A Bibliography of Insults

This bibliography originally appeared in LINGUIST List 13.3243, Dec. 10, 2002, and was compiled by Sergio Scalise. It is used here with his permission. (But see caveats at bottom of page!)

  1. Agovi, Kofi, A King Is Not Above Insult: The Politics of Good Governance in Nzema Avudwene Festival Songs, 47-61 In Furniss, Graham (ed.); Gunner, Liz (ed.). Power, Marginality and African Oral Literature. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge UP, 1995. xiv, 285 pp.

  2. Aman R. (1980), "Clean up your fexing language! Or, how to swear violently without offending anyone", Maledicta, IV, 5-11.

  3. Ardener, Shirley G., Sexual Insult and Female Militancy. Man: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. London W1M 9LA, England. 1973; 8: 422-40

  4. Arnovick, Leslie K. 1999. Diachronic pragmatics. Seven case studies in English illocutionary development, Philadelphia: Benjamins.

  5. Ayoub, Millicent R. & Barnett, Stephen A., Ritualized Verbal Insult in White High School Culture. Journal of American Folklore. Buffalo, NY. 1965; 78: 337-344

  6. Avorgbedor, Daniel K. Freedom to Sing, License to Insult: The Influence of Halo Performance on Social Violence among the Anlo Ewe, Oral Tradition (OT). 1994 Mar; 9(1): 83-112

  7. Baldanza, Frank, Jean Rhys on Insult and Injury, 105-116 In Biles, Jack I. (ed.-&-introd.); Kramer, Victor A. (foreword). British Novelists since 1900. New York : AMS, 1987. x, 358 pp.

  8. Barringer, Bob Adding Insult to the Inquiry: A Study of Rhetorical Jousting in Beowulf In Geardagum: -Essays on Old and Middle English Language and Literature (InG). 1998; 19: 19-26

  9. Beaudry, Mary C, Insult and Slander in Seventeenth Century Virginia Folklore and Folklife in Virginia. 1979; 1: 42-51

  10. Beaumatin, Eric & garcia, michel (E9ds.). 1995. Atalaya, 5, "L'Invective au moyen Age: France, Espagne, Italie: actes du colloque...", Paris: Presses de la Sorbonne Nouvelle; "Introduction", pp.5-8 et "Pour rendre compte", pp.259-262.

  11. Beaumatin, Eric. 1995. "La violence verbale. Prealables une mise en perspective linguistique", Atalaya, 5; pp.21-35.

  12. Beebe L.M. (1997), "Rude Awakenings: Ways of Responding to Rudeness.", Pragmatics and Language Learning, L.F. Bouton (ed.), Urbana Champaign, IL: Division of English as an International Language, University of Illinois, vol. 8, 1-35.

  13. Beldavs, Aija Veldre, I Sing Out Nine, You're Working on One: Historical Latvian Ritual Insult Song Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences (DAIA). 2001 Aug; 62(2): 707

  14. Blish, Jame, The Climate of Insult. Sewanee Review. Sewanee, TN. 1972; 80: 340-46

  15. Bonvini, Emile. 1995. "L'Injure dans les langues africaines", Faits de langue, 6; pp.153-162.

  16. Bricker V.R. (1973), "Three Genres of Tzotzil Insult", Meaning in Mayan languages, Edmonson M.S. (ed.), The Hague, Mouton.

  17. Brown, Donald, The Perceived Insult: A Comparative Study of Offensive Language in the Perceptions of Black and White College Students Indiana U, PA 15705 Dissertation Abstracts International, A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 1996, 56, 11, May, 4378 A. Available from UMI, Ann Arbor, MI. Order No. DA9608012.

  18. Burke, Peter, The Art of Insult in Early Modern Italy Emmanuel Coll, Cambridge CB2 3AP England Culture and History; 1987, 2, 68-79.

  19. Candy B., Celebrity Insults collection(Men) http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/ins-fmen.html)

  20. Candy B., Celebrity Insults collection(Women) http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/ins-fwm.html

  21. Caronna C. (2001), "La Negación de la sexualidad Femenina como Condición Esencial para la Aceptación en el Gremio: los insultos de caracter sexual en la sociedad Nahua de Santa Ana Tlacotenco.",??

  22. Casagrande, Carla & Vecchio, Silvana. 1991, Les Pechés de la langue: discipline et éthique de la parole dans la culture médiévale, Trad., Paris:Ed. du Cerf.

  23. Chastaing, Maxime & Abdi, Herv. 1980, "Psychologie des injures", Journal de psychologie normale et pathologique, 1; pp.31-62.

  24. Cichon, Michael, Insult and Redress in Cyfraith Hywel Dda and Welsh Arthurian Romance Arthuriana- (Arthuriana). 2000 Fall; 10(3): 27-43

  25. Collectif. 1992. "Paroles d'outrage", Ethnologie française, XXVI, no 3 (cité dans Beaumatin, Garcia, 1995)

  26. Colson, Karen Annita, Perception and Production of Changes in Stress Placement, Pitch and Duration by Patients with Focal Left Cortical Insult U Iowa, Iowa City 52242, Dissertation Abstracts International, B:-Sciences and Engineering; 1989, 50, 5, Nov, 1885 B., Available from UMI, Ann Arbor MI. Order No. DA8913165.

  27. Conway A.(1994), "You're ugly, your dick is small, and everybody fucks your mother! The stand up comedian's response to the Heckler", Maledicta , 11.

  28. Coyne J.C. (1978), "Expletives and woman's place", Sex Roles 4, 6. Crozier A. (1988), "Beyond the metaphor. Cursing in Ulster", Maledicta , X, 115-125.

  29. Danon Boileau, Laurent & Morel, Marie Annick (ds.). 1995. Faits de langue 6, "L'Exclamation"; Introduction:5-12.

  30. Darou W. (1983), "Personality and verbal abuse", Maledicta , VII, 178-186.

  31. Davis, Hedy I, Insult to Poets, Contrast-. Cape Town, South Africa. 1978;12(2): 88-90

  32. Davies, Wendy Adding Insult to Injury: Power, Property and Immunities in Early Medieval Wales 137-64 In Davies, Wendy (ed.); Fouracre, Paul (ed.). Property and Power in the Early Middle Ages. New York, NY : Cambridge UP, 1995. xiv, 322 pp.

  33. De Klerk V. (1992), "How taboo are taboo words for girls?", Language in Society, 21, 277-289.

  34. Delumeau, jean (d.). 1989. Injures et blasphèmes. Paris: Imago.

  35. D'-Eramo, Marco; Sokal, Alan, Academic Insult in Greenwich Village, and Selected Responses 115-18 In Lingua Franca (ed. and introd.). The Sokal Hoax: The Sham That Shook the Academy. Lincoln, NE : U of Nebraska P, 2000. ix, 271 pp.

  36. Dollard, John, The Dozens: Dialectic of Insult, 277-94 In Dundes, Alan (ed. and preface). Mother Wit from the Laughing Barrel. Jackson, MS : UP of Mississippi, 1990. xvi, 680 pp.

  37. Doyle, Charles Clay, Blow below the Belt: Hamlet's Crude Insult U Georgia, Athens 30602, Maledicta ; 1978, 2, 1-2, summer-winter, 177-181.

  38. Edouard, Robert. 1967. Dictionnaire des injures. Paris: Tchou.

  39. El Europeo (1992), "El arte del insulto", El Europeo, 42.

  40. Espinosa Meneses M. (2001), "Algo sobre la historia de las palabrotas", Razon y palabra, 23. http://www.razonypalabra.org.mx/anteriores/n23/23_mespinosa.html

  41. Evans-Pritchard, E.E. 1949. "Nuer curses and ghostly vengeance", Africa, XIX: 288-292.

  42. Fine G.A. (1981)," Rude words. lnsults and narration in preadolescent obscene talk", Maledicta , V, 51-68.

  43. Fischer, Sophie. 1988. "Procédures discursives. La co-nonciation dans l'injonction", in J. Cosnier et alii (eds), Echanges sur la conversation. Lyon: CNRS ; pp. 199-209.

  44. Fischer, Sophie. 1995. "Métamorphoses: le cri, l'interpellation, l'injure". Faits de langue, 6: 143-151.

  45. Flahaut, Franois. 1978. La Parole intermédiaire. Paris: Le Seuil.

  46. Gabriel Y. (1998), "An Introduction to the Social Psychology of Insults in Organizations", Human Relations, 51, 1. Fredeman, William E 'From Insult to Protect': The Pre-Raphaelites and the Biographical Fallacy 57-80 In Ransom, Harr. Sources for Reinterpretation: The Use of Nineteenth Century Literary Documents: Essays in Honor of C.L. Cline.Austin : Dept. of Eng. & Humanities Research Center, Univ. of Texas, 1975, 1978. 101 pp.

  47. Gamez, Luis R., Richard Bettesworth's Insult and `The Yahoo's Overthrow' Swift Studies: The Annual of the Ehrenpreis Center (SStud). 1997; 12: 80-84

  48. Gauvard, Claude. 1995. "Conclusion", Atalaya, 5: 249-258.

  49. Greene, David L., A Case of Insult, The Baum Bugle: A Journal of Oz. Swarthmore, PA. 1974; 18(1): 10-11

  50. Gregersen E. (1977), "A note on English sexual cursing", Maledicta , 1, 261-268.

  51. Grennen, Joseph E, The Pardoner, the Host, and the Depth of Chaucerian Insult English Language Notes (ELN). Boulder, CO. 1987 Dec.; 25(2): 18-24

  52. Guiraud P. (1975), Les gros mots, P.U.F., Paris.

  53. Hall, Kira `Go Suck Your Husband's Sugarcane!' Hijras and the Use of Sexual Insult 430-60 In Livia, Anna (ed. and introd.); Hall, Kira (ed. and introd.); Finegan, Edward (foreword). Queerly Phrased: Language, Gender, and Sexuality. New York, NY : Oxford UP, 1997. xix, 460 pp.

  54. Hensher P. (1996), "The Lost Art of the Calculated Insult", The Times (25.10.).

  55. Holod, Oxana Some Specifics of the Speech Act "Insult"; Einige Besonderheiten des Sprechaktes "Beschimpfung" Grazer Linguistische Studien; 1998, 49, spring, 29-35.

  56. Hughes S.E. (1992), "Expletives of lower working-class women", Language in Society, 21, 291-303.

  57. Huston, Nancy. 1980. Dire et interdire : lments de jurologie. Paris: Payot.

  58. Irvine J. T.(1993), "Insult and Responsibility: verbal Abuse in a Wolof Village", Responsibility and Evidence in Oral Discourse, Cambridge University press, Cambridge.

  59. Javier S.G. (2001), Tetlahual Ipan Tomacehuatlahtol. El Insulto en Nahuatl, Tesis de Maestria en Linguistica Indoamericana, CIESAS.

  60. Jay T.B. (1977), "Doing research with dirty words", Maledicta , 1, 234-256.

  61. Jay, Timothy. 1992. Cursing in America : a psycholinguistic study of dirty language in the courts, in the movies, in the schoolyards, and on the streets. Philadelphie: Benjamins.

  62. Jucker A.H., Taavitsainen I. (2000), "Diachronic speech Act Analysis. Insults from Flyting to Flaming", Journal of Historical Pragmatics, 1, 1.

