Forbidden words and female anatomy: linguistic taboos in the Oxford English Dictionary
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Data di Pubblicazione:
2022
Citazione:
Forbidden words and female anatomy: linguistic taboos in the Oxford English Dictionary / M. Guzzetti. ((Intervento presentato al convegno Taboo Conference series : Taboo in Language, Culture and Communication tenutosi a Roma : September 28 – 30 nel 2022.
Abstract:
Social constraints impose a censorship on anything that might cause discomfort, harm, or injury in a
community, and language is among those behaviours that need to be monitored for this reason (Gao
2013); indeed, the belief that words hold a strong controlling power over people, objects, and spirits
dates back to ancient times. Linguistic taboos often have to do with illness and death, blasphemy,
money, racism, sex and sexuality, and private parts of the body: this paper proposes to focus
specifically on English vocabulary concerning female anatomy and its representation in lexicography,
a topic which has always been soaked with social stigma and treated with great anxiety and
embarrassment. The investigation will be carried out by examining the Oxford English Dictionary:
though initially the first edition was celebrated for its proclaimed scientific principles and objectivity,
research has already commented upon its many biases and culturally-determined (and, therefore,
subjective) choices, which include prescriptivism on rude words (Mugglestone 2007 and Brewer
2010), but also issues and debates involving gender (Baigent et al. 2005; Mugglestone 2013; Turton
2020). The diachronic analysis, which takes into consideration both the three different editions of the
dictionary and the evolution of taboo words in time, will focus on how such headwords as vagina,
breast, or menstruation have been defined in the OED and how strategies like euphemism (sweet
talking) or dysphemism (speaking offensively) have been used to avoid mentioning them (Allan and
Burridge 2006). Thus, results will show how the censoring of language produces (socio)linguistic
change and promotes the creation of highly inventive and playful new expressions; the focus on
female anatomy will specifically shed light on the culture(s) that enforce the use of taboo words and
the ideologies behind their inevitably selective and subjective representation in lexicography.
Tipologia IRIS:
14 - Intervento a convegno non pubblicato
Keywords:
female anatomy; taboo language; gender; Oxford English Dictionary; lexicography.
Elenco autori:
M. Guzzetti
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