Swearing in English: Bad Language, Purity and Power from 1586 to the Present

Swearing is an everyday part of the language of most speakers of modern English. This corpus informed account of swearing describes swearing and also outlines its social function, with a particular focus on the relationship between swearing and abuse. A major theme of the book is the extension and application of corpus linguistics in the context of relevant analytical and theoretical models from linguistics, psychology and sociology. In examining swearing from this angle the author is able to examine in detail the social functions of swearing with a view to developing a corpus based explanatory account of swearing in English.

Tony McEnery is Professor of English Language and Linguistics at Lancaster University, UK.