Taboo Language in Context
An Exploratory Study of Taboo Language from the Point of View of Register
Keywords:
taboo language, systemic-functional linguistics, markednessAbstract
Language users make use of several linguistic resources to make meanings regarding the world around them as well as others (EGGINS, [1994] 2004, p. 11). The user then recognizes a specific code for each communicative situation and selectively adapts his/her options to the particular context. Against this background, this article sets out to investigate taboo language from the standpoint of Register variables, proposed by Halliday (1978; [1985] 2014). On the one hand, we follow a theoretical approach by proposing an intersection between the register variables and the concept of markedness (HYMES, 1974). On the other hand, we make use of this proposal in a purpose-built corpus. Results show the predominance of the unmarked use of taboo in the corpus.
Downloads
References
AKMAJIAN, A.; DEMERS, R.; FARMER, A.; HARNISH, R. Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication. Cambridge; London: The MIT Press, 2001.
ALLAN, K.; BURRIDGE, K. Forbidden Words. Taboo and the Censoring of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511617881.
ALLAN, K.; BURRIDGE, K. Swearing. In: PETERS, P.; COLLINS, P.; SMITH, A. (ed.). Comparative Studies in Australian and New Zealand English. Grammar and Beyond. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2009. p. 359-384. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/veaw.g39.20all.
ANDERSSON, L.; TRUDGILL, P. Bad Language. Oxford: Blackwell, 1990.
ANTHES, E. Profane Brain. Psychology Today, [S.l.] v. 43: 4, n. 22, 2010. Disponível em: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201007/language-profanebrain. Acesso em: 1 abr. 2018.
BEDNAREK, M. The Multifunctionality of Swear/Taboo Words in Television Series. In: MACKENZIE, J. L.; ALBA-JUEZ, L. (ed.). Emotion in Discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2019. p. 29-54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.302.02bed.
BEERS FÄGERSTEN, K. Who’s Swearing Now? The Social Aspects of Conversational Swearing. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012.
BEERS FÄGERSTEN, K.; STAPLETON, K. Advances in Swearing Research: New Languages and New Contexts. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.282.
BROCA, P. P. Sur la faculté générale du langage, dans ses rapports avec la faculté du langage articule. Bulletin de la Société d’Anthropologie, Paris, v. 1, p. 377-382, 1865. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/bmsap.1865.9495.
COLLINS, P.; HOLLO, C. English Grammar: An Introduction. London: Macmillan, 2000.
CRESSMAN, D. L.; CALLISTER, M.; ROBINSON, T.; NEAR, C. Swearing in the Cinema. An Analysis of Profanity in US Teen-Oriented Movies, 1980-2006. Journal of Children and Media, [S.l.] v. 3, n. 2, p. 117-135, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17482790902772257.
EGGINS, S. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistic. London: Pinter, [1994] 2004.
FIRTH, J. Papers in Linguistics: 1934-1951. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951.
GODDARD, C. Swear Words’ and ‘Curse Words’ in Australian (and American) English. At the Crossroads of Pragmatics, Semantics and Sociolinguistics. Intercultural Pragmatics, [S.l.], v. 12, n. 2, p. 189-218, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ip-2015-0010.
GOUVEIA, C. Texto e Gramática: uma introdução à Linguística Sistémico-Funcional. Matraga, Rio de Janeiro, v. 16, n. 24, 2009. p. 13-47. Disponível em: http:// www.e-publicacoes.uerj.br/index.php/matraga/article/view/27795/19916. Acesso em: 1 abr. 2018.
HALLIDAY, M. A. K. Explorations in the Functions of Language. London: Edward Arnold, 1973.
HALLIDAY, M. A. K. Learning How to Mean. London: Edward Arnold, 1975. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-443701-2.50025-1.
HALLIDAY, M. A. K. Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning. London: Edward Arnold, 1978.
HALLIDAY, M. A. K. Introduction to Functional Grammar. 4. ed. Revised by Christian M. I. M. Matthiessen. London; New York: Routledge, [1985] 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203431269.
