from swear words to permit moral integrity. Gee whiz was developed as a substitute for Jesus, which is considered a blasphemous usage of the name and thus constitutes cursing.

Taboo terms can also be replaced by new words, which are more agreeable or inoffensive. Such replacements are called euphemisms. They are not limited to jargon, are not close to taboo words in pronunciation and do not have the same spirit as the educational language of the nursery expressions. They intend to replace the taboo word with a term that is not offensive to any listener. Euphemisms can be of a suggestive nature and in order to fulfill this task do not refer to the taboo directly. It is possible to clearly express your negative opinion about something by telling a listener to stick it. This alone is not a taboo term but if the listener is familar with the taboo term avoided by leaving out parts of it and suggesting that the listener can `stick it up his/her ass´, the suggestion alone is enough for the listener to comprehend the speaker.  


[1] In Polynesian tapu means `sacred´ and refers to certain laws and rules in society. (Brockhaus Multimedia 2002. Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG, 2002.)

[2] Holder, R.W. (1987): A Dictionary of American and British Euphemisms. Bath. S.v.

[3] Holder, R.W. (1987): A Dictionary of American and British Euphemisms. Bath. S.v.

[4] Holder, R.W. (1987): A Dictionary of American and British Euphemisms. Bath. S.v.