Nine Nasty Words

 

By John McWhorter

English in the Gutter: Then, Now and Forever

John McWhorter is a linguist and professor at Columbia University and has published several books, including several on language. Nine Nasty Words looks at the origin and evolution of nine common profane words.

From inside the book jacket: "McWhorter examines the realms of language that are considered shocking and taboo in order to understand what imbues curse words with such power—and why we love them so much."

These are the words he examines, censored;

• Damn & Hell
• F*ck
• Sh*t
• Ass & Assh*le
• D*ck & C*nt
• N-word
• F*ggot
• Bitch
• Motherf*cker

This isn't a long read but it is really interesting, especially to see how words change over time and how we react to them changes over time too. It's been something that has puzzled me: why is "sh*t" censored but "poop" is acceptable? They both mean the same thing: feces. Why is it ok to say "frick" but not "f*ck"? Everyone knows when you say frick, you are really mean f*uck. Asshat is acceptable but assh*le is censored on some social media. Hat is OK but hole is too much? McWhorter does explain how words gain emotional attachments that they never had in the past. An informative and enjoyable read.

Review from Publishers Weekly.