[Lingtyp] Swearwords as a negator and/or minimizer: a cross-linguistic perspective

Tue Jun 13 14:43:14 UTC 2023

Are there any languages in which the F-word, like French pas, rien, etc.,
has (a) completely lost its vehemence and (b) become a garden-variety
negator?

On Tue, Jun 13, 2023 at 9:51 AM Michael Daniel <misha.daniel at gmail.com>
wrote:

> This is true.
>
> But I think my second Russian example, where 'penis' means nothing, can
> qualify; and also examples are possible like 'penis it knows' for 'I don't
> / no one knows', where no regular negative particle is used. This is pretty
> common in collquial communication, so much so that it made it to a rare
> phenomenon of acronym in spoken language - хз [хəze] 'I don't know; this is
> unclear' from lit. penis knows.
>
> Michael
>
> вт, 13 июн. 2023 г. в 15:44, Ian Joo <ian_joo at nucba.ac.jp>:
>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> technically speaking, I think Pun Ho Lui’s original question was swear
>> words acting as negators, not just intensifiers.
>> So phrases like “I don’t know shit” wouldn’t apply, only those like “I
>> know shit” (intended meaning: I don’t know anything).
>>
>> Regards,
>> Ian
>>
>> 13/6/2023 오후 3:37, Eitan Grossman <eitan.grossman at mail.huji.ac.il> 작성:
>>
>> I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but Jespersen already
>> discussed this phenomenon to some extent in his 1917 monograph on negation,
>> and it was extended by many including Ross & Postal, Horn, and others
>> (e.g., 'squatitive negation' as in 'You don't know doodly-squat.')
>>
>> For the sake of typology, some of the Hebrew terms for penis (mainly
>> *zayin* and *zibbi*, the latter a loanword) also show the behavior
>> mentioned by Pun Ho Lui, Misha, and others.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 13, 2023 at 4:23 PM Lewis C Howe <chowe at uga.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Pun Ho Lui and all,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> These patterns are relatively common in Romance Languages. For instance,
>>> in Spanish you can find the following:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> (No) me           importa       un(a) coño|pedo|chingada|polla|etc.
>>>
>>> NEG 1sg.ACC  matter.3sg  a         vagina|fart|fuck|dick|etc.
>>>
>>> ‘I don’t care at all.’
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> There are a number of lexical options, which, not surprisingly, are
>>> quite dialectally diverse. The preverbal negation is optional, and, for
>>> some speakers in some collocations, may in fact be dispreferred.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Following up on the comment about *đavola *("devil") in
>>> BCMS/Serbo-Croation, there’s a similar construction in Romance (illustrated
>>> below in Spanish) that (typically) involves wh-words. This construction
>>> also includes similarly taboo lexical options—e.g., *carajo *‘shit’, *cojones
>>> *‘testicles’. These types of constructions, at least for English, are
>>> described by Pesetsky (1987) as “Aggressively Non-D-Linked” wh-phrases.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ¿Qué   demonios quieres?
>>>
>>> What  devils        want.2sg
>>>
>>> ‘What the hell do you want?’
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Best wishes,
>>>
>>> Chad Howe
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Pesetsky, D. 1987. Wh-in-situ: Movement and unselective binding. In *The
>>> representation of (in)definiteness*, ed. by Eric Reuland and Alice G.
>>> B. ter Meulen, 98-130. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From: *Lingtyp <lingtyp-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org> on behalf
>>> of Michael Daniel <misha.daniel at gmail.com>
>>> *Date: *Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at 9:01 AM
>>> *To: *Stefan Savić <stefansavicz at gmail.com>
>>> *Cc: *lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org <
>>> lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>
>>> *Subject: *Re: [Lingtyp] Swearwords as a negator and/or minimizer: a
>>> cross-linguistic perspective
>>>
>>> [EXTERNAL SENDER - PROCEED CAUTIOUSLY]
>>>
>>> Dear Pun Ho Lui,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In Russian strong speech, 'penis' is used as a non-referential NP in
>>> different type of emphatic negation; including constructions very similar
>>> to what you quote. See for examples, some way below. Note that "ни" is a
>>> negative particle distinct from regular negative "не" and commonly (though
>>> not exclusively) used under the scope of clausal negation; I am not sure
>>> how to gloss it.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Michael Daniel
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> он         ни    хуя                  не    знает
>>>
>>> he.nom not   penis-Sg.Gen not    knows
>>>
>>> 'he does not know anything at all'
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> хуй                    тебе,             а     не   деньги
>>>
>>> penis.Sg.Nom    you.sg-Dat,  and  not  money
>>>
>>> 'You are not getting anything, you are not (instead of) getting any
>>> money'
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ни      хуя                 (подобн-ого)
>>>
>>> not     penis-Sg.Gen (similar-N.Sg.Gen)
>>>
>>> 'Nothing like that at all!'
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> вт, 13 июн. 2023 г. в 14:45, Stefan Savić <stefansavicz at gmail.com>:
>>>
>>> Dear Pun Ho Lui, Dear All,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In BCMS/Serbocroatian one can also use the genitive singular form *đavola
>>> *("devil") in the same function, now hardly considered a swear word per
>>> se, but once it definitely was (along with other religious terms). As a
>>> matter of fact, in numerous such instances, the nominative singular
>>> *kurac* is often replaceable with the genitive singular *đavola *(whereby
>>> the latter sounds considerably milder than the former).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> Stefan
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, 13 Jun 2023 at 14:35, Pun Ho Lui <luiph001 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear linguists,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Swearwords/taboo words can function as a negator (1) or
>>> minimizer/“squatitive” (2):
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> (1) Cantonese
>>>
>>>      我    撚        知
>>>
>>>      1sg  dick  know
>>>
>>>    ‘I don’t know.’
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> (2) I learn fuck all/ shit.
>>>
>>> ‘I learn nothing.’
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Other languages with these pattens include:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> - Russian
>>>
>>> - German *einen Teufel *‘a devil’
>>>
>>> - Swedish *så fan Heller*
>>>
>>> *- *French *mon cul* ‘my ass’ (?)
>>>
>>> - Polish *chuj *‘dick’; *gówno *’shit’
>>>
>>> - Serbian *kurac *‘penis'
>>>
>>> - Croatian *kurac ‘penis’*
>>>
>>> - Colloquail Finnish “aggressive mood”
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> These examples are provided in:
>>> https://www.facebook.com/groups/lingtyp/permalink/6751622964867235/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I am wondering if there are other languages performing similar
>>> constructions. If so, is the any requirement for using them.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thank you.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Warmest,
>>>
>>> Pun Ho Lui
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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-- 
John
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