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Bad language becomes something that ’ s more justifiable , I think , and also increasingly a source of humour . There ’ s a lot of humorous anecdotes circulating in popular culture by the end of the 19th century . And , so , we start to associate it with ideas about national identity . Particularly , I think it ’ s a very much a male mythology , so it ’ s very masculine . A lot of these acceptable swearers are definitely men .
Carrying on from that , I think more recently we also have the sort of broader ideology around our use of language . So , we tend to embrace the fact that we use more informal language , that we are quite creative with our slang , and we use abbreviations and shortenings . And so I think the embrace of bad language in recent decades also falls into that more relaxed attitude that we have towards language and the greater tolerance for informal and colloquial language .
Can you explain some of the shifts in Australian swearing we ’ ve seen over time , and the factors that may have influenced them ? One of the things that has shaped Australian bad language across time has been around the kinds of words that we consider to be taboo , and the kinds of ways in which we punish and control that bad language . In terms of the shift in language , of course , there ’ s the shifts in the 19th century , from religious swearing to the sexual and excretory , the four-letter words that become the more taboo language of the 20th century , but also the words that are being used in order to push the boundaries .
But there ’ s also the way in which we control that language and punish that language , so the use of a sense of language laws across time . In the 19th century , that ’ s more targeted towards working-class people . In recent decades , we ’ ve seen indigenous people be disproportionately targeted by offensive language laws . Even though I previously talked about these acceptable swearers , there ’ s still people within our society who are considered to not be acceptable swearers , who are punished for using bad language .
Another thing that ’ s shifted over time is the kinds of ways in which we censor that language . In the 19th century , even words like ‘ bloody ’ or ‘ bastard ’ were , of course , censored , and the press used a lot of creative euphemisms and disguises to allude to that kind of bad language . And then in the 20th century , of course , it ’ s the fourletter words that become the taboo words . And then by the end of the 20th century , that ’ s about to shift , where of course we see four-letter words being used as part of a kind of counter-culture and being used by the younger generation to challenge the prevailing censorship regime that was really in place until the 1970s . It ’ s really only in the ‘ 80s and ‘ 90s that you see that start to shift .
The ‘ C word ’, as it ’ s politely called , is widely considered to be one of the most appalling and disrespectful words one can call someone else . Why do you think this is the case , particularly when we have swear words based on male genitalia that are not considered as offensive ? Is it a simple case of misogyny or sexism ? I think that ’ s certainly part of it . I think the C word is actually a really interesting one . I mean , whatever your views are on it or on its use , its story , as it were , is actually quite interesting . It begins in English , in Middle English , as being just a descriptor . So , there ’ s not really a sense in which it ’ s taboo , and it ’ s really only starting to shift to becoming a taboo word by around the time of the 17th century . That ’ s when you start to see it being used as a term of abuse . So , the descriptive female genitalia term has a much longer history .
Why does it become so taboo ? I think that ’ s an interesting question . I think it is because of its connection to a woman ’ s sexuality , which we have seen as being powerful and threatening to male power . And , so , the word itself starts to acquire significant taboo . What I think is interesting about where that word is heading now , and it depends who you talk to as to what extent they believe this , is there ’ s definitely a process of amelioration of that term going on .
I mean , there ’ s of course been the feminist reclaiming of the descriptor , but as a term of abuse , it ’ s become much more common , especially with the younger generation . Anecdotally , I ’ ve certainly spoken to a lot of younger people who say that it ’ s used quite commonly within their peer group . Whereas once it would have been very much male to male , we ’ re now seeing it being used in mixed company .
I think we ’ re also seeing it on television to a greater extent . In my book I talk a little bit about reality TV , and even though it ’ s bleeped out , it ’ s very clear that that ’ s the word that ’ s being used . And there ’ s a lot of discussion online and in social media around that word and the use of that word .
Another thing that we ’ re also seeing in terms of the trends around that word is various elaborations , so the word being modified in particular ways to mean particular things : so , the use of “ dog C word ,” “ mad C word ,” and so on . There ’ s these interesting elaborations that are going on , and I think that ’ s also a sign of the ameliorative process that ’ s occurring around that word .
What are some of the reasons why people swear ? And is it always a bad thing to do ? I think most people who work with language tend to be pretty all-embracing of a lot of different types of language . And I think linguists have come to the conclusion that there are many different reasons why we swear . It serves a lot of different functions in our language , from being an emotional response if you hurt yourself , or if you ’ re angry about something you might swear as an exclamation , as an emotional response to something .
You can use a swear word as an emphasis in your language . It can be used in an abusive context . But we also have some quite positive connotations . It can be a way to build bonds between a group or to fit in . We can use it for humour or for creativity . Another theme in my book which I haven ’ t really touched on is that I talk quite a bit about the way in which bad language could be used by groups who were not accepted for their swearing , so women and so forth , as a way of challenging authority and defying the kinds of stereotypes that were being placed on them . I talk quite a bit about second-wave feminists and the way in which they used bad language as a form of empowerment , actually .
I think there are all these interesting ways in which swearing functions within our language and is a very important part of our language . Is it always a bad thing to do ? Well , I think certainly in a kind of bullying or threatening or abusive context , we would have to say yes , but there are many other ways in which we use bad language which are perhaps not always as negative .
One example I can think of at the moment is the endearing term “ mad C ”. In that process of amelioration , it is being used not so much as a term of abuse in a really negative way , but as a kind of slightly derogatory term that you might use in the way “ bastard ” once was used , as almost a term of humorous affection , I guess . ■
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