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The Art of Verbal Warfare
A funny and fascinating exploration of our reliance upon swear words, insults, and the artfully placed expletive, damn it.
We use salty or artful language to win arguments, slander, cheat, and bully, as well as to express feelings of joy or frustration by swearing or “blowing off steam.” Rik Smits delves into the magic of oaths and profanity, art and advertising, the lure of fake news and propaganda, as well as invective and off-color jokes the world over. This book shows why conversation dies in crowded elevators and what drives us to curse at our laptops. The Art of Verbal Warfare is, when all is said and done, the story of how we can get through life without coming to physical blows.
We use salty or artful language to win arguments, slander, cheat, and bully, as well as to express feelings of joy or frustration by swearing or “blowing off steam.” Rik Smits delves into the magic of oaths and profanity, art and advertising, the lure of fake news and propaganda, as well as invective and off-color jokes the world over. This book shows why conversation dies in crowded elevators and what drives us to curse at our laptops. The Art of Verbal Warfare is, when all is said and done, the story of how we can get through life without coming to physical blows.
- GenresNonfiction
528 pages, Hardcover
Published August 8, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 8, 2023
A mixed affair. A thorough and detailed analysis of words, phrases, and complete speeches covering debate, argument, and methods of achieving a resolution. The author covers the different types of argument, both logical and illogical (or unprovable), setting out examples of every category, using both literary and actual historical records from the Press or media. Abusive language, insults, and obscenities are included in the book, drawing on many languages, cultures, and countries. Intentional or accidental/unintended use of illogical or misleading argument, and closing down a discussion by using irrefutable generalisations, are covered, with comments on frequency of current use compared with earlier times.
The problem is that the author has included sweeping generalisations of actual usage, without considering variation by gender or locality. In discussing English language swear words, he has not considered that their current use varies between English counties in both frequency and meaning. For example, he discounts the universal use of 'bugger' when it is still widely used in England's northern counties. A minor point, but the fact it is included raised some doubts in my mind about the accuracy of other language/country generalisations. Male and female differences in usage also are mentioned, without evidence or explanation.
In addition, the book has included his own opinions on political theories, and the effects of their 'failures' or 'successes'. This will probably not trouble linguists who are only considering actual words and their meanings or usage, but may well trouble more general readers, particularly any with definite political opinions of their own. (And yes, I am one of them).
So I recommend the book should be read with great care and consideration of accuracy when the author is generalising, but the analysis of types and uses of speech in debate or argument are, I think, excellent.
The problem is that the author has included sweeping generalisations of actual usage, without considering variation by gender or locality. In discussing English language swear words, he has not considered that their current use varies between English counties in both frequency and meaning. For example, he discounts the universal use of 'bugger' when it is still widely used in England's northern counties. A minor point, but the fact it is included raised some doubts in my mind about the accuracy of other language/country generalisations. Male and female differences in usage also are mentioned, without evidence or explanation.
In addition, the book has included his own opinions on political theories, and the effects of their 'failures' or 'successes'. This will probably not trouble linguists who are only considering actual words and their meanings or usage, but may well trouble more general readers, particularly any with definite political opinions of their own. (And yes, I am one of them).
So I recommend the book should be read with great care and consideration of accuracy when the author is generalising, but the analysis of types and uses of speech in debate or argument are, I think, excellent.
August 25, 2024
*2.75
Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of this book is actually about what the title promises (and quite a few parts of it aren't even about linguistics at all). It feels like the author let his mind just move from one thing to the next, which makes the book lack structure. Additionally, I didn't really get a lot of new information out of this book, so the tangents weren't even worth it (for me, personally, at least).
Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of this book is actually about what the title promises (and quite a few parts of it aren't even about linguistics at all). It feels like the author let his mind just move from one thing to the next, which makes the book lack structure. Additionally, I didn't really get a lot of new information out of this book, so the tangents weren't even worth it (for me, personally, at least).
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews