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

Tue Jun 13 13:50:52 UTC 2023

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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