Profanity, swearing and Bergen's discourse on the subject may be appealing to some quarters but it is obviously not mainstream. Even the title & cover of his book deliberately leaves out the 'F' word in full, supposedly as a strategy to deflect mainstream censorship filters.
He writes well with pretty vivid illustrations and is quite humorous at times, discussing quite complex ideas in simple terms. However, there are a few claims that he makes that I would give pause to, especially to the claim about the Japanese not having any swear words. I can direct him to a Japanese colleague who literally swears like a trooper. He definitely did not get to do Bergen's survey for the book. There are insistently, Japanese words that are highly insulting and offensive but also contingent on situational class circumstance, quite unlike the English concept of swear words. They have the literal equivalent of bullsxxt but used quite differently. When their word for sxxt + domo is uttered, that's definitely a bad swear 'F' situation, according to this colleague.
Local patois especially in many cultures particularly in Asia imputes the 'F' word without having to explicitly say it. It's almost like discussing the 'F' word here in this email without having to spell it in its entirety. Given the context, a well-meaning colloquial term can be even more insulting than the 'F' word in the English language, even circumventing all official censorship filters (parents are more effective filters). The etymology of a swear word in those circumstances requires not just knowledge but also an understanding of the layers of generational experiences that is contextualized in culture and lived in the local community.
Bergen's narrative of the little Samoan potty mouths is intriguing but unconvincing. Definitely not my cup of tea, besides there are apps available today that "swear" that they can assist you to swear in any language of the world. Downloadable for off-line use now.
Benny
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