Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language

Sweet talking and offensive language 39
EFEJ (YHVH). 11 The names of dangerous animals are often not used in case
the animal hears and feels called to attack. Hence the Ukrainian proverb Pro
vovka pomovka a vovk u khatu ‘One speaks of the wolf and it runs into the
house’ [lit. ‘about wolf talk and wolf into house’] and the English proverb
Speak of the devil and he comes running. Thus, in most Slavic languages the
bear is euphemistically called something like ‘the honey eater’; and the
orthophemistic English word bear derives from the euphemistic ‘[the] brown
one’ (hence Bruno the bear, in which bruno is Italian for ‘brown’). Among
the Zia of south-eastern Papua New Guinea, fishermen avoid talking about
(and even try to avoid thinking about) dangerous creatures like sharks, rays
and saltwater crocodiles, for fear of inviting attack. If such creatures are seen,
they are referred to using the class name woo ‘fish’ instead of bawang ‘shark’
or beoto ‘ray’; likewise, the crocodile will not be called ugama but emo meko
‘man bad’.
Euphemistic dysphemisms and dysphemistic euphemisms are expressions
at odds with the intentions that lurk behind them. More formally, the
locution (the form of words) is at variance with the reference and illocutionary
point of the utterance (i.e. what the speaker is doing in making the
utterance). The expressive exclamation Shit! typically expresses anger, frustration
or anguish, and is ordinarily a dysphemism. Its remodelled forms
Sugar!, Shoot!, Shivers! or Shucks! are euphemisms – they are linguistic
fig leaves for a thought that can be castigated as dysphemistic. The act of
swearing – using so-called ‘four-letter words’ – is conventionally perceived to
be dysphemistic and therefore tabooed; but by using an expression that is not
intrinsically offensive, a speaker’s dysphemistic intention can be accomplished
euphemistically. These are prime examples of the censoring of language for the
purpose of taboo avoidance. A person may feel the inner urge to swear, but at
the same time may not wish to appear overly coarse in their behaviour. Society
recognizes the dilemma and provides a way out – a conventionalised euphemistic
dysphemism like Gosh!, Sugar!, Shoot! or Shivers! Flippant terms like
doodle ‘penis’, and rhyming slang like jimmy-riddle ‘piddle’ are also most
often euphemistic dysphemisms. A euphemistic dysphemism exists to cause
less face-loss or offence than an out-and-out dysphemism (although it will
not always succeed in doing so).
Conversely, there are locutions which are dysphemistic while the illocutionary
point is euphemistic. For example, apparent terms of opprobrium are
used in good-humoured raillery to display friendship and affection to someone
close to you. Calling a good mate an old bastard or silly little dag is to use
dysphemistic euphemism. Other examples are flippant expressions for death
like call it quits, croak, check out, cock up one’s toes, push up the daisies, buy
the farm, bought it, kick the bucket, pop off, peg out, conk out and cark it. Of
course, for many occasions these would be straight dysphemisms. If a doctor