The Best of Maledicta: The International Journal of Verbal Aggression

by Reinhold Aman (Editor)

Book by Reinhold Aman

Genres: Language

200 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 1987

Reviews

[Julio The Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

CAVEAT: THIS IS NOT FOR THE EASILY OFFENDED: Before I took off for Brazil in the mid-Eighties for a student year abroad some old friends of mine on the left handed me a copy of THE DIRTY DICTIONARY, a house organ written "for those comrades who need to use profanity away from home", as in "Viva la Revolucion, carajo!" MALEDICTA is written in the same scholarly and hilarious style. Professor Reinhold Aman spent decades compiling and then publishing in English the profanity of all the world's major languages, and some minor. Obscene words and phrases offer terrific insight into the national psyche. The worst insult in Spanish is "c--- tu madre", or "your mother's c---." This was a favorite of Fidel Castro's, who once used it to slam a couple of Miami Cuban punks who had tapped his phone, but I heard my late father use it too. Yes, I know the Russian word for female genitalia and its frequent usage. The Italians, with their Mamma Mia fixation, avoid the vagina as a point of reference and go for the anus, "e', vaffanculo!" Literally, this means "go do it in the ass", however Italians are divided as to where this ass is located. Some say you're supposed to do it up your own, others argue there is a universal ass out there to stick it in. Sticking with the Latins, the most blood-curling profane curse may be found in Catalan, borrowing from Catholic idolatry: "I shit on Christ, the cross, the nails in it, and the carpenter who made it!" Moving to other parts of the world, did you know there is a Hindi word for brother-in-law that, twisted on the tongue, comes out as "I f--- your sister"? (Dear friends from India: Please DON'T tell me what it is; I'd rather you kept it to yourselves.) And, why does Yiddish have some many words for penis? Schmuck, putz, schlong, etc? Notice how deficient American English is, by comparison, when it comes to originality in verbal aggression? This may explain why both rap lyrics and mafia slang are so repetitive. See how much fun you can have learning global culture by digging through curses? Highly recommended, even if you don't plan on traveling abroad.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a profound influence on me as an extremely vulgar, irreverent teenager. Sadly, Aman turned out to be a bit of a crazy asshole. I suppose that shouldn't be a surprise!