What is a taboo word? And what can we use instead? |
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Introduction What is a taboo word? And what can we use instead? Many
Taboo Words New Words
Using Taboo Terms
To Sum It Up
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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]. 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. 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.
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and its longer form God damn it have been replaced by darn,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. [3]
Holder,
R.W. (1987): A Dictionary of American and British Euphemisms.
Bath. [4]
Holder,
R.W. (1987): A Dictionary of American and British Euphemisms.
Bath. S.v.
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