  63. Kerbrat-Orecchioni, Catherine. 1980. L'Enonciation. De la subjectivité dans le langage. Paris: A. Colin.

  64. Kerbrat-Orecchioni, Catherine. 1992. Les Interactions verbales (t.2). Paris: Armand Colin.

  65. Kidman A. (1993), How to do Things with Four Letter Words. A Study of the Semantics of Swearing in Australia, BA Thesis, Universidad de New England. (http:/www.gusworld.com.au/nrc/thesis/intro.htm)

  66. Jochens, Jenny; Swenson, Karen, Performing Definitions: Two Genres of Insult in Old Norse Literature, Journal of English and Germanic Philology-(JEGP); 1994, 93, 1, Jan, 84 86.

  67. Labov, William. 1972. "Rules for Ritual Insults", in Sudnow, D., Studies in Social Interaction, New York: the Free Press. 120-170.

  68. Lagorgette, Dominique & Larrive, Pierre. 2002a (en cours), "Interprétation des insultes et relations de solidarité".

  69. Lagorgette, Dominique & Larrive, Pierre. 2002b (en cours). Paramètres d'analyse en sémantique: synchronie et diachronie des insultes.

  70. Lagorgette, Dominique. 1994. "Termes d'adresse, acte perlocutoire et insultes : la violence verbale dans quelques textes des 14e, 15e et 16e sicles", SENEFIANCE, 36: 317-332

  71. Lagorgette, Dominique. 2002a. "Dénomination et définition dans le récit bref pornographique", Les Transports amoureux, M.C.Guhl ed., CERIC / Ed. du PF4le.

  72. Lagorgette, Dominique. 2002b (sous presse). "Insultes et sounding: du rituel l'exclusion?", Actes des Journé'es d'études doctorales, (Département Sciences de l'Homme, des Humanités et de la Société), CERIC / Ed. du PF4le.

  73. Lagorgette, Dominique. En cours. Du Titre E0 l'insulte: les termes d'adresse en moyen français, Paris, Louvain la Neuve: Bibliothque de l'Information Grammaticale / Peeters.

  74. Lallemand, Suzanne `Rag-Head': Insult and Pedagogy in Mosi; `Tete en loques': insulte et pedagogie chez les Mosi Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines; 1975, 15, 4, 60, 649-668.

  75. Larguche, Evelyne. 1983. L'Effet injure: de la pragmatique E0la psychanalyse. Paris: P.U.F.

  76. Larguche, Evelyne. 1993. L'injure fleur de peau. Paris: L'Harmattan.

  77. Larrive, Pierre. 1994. "Quelques hypothèses sur les structures syntaxique et sémantique de Ce fripon de valet". Revue qéubcoise de linguistique, 23, 2: 101-113.

  78. Le Goffic, Pierre. 1993. grammaire de la phrase française. Paris: Hachette.

  79. Leach E. (1974), "Aspectos antropolgicos del lenguaje: Categorias, animales e injuria verbal", Nuevas direcciones en el estudio del lenguaje, E. Lenneberg (ed.), Selecta de la Revista de Occidente, Madrid.

  80. Leets L., Giles H. (1997), "Words as Weapons: When do they Wound?: Investigations of Harmful Speech", Human Communication Research, 24, 2. Lindovska, Nadezda, `Feminism' Is an Insult in Slovakia, Theatre Journal (TJ). 1995 Oct; 47(3): 381-92

  81. G. Lotti, Dizionario degli insulti, Rizzoli.

  82. Lopez?., Morrant ?., "Los Insultos", Catedra, Gramatica Femenina (???) Luque J. de D., Pamies A., Manjn F.J. (1997), El arte del insulto. Estudio lexicogrE1fico, PenEDnsula, Barcelona.

  83. Ludwig, Ralph; Poullet, Hector, How to Convince, Refute, and Insult in Creole: Some Argumentative Strategies of Guadeloupe Creole; Convaincre, refuter et insulter en créole: quelques strategies argumentatives du guadeloupéen, Romanisches Seminar Albert-Ludwigs U, D-7800 Freiburg im Breisgau Federal Republic Germany, Etudes Créoles; 1989, 12, 2, 11-27.

