Forbidden words: Taboo and the censoring of language

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Allan and Burridge are also the authors of Euphemism and dysphemism: Language used as shield and weapon (Oxford University Press, 1991). Forbidden words is a follow-up that examines taboo words and expressions in the English language and analyzes a range of relevant linguistic phenomena. The opening chapters treat foundational themes of censorship, face, politeness and impoliteness, political correctness and linguistic prohibition; the later chapters identify and discuss contemporary categories of linguistic taboos.

In the initial discussion, the authors distinguish between censorship and censoring. Censorship attempts to prohibit language artificially, but with varying degrees of success. Observing taboo, an act of self-censoring, is a more powerful suppressant than external restrictions or impositions on language use. Expressions can be categorized as "orthophemistic," "euphemistic" (both are "preferred" or polite forms), or "dysphemistic" terms ("dispreferred"...