Book Hack
Nine Nasty WordsBy John McWhorter

In a Nutshell

Linguist John McWhorter's Nine Nasty Words examines how profanity has been a mainstay of human culture for centuries, even as its severity shifts with the times.

Favorite Quote

These words have no power. We give them this power by refusing to be free and easy with them. We give them great power over us.

George Carlin, comedian

Introduction

Profanity, in some ways, is the most powerful aspect of language. It can be infused with our strongest passions and emotions.

While most language is generated from the left, logical side of our brains, profanity comes from the right side, which is associated with emotion.

While different words hold different meanings from generation to generation, there will always be words that society views as taboo.

These expletives seem to transcend the rest of language and can even illustrate to historians what values were held sacred to past generations.

John McWhorter is a linguist and professor who focuses on how language changes as the result of sociohistorical phenomena.

McWhorter believes that profanity has known three main eras, each with a different focus: religion, the body, and groups of people.

In Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter — Then, Now, and Forever, McWhorter explores the history of profanity to explain how prevailing culture creates linguistic taboos.

Here are the 3 key insights from this Hack

  1. 1.
    Profanity began by insulting God
  2. 2.
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc volutpat, leo ut.
  3. 3.
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc volutpat, leo ut.
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