  84. Maduka, Omen N., A Linguistic Analysis of an Insult Game in Nigerian Pidgin English Imo State U, Okigwe Nigeria, Lore and Language; 1991, 10, 1, Jan, 47-58.

  85. Mankodi, Kashyap, On How to Insult People in Gujarati, 106-114 In Khubchandani, Lachman M. (ed.). Language in a Plural Society. Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass, 1988. viii, 158 pp.

  86. Marr A. (2000), "Politicians and newspapers now use insult as polemic...do they really believe what they are saying?", The Observer (22.10.).

  87. Mateo J., F. Yus (2000), "Insults: A relevance-theoretic approach to their translation", International Journal of translation, 12, 1-2, 97-130.

  88. McEnery T. (2003) Swearing in English, Routledge, London.

  89. McEnery T., Baker P., Hardie A. (2000), "Swearing and abuse in modern British English", PALC'99: Practical Application in Language Corpora. Papers from the International Conference at the University of???, 15-18 April, 1999, Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk B., Melia P. (eds.), Frankfurt am Main Berlin Bern Bruxelles New York Oxford Wien: Peter Lang, 37-48.

  90. McEnery A., Baker J. P., Hardie A.(2000), "Assessing claims about language use with corpus data: swearing and abuse", Corpora galore. Analyses and techniques in describing English. Papers from the Nineteenth International Conference on English Language Research on Computerised Corpora (ICAME 19-98) , Rodopi, Amsterdam/Atlanta.

  91. Millan J.A. (1999), "Y yo en la tuya...el insulto y el genio de las lenguas", Revista de libros, 25, 01.

  92. Milner, Jean-Claude. 1978. De la syntaxe: l'interpretation : quantités, insultes, exclamations. Paris: Le Seuil

  93. Milton, Salmasius and Hammond: The History of an Insult. Renaissance and Reformation/Renaissance et Reforme. Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada. 1973; 9: 108-15

  94. Murray S. (1983), "Ritual and personal insults in stigmatized subcultures: Gay, black, jew", Maledicta VII, 189-211.

  95. Murray T.E., "Swearing as a function of gender in the language of Midwestern American college students. Who does it more, what do they say, and why do they do it", Maledicta , XI, 1990-1995.

  96. Norton C. (1997), "Tv blamed as swearing soars in primary schools", The Sunday Times (4.05.).

  97. Nwachukwu-Agbada, J-O-J, The Glint in the Ore: Latent Educational Values of Igbo Poetic Insult of Similes, Lore and Language (Lore&L). 1996; 14(1): 1-14

  98. O'Broin, Fiach, The Historical Insult in Ireland, Logophile: The Cambridge Journal of Words and Language (Logophile). London England. 1980; 3(3): 9-10

  99. Oden, Tatia-Malika, Insult Denied: Traumatic Brain Injury in Battered African American Women Dissertation Abstracts International, Section-B: The Sciences and Engineering (DAIB). 2000 Oct; 61(4): 1864-65

  100. Ogier J.M. (1996), "Sex and violence in the indo-european languages", Maledicta , XII.

  101. Perez-Reverte A.(1994), "El insulto", El Semanal (27.03.).

  102. Powers, William G.; Glenn, Robert B. Perceptions of Friendly Insult Greetings in Interpersonal Relationships, North Texas State U, Denton 76203, Southern Speech Communication Journal; 1979, 44, 3, spring, 264-274.

  103. Perret, Delphine. 1968. "Termes d'adresse et injures", Cahiers de lexicologie, 12, 1968-1: 3-14.

  104. Pichette, Jean-Pierre. 1980. Le guide raisonné des jurons. Montéral: Les Quinze, Editeurs.

  105. Rosier, Laurence & Ernotte, Philippe. 2001. "Le lexique clandestin. La dynamique sociale des insultes et appellatifs Bruxelles", Français et société: 12.

