The Anatomy of Swearing

by Ashley Montagu

Although the act of swearing, or cursing, has today been reduced to the four-letter interjection and unimaginative put-down, this has not always been the case. Elegant, sublime oaths and vicious imprecations mark the history of human conduct and language. Shedding light on the forbidden, misunderstood, and clandestinely pursued forms of interpersonal communication, "The Anatomy of Swearing" uniquely documents the history of taboo words and phrases. It presents the curious inquirer with a summary of what the best minds and most accomplished practitioners of the art have said and done inventively in the form of indiscrete, insulting, spiteful, or otherwise objectionable speech.
Swearing is one of the most cathartic and common modes of language. Montagu examines the genre in all its aspects--its origins, philosophy, and psychology--as well as its evolution and differing manifestations in various ages and cultures. Montagu demonstrates that the human race, regardless of time and culture, has always used invective to lighten its burden. The "Anatomy of Swearing" traces this phenomenon from the ancient Egyptians, Hebrews, and Babylonians through Elizabethan England to the middle class of contemporary America.
A list of the most common and offensive expletives in the English language is bound to make you laugh, but there is much to learn about human interaction and behavior by examining the significance of swear words throughout human history. And what better reason to read a book littered with the world's unacceptable speech.

Genres: Language, Nonfiction, History, Anthropology, Reference

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Books, such as The Natural Superiority of Women (1953), of Ashley Montagu, originally Israel Ehrenberg, a British-American, helped to popularize anthropology.

As a young man, he changed his name to "Montague Francis Ashley-Montagu". After relocating to the United States, he used the name "Ashley Montagu."

This humanist of Jewish ancestry related topics, such as race and gender, to politics and development. He served as the rapporteur or appointed investigator in 1950 for the The Race Question , statement of educational, scientific, and cultural organization of United Nations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_...

Reviews

[Valerie]

This is the one of Ashley Montagu's books that's most constantly in print. I first encountered it in the library of a man who was ubable to get a job in archaeology because his doctoral dissertation precisely and devastatingly trashed the big names in that field. His recommendations were adopted, but he himself was snubbed.

My main interest in this book was linguistic. I appreciate the discussions of the link between practical curses and profanity, I understand the social value of swearing (I spent much of adolescence in bayou country, where they spice their language like they spice their food). My main interest, though, was the grammatical elements. I figured out fairly early on that English profanity was largely a man's language (Ashley Montagu discusses this to some degree, but doesn't, for example, note that there're few profane ways to insult a man without insulting his mother.) I also understood that, while there's some overlap, profanity and invective aren't coterminous. It's quite possible to be devastatingly rude to people without a single obscene word--and it's an art that's too little cultivated these days.

What I was interested in was the variation in profanity from region to region--but unfortunately, since the book mostly focuses on literary sources, there's little chance of learning that. There need to be people going out and recording these regionalisms before they fade out.

This book is a good introductory text of a seldom-discussed subject--but there's need for more research.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went looking for a primer on swearing in the nineteenth century and well, this wasn't it. Rather than getting a few morsels on what constituted swearing 'back in the day', I was fed a bloody five course dinner. (One benefit of my reading is that now I can use the word I so commonly associate with the British and Australians: bloody. The author went on and on about it.) I liked the book, but found the differences between actual swearing (it's for my work, I swear!)and oaths and curses quite slim. A funny read at that (note I did not say 'fun'.)

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh boy. I learned so much about swear words. At the same time, innocent Disney characters like Jiminy Cricket are revealed as evolutions of swear words. There was one joke about the "whore" and the captain that I absolutely loved. Really great book and I feel like it gives me the knowledge on how to swear "correctly".

[Lifely Lena]

Read for uni, quite entertaining, but honestly a little antiquated.

[Claire S]

Interesting!