Cursing in America: A psycholinguistic study of dirty language in the courts, in the movies, in the schoolyards and on the streets

287 Pages·1992·19.028 MB·English

by  Timothy Jay

CURSING IN AMERICA

CURSING IN AMERICA
A psycholinguistic study of dirty language in the courts,
in the movies, in the schoolyards and on the streets
by
TIMOTHY JAY
North Adams State College
JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY
PHILADELPHIA/AMSTERDAM
1992
TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
8
the American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jay, Timothy.
Cursing in America : A psycholinguistic study of dirty language in the courts, in the movies,
in the schoolyards and on the streets / by Timothy Jay.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. English language--Obscene words--Psychological aspects--United States. 2.
Blessing and cursing--Psychological aspects--United States. 3. Words,
Obscene-- Psychological aspects--United States. 4. English language--United
States--Obscene words. 5. Americanisms. I. Title.
PE3724.03J38 1992
401’.9’0973--dc20 92-6300
isbn 978 90 272 2092 9 (EUR) / 978 1 55619 451 1 (Us) (Hb ; alk. paper)
isbn 978 90 272 2093 6 (EUR) / 978 1 55619 452 8 (Us) (Pb ; alk. paper)
isbn 978 90 272 7405 2 (Eb)
© 1992 – John Benjamins B.V.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any
other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Co. · P.O. Box 36224 · 1020 me Amsterdam · The Netherlands
John Benjamins North America · P.O. Box 27519 · Philadelphia pa 19118-0519 · usa
Acknowledgments
First, thanks to my teachers: Joseph Danks and James Dooling at Kent State
University; Gordon Allen and Arthur Miller at Miami University; and Zoltan
Kovecses, who was on a Fulbright at the University of Massachusetts when I met
him.
Next, thanks to my colleagues who have supported my work: James May,
Harris Elder, Paul Tero, Reinhold Aman, Douglas Herrmann, Robert Treichler,
William Brigman, Paul LeSage, and Therese Bruck.
For their interest in exposing my research to the public, many thanks to my
friends in various media and entertainment industries: comedian George Carlin,
writer Jean Callahan, Nathan Cobb from the Boston Globe, Phil Tuckett of NFL
Films, Cable Neuhaus formerly with People Magazine, Richard Gilbert of NBC
Television, Beth Engeler of WAMC Radio, Chip Rowe from Playboy magazine,
Greg Ptacek, Entertainment Tonight, Parenting magazine, New Woman magazine,
The Sydney Times, TV Guide, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Cable Choice
magazine, and American Health magazine.
Thanks to Robert Broom and Mary Clarkson, attorneys at law.
Thanks to the staff at North Adams State College who have helped in the
production of this work: Ray Gaudette, Leon Peters, John Truskowski, Paul
Humora and Alan Yagmin. Thanks to the members of the administration who
funded my research and travel ventures.
Thanks to my research assistants, who for many years have helped in the
collection of the data herein. A special thanks to Alan Claffie who did most of the
final word processing chores.
Finally, thanks to the members of my family, especially Jessica, who have been
most patient and supportive for many years.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1
What are "Dirty" Words? 1
Chapter 2
When Children Use Dirty Words 17
Chapter 3
Anger and Dirty Words 73
Chapter 4
The Frequency of Dirty Word Usage 111
Chapter 5
The Offensivenes s of Words: Sex and Semantics 159
Chapter 6
Free Speech and Censorship 195
Chapter 7
Unfinished Business and Future Research with Dirty Words 235
Chapter 8
Bibliography 245
Index 273

Detailed Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - What are "Dirty" Words? 1
Cursing
Profanity
Blasphemy
Taboo
Obscenity
Vulgarity
Slang
Epithets
Insults and Slurs
Scatology
What is the Value of Classification?
Connotative and Denotative Use
Colorful Metaphors
Context is Critical
Time Perspective
Summary
Chapter 2 - When Children Use Dirty Words 17
Language Development
The Language of Infancy (Birth to Two Years)
Anger and Dirty Words in Infancy
The Origins of Humor
Pre School Humor
Final Thoughts About Infants
The Language of Childhood (Two to Eleven Years)
Childhood Humor
Elementary School Humor
Childhood Name Calling and Insulting
Object Naming
Childhood Story Telling
From Childhood to Adolescence: Final Thoughts
Two General Issues of Sex Talk and Language at School
The "Etiquette" of Dirty Words and Sex Talk
Conclusions About Sex Talk
The Issue of Dirty Language at School
The Emergence of an Obscene Lexicon
Field Study One
Field Study Two: Summer Camp
Summary of Field Studies
Conclusion
Chapter 3 - Anger and Dirty Words 73
Anger Expressed Through Cursing or Blasphemy
Anger Expressed Through Reference to Subnormal Thought
Anger Expressed Through Reference to Obscenity
Anger Expressed Through Reference to a Sex Organ
Anger Expressed Through Reference to a Deviant Sex Act
Anger Expressed Through Reference to Being Sexually Violated
Anger Expressed Through Reference to Social-Sexual Deviation
Anger Expressed Through Racial Ethnic Reference
Anger Expressed Through Scatology
Anger Expressed Through References to Body Product or Process
Anger Expressed Through Items Associated With Body Products
Anger Expressed Through References to Animal Feces
Anger Expressed Through References to Animals
The Context of Anger Expression
Social-Physical Setting
Speaker-Listener Variable
Discussion
The Etiquette of Anger Expression
The Five Stage Model of Anger
Stage 1: The Offending Event
Stage 2: The Degree of Anger
Stage 3: Attempts to Control Anger
Stage 4: Loss of Control
Stage 5: Retribution
The Value of Expressing Anger
Summary