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New Studies in the Language of Taboos
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New Studies in the Language of Taboos

A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2023) | Viewed by 14310

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Keith Allan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics (LLCL), Monash University, Clayton 3800, Australia
Interests: aspects of meaning in language & the history and philosophy of linguistics; censorship; discourse analysis; dysphemism; euphemism; grammaticalization; jargon; language policy; linguistic metatheory; morphology; politeness; pragmatics; prosody; psycholinguistics; semantics; sociolinguistics; speech act theory; syntax; taboo
Dr. Andrea Pizarro Pedraza

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Translation and Interpreting, Université Saint-Louis-Bruxelles, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
Interests: sociolinguistics; online discourse analysis; semantics; pragmatics; corpus linguistics; language and sexuality; (socio)linguistic methods; linguistic taboo

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute to a Special Issue of Languages dedicated to presenting the latest trends in studies of the language used in speaking and writing about topics that are customarily tabooed or in the very least controversial in many contexts of discourse. “Taboo” refers to a proscription of behaviour for a specifiable community of one or more persons at a specifiable time in specifiable contexts. For behaviour to be proscribed it must be perceived as in some way harmful to an individual or their community; but the degree of harm can fall anywhere on a scale from a breach of etiquette to out-and-out fatality. All tabooed behaviours are deprecated and lead to social if not legal sanction. Shared taboos are a sign of social cohesion. Violation of taboos can often be cathartic to the perpetrator and to others who empathize.

The scope of this Special Issue, ‘New Studies in the Language of Taboos’, will be as wide as possible. Since there have recently been considerable advances in the literature on linguistic taboo, we encourage the presentation of empirical studies that prove or refute established theories about linguistic taboo or about any aspect of language, and that bring new light into theorical or applied linguistics. Potential contributors are invited to submit a title identifying the topic of their choice and before 21 April 2023, to submit a draft abstract of 400–600 words (both to be tweaked once the paper has been written). Please submit the proposal to one or both of the guest editors for them to ensure its suitability for the Special Issue. If accepted by the guest editors, a full manuscript should be submitted either to the editors or to [email protected]. The manuscript deadline will be 20 November 2023. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Tentative Completion Schedule

  • Abstract Submission Deadline: 21 April 2023
  • Notification of Abstract Acceptance: 26 May 2023 
  • Full Manuscript Deadline: 20 November 2023

