What the f : what swearing reveals about our language, our brains, and ourselves / Benjamin K. Bergen.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York : Basic Books, [2016]Copyright date: ©2016Description: vii, 271 pages : charts, illustrations ; 25 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780465060917
- 0465060919
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Dr. James Carlson Library | NonFiction | 401.9 B495 | Available | 33111008551984 | ||||
|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 401.9 B495 | Available | 33111008466498 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
It may be starred, beeped, and censored -- yet profanity is so appealing that we can't stop using it. In the funniest, clearest study to date, Benjamin Bergen explains why, and what that tells us about our language and brains.
Nearly everyone swears-whether it's over a few too many drinks, in reaction to a stubbed toe, or in flagrante delicto. And yet, we sit idly by as words are banned from television and censored in books. We insist that people excise profanity from their vocabularies and we punish children for yelling the very same dirty words that we'll mutter in relief seconds after they fall asleep. Swearing, it seems, is an intimate part of us that we have decided to selectively deny.
That's a damn shame. Swearing is useful. It can be funny, cathartic, or emotionally arousing. As linguist and cognitive scientist Benjamin K. Bergen shows us, it also opens a new window onto how our brains process language and why languages vary around the world and over time.
In this groundbreaking yet ebullient romp through the linguistic muck, Bergen answers intriguing questions: How can patients left otherwise speechless after a stroke still shout Goddamn! when they get upset? When did a cock grow to be more than merely a rooster? Why is crap vulgar when poo is just childish? Do slurs make you treat people differently? Why is the first word that Samoan children say not mommy but eat shit ? And why do we extend a middle finger to flip someone the bird?
Smart as hell and funny as fuck, What the F is mandatory reading for anyone who wants to know how and why we swear.
Holy, fucking, shit, nigger -- What makes a four-letter word? -- One finger is worth a thousand words -- The holy priest with the vulgar tongue -- The day the Pope dropped the c-bomb -- Fucking grammar -- How cock lost its feathers -- Little Samoan potty mouths -- Fragile little minds -- The $100,000 word -- The paradox of profanity.
"Smart as hell and funny as fuck, this book explains why we can't stop swearing and what it tells us about our language and brains. Everyone swears. Only the rare individual can avoid ever letting slip an expletive. And yet, we ban the words from television and insist that polite people excise them from their vocabularies. That's a fucking shame. Not only is swearing colorful, fun, and often powerfully apt, as linguist and cognitive scientist Benjamin K. Bergen shows us, the study of it can provide a new window onto how our brains process language. How can patients left otherwise speechless after a stroke still shout out "Goddamn!"? Why did Pope Francis say "fuck" in the middle of a speech? When did a cock cease to be a rooster? Why is "crap" vulgar when "poo" is just childish? And what are we shooting when we give someone the bird? What the F? Let me effing tell you"-- Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-256) and index.