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Nine Nasty Words

English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever

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Nine Nasty Words

Auteur(s): John McWhorter
Narrateur(s): John McWhorter
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À propos de cet audio

One of the preeminent linguists of our time examines the realms of language that are considered shocking and taboo in order to understand what imbues curse words with such power - and why we love them so much.

Profanity has always been a deliciously vibrant part of our lexicon, an integral part of being human. In fact, our ability to curse comes from a different part of the brain than other parts of speech - the urgency with which we say "f--k!" is instead related to the instinct that tells us to flee from danger.

Language evolves with time, and so does what we consider profane or unspeakable. Nine Nasty Words is a rollicking examination of profanity, explored from every angle: historical, sociological, political, linguistic. In a particularly coarse moment, when the public discourse is shaped in part by once-shocking words, nothing could be timelier.

©2020 John McWhorter (P)2020 Penguin Audio Linguistique Sciences sociales English Language History

Ce que les critiques en disent

"Rollicking, salty, learned, and intensely informative, John McWhorter's Nine Nasty Words is a grand tour through the history of the profanities we (sometimes) abhor and (sometimes) revel in (and sometimes both), peppered with cameos by everyone from Geoffrey Chaucer and Cole Porter to Tallulah Bankhead and the too-little-known singer-songwriter Lucille Bogan, still making people blush 70-odd years after her death, God bless her. I laughed frequently and learned plenty." (Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times best-selling author of Dreyer's English)

"Nine Nasty Words is a deeply intelligent celebration of language that teaches us how to see English in high definition and love it as it really is, right now and in its myriad incarnations to come." (The New York Times)

"Shakespeare’s Caliban spoke for the human race when he said 'You taught me language, and my profit on’t is, I know how to curse.' Taboo language combines our touchiest social emotions with the poetic and metaphorical powers of language, and no one can explain these more clearly and compellingly than John McWhorter." (Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University; author of The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature)
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I love all of his books. He is funny and insightful.
This book was just as good as all of his other ones.

Awesome!

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Loved the book and the narration. Have lots of interesting tidbits to share with people now, and hope this will make them think I’m smart as well as just foul mouthed.

I feel smarter with my dirty mouth after reading this

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I've never really had an interest in linguistics or etymology but listening to McWhorter speak about these subjects is very enjoyable. His deep and genuine enjoyment of sharing his knowledge is obvious with every word and, especially, his impersonations. Listening to this audiobook leaves me feeling some envy for his students at Columbia getting to spend an entire semester listening to him on the topic.

Dr. McWhorter's enjoyment shines

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the author narrating the book really sells the energy and wonder behind how our curse words evolve. I laughed out loud several times, this book is a must have for English language poets.

If you speak English listen to this book

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