Nine Nasty Words
English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever
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Nine Nasty Words
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Narrated by:
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John McWhorter
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By:
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John McWhorter
About this listen
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 AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"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)
What listeners say about Nine Nasty Words
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 16-06-21
Takes Lexicon Valley to a ‘whole nother’ level
John McWhorter’s wry sense of humour and easy delivery make this not just insightful but entertaining in a way the written word just couldn’t manage. As a Lexicon Valley listener (his podcast) I enjoyed this full length spin-off to the original series tremendously. No prior experience necessary.
It’s changed my perspective on ‘certain words’ and given meaning to some of the friendly uses of his nine nasty words I’ve heard in the movies and living in Scotland and England over the past 50 or so years. I’ll forgive him for the odd issue with his delivery of various British accents ;) He’s welcome over here any time to experience them in person!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christakis Christodoulou
- 12-12-22
Hilarious and knowledgeable
I love listening to John. It would make every topic. entertaining. Really went all the way to get to the nitty grritty of our curse words. Really good
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mrs S J Lennox
- 21-07-23
Great!
So funny, so interesting, so clever, so erudite, so entertaining. Another ‘must read’ from John McWhorter!
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