| Swearing in English: Bad Language, Purity and Power from 1586 to the Present Contributor(s): McEnery, Tony (Author) |
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ISBN: 0415258375 ISBN-13: 9780415258371 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $171.00 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: October 2005 Annotation: Swearing is an everyday part of the language of most speakers of modern English. This corpus informed account of swearing describes swearing and also outlines its social function, with a particular focus on the relationship between swearing and abuse. A major theme of the book is the extension and application of corpus linguistics in the context of relevant analytical and theoretical models from linguistics, psychology and sociology. In examining swearing from this angle the author is able to examine in detail the social functions of swearing with a view to developing a corpus based explanatory account of swearing in English. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - General - Language Arts & Disciplines | Spelling & Vocabulary |
| Dewey: 427.09 |
| LCCN: 2005004209 |
| Series: Routledge Advances in Corpus Linguistics |
| Physical Information: 0.85" H x 6.42" W x 9.32" (1.26 lbs) 296 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Do men use bad language more than women? How do social class and the use of bad language interact? Do young speakers use bad language more frequently than older speakers? Using the spoken section of the British National Corpus, Swearing in English explores questions such as these and considers at length the historical origins of modern attitudes to bad language. Drawing on a variety of methodologies including historical research and corpus linguistics, and a range of data such as corpora, dramatic texts, early modern newsbooks and television, Tony McEnery takes a socio-historical approach to discourses about bad language in English. Arguing that purity of speech and power have come to be connected via a series of moral panics about bad language, the book contends that these moral panics, over time, have generated the differences observable in bad language usage in present day English. A fascinating, comprehensive insight into an increasingly popular area, this book provides an explanation, and not simply a description, of how modern attitudes to bad language have come about. |