Prof. Dr. Keith Allan
Dr. Andrea Pizarro Pedraza
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1000 KiB  
Article
The Subtitling of Swearing: A Pilot Reception Study
by Willian Moura
Languages 2024, 9(5), 184; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9050184 - 17 May 2024
Viewed by 1432
Abstract
Reception studies in audiovisual translation seek to explore how translation choices affect the audience’s comprehension, emotional engagement, enjoyment, and overall viewing experience of audiovisual materials. This study focuses on the subtitling product and analyzes the acceptability of swear words translated through different stimuli: [...] Read more.
Reception studies in audiovisual translation seek to explore how translation choices affect the audience’s comprehension, emotional engagement, enjoyment, and overall viewing experience of audiovisual materials. This study focuses on the subtitling product and analyzes the acceptability of swear words translated through different stimuli: subtitles with softened, maintained, and intensified swearing, along with standard Netflix subtitles (control). Employing a multi-method approach, the study collected data through a survey, using questionnaires with a Likert scale and interviews, following the user-centered translation model to understand how participants receive and perceive swear words in subtitling. The results indicate that the control group had the highest acceptability of the participants, while the group with softened swear words presented the lowest acceptability rate. The analysis shows that participants across all groups reported that discomfort does not arise from reading the swear word in the subtitle but from perceiving a deliberate change in its offensive load—usually softened. The findings demonstrate that this change can lead to a breach of the contract of illusion in subtitling, as participants are exposed to the original dialogue and the translated subtitle simultaneously. In conclusion, when perceived, the change in the offensive load can redirect the viewer’s focus from the video to the subtitles, negatively affecting the enjoyment of the audiovisual experience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Studies in the Language of Taboos)
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18 pages, 2110 KiB  
Article
Censorship and Taboo Maintenance in L1 and LX Swearing
by Kristy Beers Fägersten, Karyn Stapleton and Minna Hjort
Languages 2024, 9(4), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9040128 - 1 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2028
Abstract
In this paper, we consider the censorship of public swear word usage as a function of, and continued maintenance of, taboo with a focus on L1 and LX swearing and its management. In research with multilingual speakers, first-language swear words are consistently perceived [...] Read more.
In this paper, we consider the censorship of public swear word usage as a function of, and continued maintenance of, taboo with a focus on L1 and LX swearing and its management. In research with multilingual speakers, first-language swear words are consistently perceived as more taboo, and thus more emotional/powerful than equivalent words from a second or third language. While the public use of English-language swear words may be subject to censorship in Anglophone contexts, it is not censored to the same extent in LX contexts. On the other hand, L1 swear words are censored. Such perceptions of differences in strength between one’s L1 and LX languages also seem to affect the work of language professionals: translators’ tendency to self-censor may at least in part be explained by this bias. The existence of a two-tier system of swearing and censorship serves to reinvigorate L1 swear words, while diminishing the power of English swear words. We thus examine how censorship works as a means of maintaining and/or attenuating taboo, potentially moderating the power of swearing itself in cross-linguistic and multilingual contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Studies in the Language of Taboos)
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16 pages, 913 KiB  
Article
The Death Taboo: Euphemism and Metaphor in Epitaphs from the English Cemetery of Malaga, Spain
by Eliecer Crespo-Fernández
Languages 2023, 8(3), 215; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8030215 - 14 Sep 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4041
Abstract
In spite of the fact that taboos change over time, death is still a delicate and sensitive subject in today’s Western societies. Our unwillingness to talk openly about death and dying makes people resort to euphemism as a safe way to talk about [...] Read more.
In spite of the fact that taboos change over time, death is still a delicate and sensitive subject in today’s Western societies. Our unwillingness to talk openly about death and dying makes people resort to euphemism as a safe way to talk about human mortality and related matters. Following Steen’s Deliberate Metaphor Theory, this study discusses the role that euphemistic metaphors play on a sample of 174 gravestone inscriptions from the English Cemetery of Malaga, the oldest Protestant cemetery in Spain, and, at the same time, examines the social and cognitive aspects of metaphor in epitaph writing. The analysis carried out reveals that most of the 96 metaphorical items observed in the gravestone inscriptions present positive connotations. Indeed, the source domains of rest, peace, new life and journey offer an optimistic and comforting approach to death and dying, whereas the domains of loss and separation refer to the target domain of death in negative terms. All in all, the metaphors encountered in the epitaphs are deliberately used both to help the bereaved confront the loss of a loved one and pay tribute to the deceased. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Studies in the Language of Taboos)
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18 pages, 809 KiB  
Article
The Pleasure and Pain in Taboo Exploitation
by Keith Allan
Languages 2023, 8(3), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8030208 - 4 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5182
Abstract
The taboo exploitation examined in this essay is swearing. Swearing intersects in complex ways with the giving and taking of pleasure and concomitantly coping with pain or, conversely, craving to inflict pain. Swearing is normally restricted to colloquial styles because it is commonly [...] Read more.
The taboo exploitation examined in this essay is swearing. Swearing intersects in complex ways with the giving and taking of pleasure and concomitantly coping with pain or, conversely, craving to inflict pain. Swearing is normally restricted to colloquial styles because it is commonly perceived to breach the rules of courtesy by offending against standards of good taste and good manners. The breaking of this taboo is an emotional release. Swearing has a special place in our neural anatomy, perhaps accounting for: (a) its effectiveness displaying pleasure and managing pain or the hypoalgesia and other physiological effects in laboratory studies; (b) for the tendency of any disparaging denotation or connotation to dominate the interpretation of the immediate context. I recognize five frequently synchronous functions for swearing from the utterer’s as well as the audience point of view: (i) The expletive function, often marking attitude to what is said. (ii) Abuse, insult, banter. (iii) Spicing up the message. (iv) Expression of social solidarity. (v) The discourse function. There is an additional from an audience point of view: (vi) Characterizing an individual’s behavior. For every function, the degree of pleasure and/or pain and the kind of taboo exploitation is assessed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Studies in the Language of Taboos)
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