In Praise of Profanity

by Michael Adams

When President Obama signed the affordable health care act in 2009, the Vice President was overheard to utter an enthusiastic "This is a big f****** deal!" A town in Massachusetts levies $20 fines on swearing in public. Nothing is as paradoxical as our attitude toward swearing and "bad language": how can we judge profanity so harshly in principle, yet use it so frequently in practice? Though profanity is more acceptable today than ever, it is still labeled as rude, or at best tolerable only under specific circumstances. Cursing, many argue, signals an absence of character, or poor parenting, and is something to avoid at all costs. Yet plenty of us are unconcerned about the dangers of profanity; bad words are commonly used in mainstream music, Academy Award-winning films, books, and newspapers. And of course, regular people use them in conversation every day.
In In Praise of Profanity, Michael Adams offers a provocative, unapologetic defense of profanity, arguing that we've oversimplified profanity by labeling it as taboo. Profanity is valuable, even essential, both as a vehicle of communication and an element of style. As much as we may deplore it in some contexts, we should celebrate it in others. Adams skillfully weaves together linguistic and psychological analyses of why we swear-for emotional release, as a way to promote group solidarity, or to create intimate relationships -- with colorful examples of profanity in literature, TV, film, and music, such as The Sopranos, James Kelman's How Late It Was, How Late, or the songs of Nellie McKay. This breezy, jargon-free book will challenge readers to reconsider the way they think about swearing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Linguistics, Language, Humor

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2016

Reviews

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

For an OUP title, I was expecting more. Adams is well versed and well read in the subject, which is to be expected. But to praise something like profanity without any defined norms or standards is an exercise in futility, the secularist's real f-word.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It takes a special writer to make a topic like profanity such a chore to read.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books about "bad words" must be very difficult to write. Adams, of course, makes a good case for not banning profanity, but demonstrating that it indeed has its place. The first part of the books spends some time defining profanity, obscenity, and vulgarity. It is almost as if searching for a word for it all is as difficult as preventing swearing. The discussion touches on many aspects of coarse language: intimacy, euphemism, and even class consciousness play into it. There is some analysis from a linguistic point of view but it doesn't obstruct the fun of reading the book. This is one of those "not safe for work" books, and be careful reading it in public places. It is thoughtful and provocative. I blogged about it as well: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.

[Niko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

This book was fascinating and it approached profanity and the act of swearing from angles that I had never considered. In Praise of Profanity is more than a celebration of "bad words" -- it's an examination of swearing as, among other things, a symbol of camaraderie, an expression of status, and an act of rebellion. Definitely recommended for anyone with an interest in language.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I write in praise of In Praise of Profanity. A look at profane, obscene, taboo language that is both fun and serious. The chapter Intimacy, Exceptionalism, and Having It Both Ways and its last few pages in particular are a great tribute to profanity's role as connector. Fuckin' A.

It felt a little bogged down in the long cultural analyses in the last chapter. OTOH, I'm looking forward to reading the 1930s bathroom graffiti study in full!

[Owlseyes]

“In 2014, Pope Francis, trying, in his weekly Vatican address, to say “in questo caso” (in this case), ended up saying “in questo cazzo” (in this fuck) instead. This was an understandable mistake. The two words are close, and the pope’s first language is not Italian. He corrected himself immediately.”
in:
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2017/...

[K8]

Stopped at page 80. I shouldn't be this bored.

[Natalie Scherck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish this book. It had a few interesting points, but I felt like it just kept making the same arguments over and over in different ways.

[Trillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dry.

[Heather Dubarry · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there were some interesting nuggets of ideas, it was too much of a slog to really enjoy.

[Stephanie Kochay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a fun, conversational read. It gave an interesting perspective on profanity both as a tool and a weapon, as a cornerstone of social groups and as a wedge.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written by a self-proclaimed aficionado of profanity. The book covers the distinctions between profanity, slang, vulgarity, euphemism, expletives, and the like – in much more detail than did my linguistics classes at BYU.

Did you know scholars have studied and written about toilet-wall graffiti? And how did I not realize that Jeepers Creepers and Jiminy Cricket are both euphemisms? Walt Disney, you sly dog, you.

[Robert Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this 5, but I gave it 4 because the construction was slightly too arcane for me. Or perhaps I was just not intelligent enough or well-versed enough on the subject matter? Anyway, still a very entertaining and thought-provoking read.

[Dacod · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are at all interested in linguistics, monkeys throwing poop, or just fuck poop shit cunt ass bitch slut. Here is an in depth look at what makes words and language profane, euphemistic, or offensive. Extremely interesting. Swive!

