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Taboo or Not Taboo?

Taboo or Not Taboo?. 99420895 鄭珮琳. How can a language be clean/filthy?. Whether the language is clean or filthy is in the ear of the listener . A foreign swear-word is practically inoffensive except to the person who has learned it and knows its social limits.

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Taboo or Not Taboo?

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  1. Taboo or Not Taboo? 99420895 鄭珮琳

  2. How can a language be clean/filthy? • Whether the language is clean or filthy is in the ear of the listener. • A foreign swear-word is practically inoffensive except to the person who has learned it and knows its social limits.

  3. How can a language be clean/filthy? (Cont.) • I pricked my finger when sewing. (clean) • My professor is a prick. (dirty)

  4. Taboo • Certain words are considered Taboo in some society. • They are not used or not in “polite company.” • The word Taboo itself is borrowed from Tongan (東加語)

  5. Taboo (Cont.) • When an act is taboo, reference to this act may also become taboo. • That is, first you are forbidden to do something, then you are forbidden to talk about it.

  6. We are taught not to mention certain words. • Forbidden acts or words reflect the particular customs and view of the society. • In certain societies, words that have religious connotations are considered profane if used outside of formal religious ceremonies.

  7. We are taught not to mention certain words. (Cont.) • Example: In the world of Harry Potter, the evil Voldemort is not to be named, but is referred to as “You-Know-Who.”

  8. We are taught not to mention certain words. (Cont.) • Example: It is forbidden to “take the Lord’s name in vain,” and this prohibition also extends to the use of curses.Thus, we have “hell → heck” and “damn → darn.”

  9. Some words were tatoo in America but not in England. • Example: women (designates lower or less-refined classes of female human-kind) → lady • Example: bloody (considered in the mouths of the lowest classes) → usually printed in the newspapers as ”b____y”

  10. Sex and taboo words • Words relating to sex, sex organ make up a set of taboo words of many cultures. • Some languages have no native words to mean “sexual intercourse” but have to borrow from neighboring (country) people. • In this case, Two or more words or expressions can have the same linguistic meaning, with one acceptable and the others embarrassing.

  11. Sex and taboo words (Cont.) • Example: In English, words borrowed from Latin sound “scientific” and therefore appear to be technical and “clean,” whereas native Anglo-Saxon counterparts are taboo.

  12. Sex and taboo words (Cont.)

  13. Sex and taboo words (Cont.) • This fact reflects that the vocabulary used by the upper classes was superior to that used by the lower classes. (???) • There is no grammatical reason why the word “vagina”is clean whereas “cunt” is dirty, but sociolinguistic reasons.

  14. Euphemisms (委婉、含蓄用語) • The existence of taboo words motivates the creation of euphemisms. • A euphemism is a word or phrase that replaces a taboo word to avoid unpleasant subject.

  15. Euphemisms (Cont.)

  16. Euphemisms (Cont.) • These euphemisms show that a word has not only a linguistic denotative meaning but also connotative meaning. • In learning a language, children learn which words are taboo words depending on the value system accepted in the family or group in which the child grows up.

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