Nine Nasty Words

English in the Gutter - Then, Now, and Forever

Nine Nasty Words
John McWhorter
RRP:
NZ$ 48.00
Our Price:
NZ$ 38.40
Hardback
h186 x 138mm - 256pg
4 May 2021 US
International import eta 7-19 days
9780593188798
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
One of the preeminent linguists of our time 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. Profanity has always been a deliciously vibrant part of our lexicon, an integral part of being human. In fact, our ability to curse comes from a different part of the brain than other parts of speech--the urgency with which we say "f&*k!" is instead related to the instinct that tells us to flee from danger. Language evolves with time, and so does what we consider profane or unspeakable. Nine Nasty Words is a rollicking examination of profanity, explored from every angle- historical, sociological, political, linguistic. In a particularly coarse moment, when the public discourse is shaped in part by once-shocking words, nothing could be timelier.
"Rollicking, salty, learned, and intensely informative, John McWhorter' s Nine Nasty Words is a grand tour through the history of the profanities we (sometimes) abhor and (sometimes) revel in (and sometimes both), peppered with cameos by everyone from Geoffrey Chaucer and Cole Porter to Tallulah Bankhead and the too-little-known singer-songwriter Lucille Bogan, still making people blush seventy-odd years after her death, God bless her. I laughed frequently and learned plenty. "-Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times bestselling author of Dreyer' s English
John H. McWhorter teaches linguistics, American studies, and music history at Columbia University. He is a contributing editor at The Atlantic and host of Slate' s Lexicon Valley podcast. McWhorter is the author of twenty books, including The Power of Babel- A Natural History of Language, Losing the Race- Self-Sabotage in Black America, and Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue- The Untold History of English.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9780593188798
Published: 4 May 2021
Published In: United States
Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation US
Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
Format: Hardback
Height: 186mm
Width: 138mm
Pages: 256

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