[Natassia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun and interesting book that pulls on a variety of pop culture to make its case that profanity serves many purposes and ought not to be rejected out of hand. It does, however, get a bit bogged down in definitions and academic phrasing, which is still funny considering the subject matter.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent linguistic look at profanity in the English language.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Argues for the benefits of swearing. Good book.

[jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was, surprisingly, a really good fucking book. I was honestly worried it was gonna shit the bed a little bit at first after my last experience with a similar "overview of a concept" style books. But, despite all the bastards crapping themselves over how boring they found this book in the reviews I read beforehand, I found it to be the complete fucking opposite, personally.

Despite the high praise I pretty much have fuck all to say in regards to any specific praise or criticism. Could it have cut the crap and been a little shorter here and there? Fuck yea. But I'll be damned if I had to find a single part that I really genuinely felt was a slog. The sororities paradox method of explaining the obscurness of linguistic categories was cool and I liked it, but it did feel like it was going a little dick over heels trying not to just introduce more philosophical/Wittgensteinian shit about the social construction of language. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the art analysis in chapter 4 actually felt a little too fucking abstracted and not super relevant, but maybe that's just my dumb ass. Lastly, while it sort of flirted around the subject a bit, the book never went as balls in on a discussion of profanity in respect to hate speech and slurs that I think was warranted in a God damn book trying to defend profanity generally.

That being said there sure as fuck wasn't a lack of really interesting ideas to go along with the general commentary of the book that kept it entertaining! Funnily enough, the most interesting proposal in the fucker was the idea of profanities reliance on taboo status to actually perform the social functions that ultimately make it valuable, which gave it a more measured approach to it's defense that it really sold my ass on; despite it's very minor shortcomings I do think it ended up achieving the shit it wanted to way fucking more than just adequately.

TL;DR - Go fuck yourself.

[Christopher · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate giving a book a one-star review. Hate it. But this book was the worst non-fiction book I’ve ever read. The fucking worst! I’m not saying that in jest or merely to riff off the topic. The author took a great subject and absolutely ruined it; absolutely fucked up an opportunity to intelligently and creatively talk about something that’s been a part of humanity since language was invented. In other words, he laid a big, fat, shitty egg in-between the covers of what could have been an excellent read.

I’m being harsh, because I respect and admire creative cursing in appropriate situations. Let’s face it, sometimes, there’s nothing else you can do but swear. Swearing is a heightened emotional outlet, a pressure-relief valve, a valid method of expression, commentary, and humor. I feel strongly about the subject and was very interested in how Adams handled it. But I came away angry because this book was such a waste of time.

Adams’ premise is that we (meaning the rest of the world) should embrace swearing as a positive outlet for emotion and humor. On that one point, I agree with him whole-heartedly. However, he could have just said that in a blog and not wasted time writing a book about it. Most of the first chapter could have been included in the introduction or deleted. His humor lands flat like a sloppy pancake. There are way too many references. He spends way too many words trying to get into a topic that he wants to talk about. I can’t count how many times I said to myself, “just fucking get on with it, already!”

I can point to many examples of the lack of focus in this book… or filler material taking readers unnecessarily off-topic. One big example is when Adams talks about swearing in The Sopranos. He spends fifteen pages, going on and on in a sort of fanboy style, that completely goes offtrack, when two or three pages would have made his point just fine. He spends in an inordinate amount of space telling readers about the book instead of about the subject. One of my several, repeated, scrawled margin notes reads, “Page 41 and still advertising the book. Stop it and start talking about the subject!”

Why didn’t I toss this book aside? Well, I was interested enough in the subject matter that I pressed on, hoping it would get better. Nope. There were some elucidating moments; some remarks and insights that gave me new perspective on swearing. But far, far not enough, given the topic. My take is that if you did not use profanity before deciding to read this book, you will develop the habit. And if you were already a regular, salty language user, that usage will increase. But neither of these transformations will be due to the book being good or interesting. They will be due to a realization that you could have been reading a better book.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I requested this from NetGalley shortly after reading and enjoying Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing, but never got around to it. Thanks to my local public library and ILL for getting to review this, even if it is a DNF.

The author tries for an every-man, relaxed narration style. It's fine, but I didn't really connect with it. I found it hard to power through past the first chapter or so; the author starts by spending a lot of time trying to define terms that have vague, overlapping, or interrelated definitions. It made the text repetitive while feeling circular, without providing any firm answers.

Certainly worth a try for anyone interested in the topic, although there are alternative titles to choose from-- which the author quotes heavily.

[D. Darko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and informative, this was a fantastic read, full of insight and wonder. Highly recommended.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Mills College Library]

427 A215 2016