Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths & Profanity in English

by Geoffrey Hughes

From the earliest times swearing has existed in many variegated forms, from the deadliest curse to the most trivial expletives of annoyance. Hedged about with all manner of complex pressures, personal, societal, religious, sexual and other forms of taboo, it remains a phenomenon only imperfectly understood. Geoffrey Hughes traces these two contrasting strands through our linguistic history. His discussion starts with the use of language as magic in 'primitive' society, the binding oath of heroic commitment in Anglo-Saxon warrior society and the emergence of blasphemy in the medieval age of faith. With the Renaissance came a shift from a religious to a secular idiom of swearing, a period combining rich exuberance in language with severe restraint. This oscillation between institutional censorship and individual defiance continues to modern times. Professor Hughes includes in this broad-ranging survey such topics as xenophobia and the racist basis of abuse, graffiti, the sexual and sexist patterns of swearing, the multifarious forms of euphemism and the curious varieties of verbal duelling known as 'flyting' and 'sounding'. His book is a tireless exploration of a little discussed but irrepressible part of our linguistic heritage.

Genres: History, Linguistics, Nonfiction, Language, Microhistory, Reference

296 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Geoffrey Hughes graduated from Oxford, was an Honorary Research Associate at Harvard, and is Emeritus Professor of the History of the English Language at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He is the author of An Encyclopedia of Swearing (2006), A History of English Words (Wiley-Blackwell, 2000), Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths and Profanity in English (1998), and Words in Time (1988). He is currently Honorary Research Associate at the University of Cape Town.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, however he does seem to have completely missed the word "bollocks"

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘For Christ’s sake!’ might, in other company, transform to ‘For pity’s sake!’, ‘For sh*t’s sake!’ or even ‘For f**k’s sake!’ This series might provoke the obvious (but naïve) question ‘What do Christ, pity, sh*t and f**k have in common?’ The answer, in this context, is, of course, ‘Nothing whatever.’ They are simply terms of high emotional charge which have accreted over time into the formula to the point where they can now be used interchangeably. - Geoffrey Hughes from Swearing


Goodbooks would shut down this profile were I to display a full review of this book due to the amount of profanity that would have to be used in order to explain what was what.

Geoffery Hughes takes an academic look at swearing in the English language from its Norse and Germanic roots to its modern uses in America, Australia, and the UK.

Even though the writing is flooded with footnotes and examples they don’t detract from his tracing the evolution of swearing as a reflection of the greater society as a whole.

For example, did you know the practice of using asterisks to denote omissions was established in the early eighteenth century? Did you know that the term “mother-f**ker” was an African-American term that went mainstream during WWII and that only Americans use the term “mother” when it comes to swearing in English?

This book is filled with fun facts such as these.


Although flexibility among adjectives is almost random (so that bloody can be replaced by f**king, stupid, or damned), such an interchangeability does not apply to nouns, where there can be a world of difference between alternatives. - Geoffrey Hughes from Swearing


Hughes really gets into his subject matter. He points out that curses from the Middle Ages dealt with Christ’s crucifixion (zounds!) and would be as baffling to modern people as incestuous swearing (mother-f**ker) done today would be to those way back in the day.

Some words (f**k, sh*t, cu*t) from the Middle Ages are still with us while others (bloody, bastard, damn, hell) have lost their force. English is in constant evolution and so is its swearing lexicon.

The differences can be striking. For example, in Australia, the term “bastard” is used in a way African-Americans use “mother-f**ker”; that is, as a term of endearment. Yet to call a British person any of these would be a call to throw down.

Likewise, calling and American a “bugger” or a “sod” (short for Sodomite) would be met with a blank stare whereas calling an Australian any of these would get you a glass beer mug cracked over your head.

And why? Because it’s all about history, context, and what is considered sacred at the time. Australia was a penal colony that began developing it’s own version of English until the British landed troops to occupy. America broke away yet deferred to British sensibilities when it came to decorum. And the slave trade and immigration to America altered the language in unforeseen ways.

Also take into account America’s puritanical heritage and the force of religion on its development and you can see why for example, variations of “damned” are so common, especially in the 1800’s.

In Britain, Victorian sensibilities got so intense that the euphemisms are laughable. For example:

“The Tree of Life, then, is a succulent plant, consisting of one only straight stem, on the top of which is a pistillim, or apex, something of a glandiform appearance, and not unlike a May-cherry, though, at other seasons more resembling the Avellana or filbeard tree. Its fruits, contrary to most others, grow near the root; they are usually two in number, in size somewhat exceeding an ordinary nutmeg, and are both contained in one Siliquina, or purse, which, together with the whole root of the plant, is commonly beset with innumerable fibrilla, or capillary tendrils. – From the Exquisite by Mayhew and Acton

Did you get that this was a description of a penis?

Hughes also dives into ethnic slurs, which change as the group targeted becomes mainstreamed or de-politicized, and sexual organs, which change as tolerances do, and a whole host of other subjects in which swearing can evolve from. In the end, what constitutes a ‘breach of decorum’, or something that can be sworn about, has both a personal and social criteria.

This is very British English focused book but it is a great overview of a subject that would require an entire library to catalogue and explain. If you’re curious, get it. It’s a great addition to a dictionary and a great book to leave lying around in order to spur conversation.

[David Szatkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great read for any lover of English language, and in particular English (not American) literature. The author shows how language has evolved and changed as society has made one or another thing more taboo. Using Shakespeare and Chaucer in particular, you can see how English swearing has evolved. Also, this book will help a reader appreciate both of these authors more.

[Sunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatively interesting book about swearing in England. I had to skip parts of the book as it went into all sorts of random olden day swearing and lots of references to Shakespearean swearing and oath taking but it was very eye opening in places and gave the origin of certain swear words which was interesting (fuck – fornication under the consent of the king because plague had reduced the population so much that the king wanted to encourage reproduction, cockney rhyming slang – Brighton pier – queer, dog and bone – phone, Richard the third – turd, etc ) if you are interested in the origin of words then you will like this book. It also looks at the German influence, middle English swearing, swearing during the reformation and the renaissance, Victorian attitudes, sexuality in searing and modern day swear words. Worth a quick skim through I would say.

[sologdin · Rating 3 out of 5]

cover art demonstrating powder-bewigged loser spewing vitriol is an accurate presentation of the content. Used this for an undergraduate course that attempted to interrogate the concept of a pure standard language. students were probably annoyed with it, once they got over the novelty of saying fuck in school.

I think it's kickass, though--thorough history, wide coverage, including political, racial, and religious terms of opprobrium.

best bit is the early categorization of swearing: asseveration, malediction, imprecation, and so on. each has a function and a history, though the text doesn't trace all of them specifically to the present moment.

[Daisy Madder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly interesting run through of the history of swearing, from Beowolf and Old English through to (nearly) modern times. With this, revised, edition being from 1998, it fails to cover the developments of the last 20 years or so, particularly since internet usage became common, and this does somewhat skew the predictions in the conclusion. Although this quote (from a 1970 review) does seem to predict the internet era rather well: "What one wonders now is where the taboo will reassert itself in Western civilization, if it has really been removed from sex. Will one be perfectly in order in showing one's nakedness and yet obscene, for instance, if one develops a rational argument?"

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would appear that swearing and/or the use of oaths is a universal human constant regardless of language, culture, social mores, etc. I really have to wonder if the first recognizable word to come out of the mouths of our most ancient ancestors wasn’t an oath or a swear word prompted by the impact of that stone axe on a bare toe or foot. What Geoffrey Hughes has given us here is a history of this human activity in the English language, from its Anglo-Saxon roots to the mid to late 20th Century.
A professor of linguistics and a scholar of language, especially as people actually use it, Geoffrey Hughes presents a solid and readable survey history of the uses and preferences for oaths and swear words in the English language in some 250 pages divided into 11 chapters. The author introduces us to his topic with a discussion of curses, expletives, oaths, swearing, taboos, and how they overlap or differ from each other in our speech over time. He then proceeds in succeeding chapters to discuss the Germanic inheritance of English swearing and oath-ing, its evolution in Middle English, the later influence of French and other languages, and the impact of our changing attitudes about religion, the church and other authorities, how we talk about foreigners and the “other” in our lives, how swearing relates to sex, and how it reflects the changes in the world at large. At several points, Mr. Hughes embellishes his discussion with lists of different swear words and their often changing meanings or usage by historical period. This I found particularly useful as a living historian/reenactor as it provided some idea of the changing vocabulary over time and geography.
I like very much that there are endnotes at the end of each chapter rather than at the end of the book. Endnotes aren’t quite footnotes but are much handier than having all of the notes buried at the end of several hundred pages. There is also a five and a half page bibliography provides grist for the mill of anyone interested in further reading or research on a particular period.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just an absolutely fascinating history of swearing in the English language, starting with Beowulf and ending with the most recent taboos around race and sex. Focuses on British swearing, understandably, but also gives some attention to American and Australian swearing, too. It’s very interesting to see where all of these words come from, how they’ve changed over time, and what swearing is really meant to do for us and to us.

[Frank Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of swearing in English (and, mainly, in England) which, in its academic treatment of the subject, occasionally turns what promises to be a ripping yarn into a damned hard slog - pardon my French. Interesting dichotomy between modern and pre-modern times: we used to swear *by* (“by Jove”, “by God”), now we swear *at* (“f**k you!”)

[Lifely Lena]

Read for Uni, no rating

[Jenny Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, I really wanted to learn more about the history of swearing but sadly I just couldn't wade through any more of this. It's not a bad book per se, it's just that I'm now so far removed from my college days of reading and somewhat comprehending such academic technical-speak that I just can't seem to keep my eyes from going wonky anytime I read more than a paragraph. And that's sad, but I think I'll have to put this one aside and move on to something more fun and non-making-my-eyes-feel-like-they're-about-to-melt-out-of-my-head. Maybe Mortal Heart or My Real Children or just anything without big linguistic terms that I don't really understand.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, it was full of insights, information, and punctuated by humorous bits. Unfortunately the book reads like a combination between a text book and a badly formatted essay. The book has several charts and lists, which are rarely referenced in the text, and when they are go on for too long to be reasonable examples. They are interesting in themselves, however. The author often goes off on tangents occasionally and sometimes forgets to go back to his previous points, which is a bit disappointing.

[hh · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for a project for my history & structure of the english language class. solid historical look at how swearing has been used throughout history. checked this out from widener library, but i'd like to own this book and be able to come back to it.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Conor Madigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

phenomenal piece of labor

important for any bookshelf

qualifies all hours of the day's procrastination

eats the wall of my cussing to the ground and lets swell a wave of luscious swearing

[Michael Sterckx · Rating 5 out of 5]

All you need to know about blasphemy, the origins of swear words and the most popular bad language to cause the most offence at any time down the centuries.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty bloody interesting.