Product Description

Why are some words rude and others aren’t? Why can launching into expletives be so shocking – and sometimes so amusing? In this hilarious extract from his bestselling The Stuff of Thought Steven Pinker takes us on a fascinating journey through the world of profanities, to show us why we swear, how taboos change and how we use obscenities in different ways. Why do so many swear words involve sex, bodily functions and religion? What are the biological roots of swearing ? Why would a democracy deter the use of words for two activities – sex and excretion – that harm no one and are inescapable parts of the human condition? Taboo language enters into a startling array of human concerns from capital crimes in the Bible to the future of electronic media. You’ll discover that in Québecois French the expression ‘Tabernacle’ is outrageous, that ‘scumbag’ has a very unsavoury origin and that in a certain Aboriginal language every word is filthy when spoken in front of your mother-in-law. Covering everything from free speech to Tourette’s, from pottymouthed celebrities to poetry, this book reveals what swearing tells us about how our minds work. (It’s also a bloody good read).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #269258 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

About the Author
Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. Until 2003, he taught in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. He conducts research on language and cognition, writes for publications such as the 'New York Times', 'Time' and 'Slate', and is the author of six books, including 'The Language Instinct', 'How the Mind Works' and 'The Blank Slate'.

Customer Reviews

A very interesting diversion albeit with no true purpose
It isn't about television and there aren't seven words, but this is an essay about obscene language. There are intelligent questions and ruminations about why we swear and how language becomes offensive for different people - and how offensive language can also be downgraded.

Pinker knows a lot about the brain and about the structure of English and this book is half playful and half serious when it explores modern attitudes to language. It is more of an exploration than a thesis, because he does not come to firm conclusions or offer a prescription as a result of his thoughts. We do get some neat quotes (Lenny Bruce comes out King) and some smart ironies and illogicalities. The incredible unintended self-satire of the Clean Airwaves Act has to be read to be appreciated.

The most perceptive quote for me is C. S. Lewis' observation that, "As soon as you deal with [sex] explicitly, you are forced to choose between the language of the nursery, the gutter, and the anatomy class." And my favourite rudism is by Lyndon Johnson: "He wouldn't know how to pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were printed on the heel."

Pinker sometimes states as fact things I wanted to take issue with (- is it proven that men lie more to get sex than women do or is that simply his supposition? I don't think I agree wholly with him about intransitive verbs either) - and on page 38 he asks himself a question he barely tries to answer. He could have looked at stigma words like racist and paedophile, which would have been a good fit for his subject.

The end result is a book that is an enjoyable read, intelligently written, but not a thesis or even a comprehensive examination. But that is not a killer criticism as it is a very illuminating read and on a subject we can all relate to. Or so, at least, seemd to think the people who read it over my shoulder on the tube: they got an eyeful.

An easy read of a serious subject
Not at all difficult and very informative. Shoots down some sacred cows but acknowledges the need for serious expletives.