Offensive Language

Taboo, Offence and Social Control

By: Jim O’Driscoll

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Hardcover | 12 November 2020

At a Glance

Hardcover
216 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
24.13 x 16.51 x 2.54

Hardcover

RRP $240.00

$209.75

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Why do people take offence at things that are said? What is it exactly about an offending utterance which causes this negative reaction? How well motivated is the response to the offence?

Offensive Language addresses these questions by applying an array of concepts from linguistic pragmatics and sociolinguistics to a wide range of examples, from TV to Twitter and from Mel Gibson to Donald Trump. Establishing a sharp distinction between potential offence and actual offence, Jim O'Driscoll then examines a series of case studies where offence has been caused, assessing the nature and degree of both the offence and the documented response to it. Through close linguistic analysis, this book explores the fine line between free speech and criminal activity, searching for a principled way to distinguish the merely embarrassing from the reprehensible and the censurable. In this way, a new approach to offensive language emerges, involving both how we study it and how it might be handled in public life.

Industry Reviews

O'Driscoll both synthesizes and opens up the multi-disciplinary topic of offensive language. Thought-provoking and deep yet written in an engaging style, this is a book you will remember long after you have finished reading it. * Jonathan Culpeper, Professor of English Language and Linguistics, Lancaster University, UK *
In this timely volume, Jim O'Driscoll offers us a lucidly written, fascinating and thought-provoking trip into the various shades of offensive language. Based on theoretical depth and the analysis of riveting empirical data, the book is must-read for all those interested in impoliteness and its central concept of offence. * Maria Sifianou, Professor Emerita, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece *

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