BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online

    The emotional force of swearwords and taboo words in the speech of multilinguals

    Dewaele, Jean-Marc (2004) The emotional force of swearwords and taboo words in the speech of multilinguals. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 25 (2/3), pp. 204-222. ISSN 0143-4632.

    [img]
    Preview
    Text
    dewaeleJMMD25.pdf

    Download (206kB) | Preview

    Abstract

    This paper investigates the perception of emotional force of swearwords and taboo words (S-T words) among 1039 multilinguals. It is based on data drawn from a large database collected through a web questionnaire on bilingualism and emotions. t -Tests revealed that the perceived emotional force of S-T words is highest in the L1 and gradually lower in languages learned subsequently. Self-reported L1 attriters were found to judge S-Twords in their L1 to be less powerful than those who are still dominant in their L1. Participants who learned their language(s) in a naturalistic or partly naturalistic context gave higher ratings on emotional force of S-T words in that language than instructed language learners. Self-rated proficiency in a language and frequency of use of language significantly predicted perception of emotional force of S-T words. Age of onset of learning was found to only predict perception of emotional force of S-T words in the L2.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): multilingualism, perception of emotion, swearing
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
    Depositing User: Barbara Harris
    Date Deposited: 18 Jan 2005
    Last Modified: 09 Aug 2023 12:28
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/62

    Statistics

    Activity Overview
    6 month trend
    17,538Downloads
    6 month trend
    3,835Hits

    Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.

    Archive Staff Only (login required)

    Edit/View Item Edit/View Item