  106. Rouayrenc, Catherine. 1998. Les Gros mots. Paris: P.U.F., 3e d. corrige (QSJ? 1597).

  107. Ruwet N. (1982), Grammaire des insultes et autres études, Seuil, Paris.

  108. Saporta S. (1988), "Linguistic taboo, code words and women's use of sexist language", Maledicta , X, 163-166.

  109. Ryalls, John H.; Behrens, Susan J., An Overview of Changes in Fundamental Frequency Associated with Cortical Insult, Dept Speech & Hearing Sciences Indiana U, Bloomington 47405 Aphasiology; 1988, 2, 2, Mar-Apr, 107-115. aja Abstract of Journal Article

  110. Sayers, William, Old Judeo-French etupe `having a prepuce, uncircumcised': Biblical Gloss And Religious Insult?; L'Ancien Judeo-francais etupe `ayant un prepuce, incirconcisé': glose biblique et insulte religieuse?, Zeitschrift fur Romanische Philologie; 1999, 115, 2, 234-243.

  111. Schmitt, Jean-Claude. 1995, "Les images de l'invective", Atalaya, 5: 9-20.

  112. Sengupta K. (1999), "Black people call each other niggers, so why does it matter if white people say it?", The Independent (30.06.).

  113. Siblot, Paul. 1995. "Du Sens dans les formes exclamatives", Faits de langue, 6: 163-170.

  114. Smith J. (2001), "Doggone", The Guardian (1.03.).

  115. Stewart, Douglas-Boulton. Branding Characters: The Printed Insult from Milton to Junius Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences(DAIA). 1997 Nov; 58(5): 1728

  116. Swenson, Karen Performing Definitions: Two Genres of Insult in Old Norse Literature Columbia, SC : Camden House, 1991. xiii, 149 pp.

  117. Tannock S. (1999), "Working with insults: Discourse and difference in an inner-city youth organization", Discourse & Society 10, 3, 317-350.

  118. Teruggi, Mario-E., Potentiation of a Spanish Insult, School Natural Sciences La Plata U, 1900 Argentina, Maledicta ; 1981, 5, 1-2, summer-winter, 77-78.

  119. Valis, Noel, Autobiography as Insult, 27-52 In Charnon-Deutsch, Lou (ed.); Labanyi, Jo (ed.). Culture and Gender in Nineteenth-Century Spain. Oxford, England : Clarendon, 1995. xv, 277 pp.

  120. Ye, Sheng-Tao; Link, Perr, People Who Insult People, Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars. 1976; 8(1): 19-20

  121. Viner K. (1997), "Who are you calling a slag?", The Guardian (28.08.)

  122. Waksler R. (1995), "She's a menscha and he's a bitch: neutralizing gender in the 90s", English Today, 42, 11, 2.

  123. Whaley R., G. Antonelly (1983), "The birds and the beasts. Woman as animal", Maledicta VII, 219-229.

  124. Whatson-Smith K. (2000), "Comeback for the carefully crafted caustic comment", The Independent (22.12.).

  125. Wilson, John G., From Insult and Injury to Open Critical Thinking, Srinakharinwirot U, Prasarnmit Campus Bangkok 10110 Thailand, PASAA; 1995, 25, Dec, 43-53.

  126. White M. (2001), "With all due respect...", The Guardian (5.10.).

  127. Zwicky Arnold. 1974. "Hey, whatsyourname !", Chicago Linguistic Society, 10: 787-801.

NOTA BENE: the bibliography is NOT accurate: there are question marks, incomplete data, I [Sergio] did not check whether any item is 100% relevant, I did not try to make a distinction between different speech acts such as insulting or cursing, etc. but nevertheless I thought it may be a useful starting point for those who would like to learn something more about this particular kind of ...art!.