New Article: “Swearing in South Asia”

I am happy to share my new article, “Swearing in Southasia,” published in Himal Southasian Magzine.

The essay explores what swear words can reveal about the histories, cultures and social hierarchies of South Asia. Swearing is often dismissed as improper or deviant language, but it is a universal linguistic behaviour that allows people to express intense emotions, challenge others, exercise power and build solidarity.

The history of swearing in the region runs deep. Even though court chroniclers generally used formal and sanitised language, certain epithets and expletives still found their way into historical records. The article moves from the risqué character names of classical Sanskrit satire to documented instances of Mughal emperors using swear words.

It also examines some of the surprising sources of profanity. Swear words may draw on sex, bodily functions, religion, kinship, illness, death, disability, animals and even cuisine. Animal-based insults are particularly widespread: the Hindi kuttā (dog), and suar (pig) can suggest filth or subservience, while ullū ka patthā (son of an owl) implies stupidity. Similar associations appear in Nepali goru (ox), Bengali chhagol (goat), Gujarati bhains (buffalo) and Kashmiri khar)(donkey).
Such language is not socially neutral. Many insults reflect and reinforce prejudices involving caste, gender, sexuality, disability, race and age. Yet swearing is not always hostile. Depending on the speaker, audience and context, the same expression can communicate humour, intimacy, resistance, camaraderie or affection.

Swear words therefore function as a linguistic mirror: they reveal what societies consider sacred, shameful, threatening or permissible.

Read the full article:

https://www.himalmag.com/swear-words-southasia-linguistics-taboo/