Title: The Anatomy of Polish Offensive Words
Subtitle: A sociolinguistic exploration
Series Title: IMPACT: Studies in Language, Culture and Society 53
Publication Year: 2024
Publisher: John Benjamins
http://www.benjamins.com/
Book URL: https://benjamins.com/catalog/impact.53

Author: Łukasz Zarzycki
Hardback: ISBN: 9789027214461 Pages: 354 Price: U.S. $ 158.00
Hardback: ISBN: 9789027214461 Pages: 354 Price: U.K. £ 101.00
Hardback: ISBN: 9789027214461 Pages: 354 Price: Europe EURO 120.00
Hardback: ISBN: 9789027214461 Pages: 354 Price: Europe EURO 127.20
eBook: ISBN: 9789027247308 Pages: 354 Price: U.S. $ 158.00
eBook: ISBN: 9789027247308 Pages: 354 Price: U.K. £ 101.00
eBook: ISBN: 9789027247308 Pages: 354 Price: Europe EURO 120.00
Abstract:

Swearing plays an important role in everyday language. We swear in the streets, at school, universities, at work and at home, on the means of transport, with family and friends. People have used swear words for centuries and they will continue to use them. The Anatomy of Polish Offensive Words examines offensive and vulgar language of young Poles in their everyday life including its forms, uses, manifestations and the ways in which people censor their words and sentences. The book presents a novel viewpoint on people’s psyche since we observe how society reacts to other humans so as to impose taboos by censoring Polish language.

This book is the first book written in English on Polish swearing intended for the international reader (both linguists and non-linguists) who can benefit from it. It offers an intriguing look into Polish swear words, their classification in terms of offensiveness both from the perspective of quantitative and qualitative research but also from the AI (Artificial Intelligence) viewpoint. Mixed methods research, i.e., a questionnaire-based study and a corpus-based study, makes the research original. The findings deepen our understanding of swearing and its role in language.

Written In: English (eng)