HALLIDAY, M. A. K.; MCINTOSH, A.; STREVENS, P. The Linguistic Sciences and language Teaching. London: Longman, 1964.
HALLIDAY, M. A. K.; HASAN, R. Language, Context, and Text: Aspects of Language in a Social-Semiotic Perspective. 2. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, [1985] 1989.
HYMES, D. Foundations in Sociolinguistics. An Ethnographic Approach. New Jersey: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1974.
JACKSON, J. H. On the Nature of the Duality of the Brain. 1874. In: TAYLOR, J. (ed.). Selected Writings of John Hughlings Jackson. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1958. v. 2, p. 129-145.
JAY, T. Why We Curse: A Neuro-Psycho-Social Theory of Speech. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2000. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/z.91.
JOSEPH, J. E. Language and Politics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006.
KARJALAINEN, M. Where Have All the Swearwords Gone? An Analysis of the Loss of Swearwords in two Swedish Translations of J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. 2002. Dissertação (Mestrado) – Faculty of Arts, Department of English, University of Sweden, 2002.
LABOV, W. The Social Stratification of English in New York City. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1966.
LABOV, W. Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972.
LABOV, W. Principles of Linguistic Change. v. 2: Social Factors. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 2001.
LANCKER, D. V.; CUMMINGS, J. L. Expletives: Neurolinguitic and Neurobehavioral Perspectives on Swearing. Brain Research Reviews, [S.l.], v. 31, p. 83-104, 1999. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-0173(99)00060-0.
LJUNG, M. Swearing: A Cross-Cultural Linguistic Study. UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230292376.
MALINOWSKI, B. K. Coral Gardens and Their Magic. London: Allen & Unwin, 1935.
MARTIN, J.R. Language, Register and Genre. In: CHRISTIE, F. (ed.). Children Writing: A Reader. Geelong: Deakin University Press, 1984. p. 21-29.
MCENERY, A.; XIAO, Z. Swearing in Modern British English: The Case of Fuck in the NBC. Language and Literature, [S.l.], v. 13, p. 235-268, 2004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0963947004044873.
MCENERY, T. Swearing in English. Bad Language, Purity and Power from 1585 to the Present. London; New York: Routledge, 2006.
MILROY, J.; MILROY, L. Authority in Language, Investigating Language Prescription and Standardization. London: Routledge, [1985] 2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203124666.
MONTAGU, A. The Anatomy of Swearing. New York: Macmillan, 1967.
OLIVEIRA, S. M. Identidade pessoal e a relevância da análise de “frames” (molduras) para um modelo da negociação de tratamento. In: CONGRESO DE ROMANISTAS ESCANDINAVOS, XVI., 2006, Roskilde. Proceedings [...]. Roskilde, Denmark: Department of Language and Culture, Roskilde University, 2006. Disponível em: http://www.ruc.dk/cuid/publikationer/publikationer/XVISRK-Pub/SMO/SMO03-Oliveira. Acesso em: 1 abr. 2018.
POYNTON, C. Language and Gender: Making the Difference. Geelong: Deakin University Press, 1985.
RYAN, E. B. Why do Low-Prestige Language Varieties Persist? In: GILES, H.; ST. CLAIR, R. (ed.). Language and Social Psychology. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1979. p. 145-157.
SOLER PRADO, B. Swearing and Translation: A Study of the Insults in the Films of Quentin Tarantino. 2011. Tese (Doutorado) – Universitat de Valencia, Valencia, 2011.
STAPLETON, K. Swearing. Interpersonal Pragmatics, [S.l.], v. 6, p. 289-306, 2010.
TAGG, C. A Corpus Linguistics Study of Text Messaging. 2009. Tese (Doutorado) – University of Birmingham, Birmingham, 2009.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Catarina Xavier
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Autores de artigos publicados pela RBLA mantêm os direitos autorais de seus trabalhos, licenciando-os sob a licença Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0, que permite que os artigos sejam reutilizados e distribuídos sem restrição, desde que o trabalho original seja corretamente citado.
