十大关于说脏话的真相：英语精读讲义

Most children learn to swear before they can even recite the alphabet.

大多数孩子在会背字母表之前就已经学会了骂人。

Usually, a child knows at least one swear word by the age of two.

通常，一个孩子到两岁时至少知道一个脏话。

On average, typical speakers roughly use about 15,000 words per day. 語法

平均而言，普通人每天大约使用 15000 个单词。

About 75 of those words are swear words.

其中大约有 75 个是脏话。

For comparison, that's about the same amount as words like we and our.

相比之下，这与“we”和“our”等词汇的使用量差不多。

Keep in mind, though, that these numbers can differ greatly between individuals 表達脈絡

但请记住，这些数字因人而异，差异很大，

depending on age,

取决于年龄、

nationality, occupation, and so on.

国籍、职业等等。

When you hurt yourself, swearing can actually help ease the pain. 短語搭配

当你受伤时，骂脏话实际上有助于缓解疼痛。

A study was done where people were told to hold their hand in ice cold water for as long as they could. 語法

有一项研究，要求人们尽可能长时间地把手浸在冰水中。

One group was allowed to use one swear word of their choice during the test, 短語搭配

在测试过程中，允许一组人使用一个他们选择的脏话，

while the other group could only use a non-obscene control word given to them by the researchers. 用詞

而另一组只能使用研究人员给他们的非脏话对照词。

The study showed that 73% of the participants

研究表明，73% 的参与者

kept their hand in the water longer if they were allowed to swear.

如果被允许骂脏话，他们把手放在水里的时间会更长。

On average, the swearing group lasted about 30 to 40 seconds longer in the freezing water.

平均而言，骂人组在冰水中的时间要长 30 到 40 秒。

A lot of popular swear words have been around for more than a millennia. 講解

许多流行的脏话已经存在了一千多年。

For example, the word shit dates back to early 6th century 短語動詞

例如，“shit”这个词可以追溯到6世纪初，

from a period in English history called Anglo-Saxon. 文化背景

也就是英国历史上的盎格鲁-撒克逊时期。

Other words such as ass and fart can also be traced back to this time period.

其他诸如“ass”和“fart”等词也可以追溯到这个时期。

However, back then these words weren't considered as impolite as they are now. 語法

然而，在当时这些词并不像现在这样被认为是不礼貌的。

Surprisingly, the ever so versatile word fuck has quite an obscure etymology. 講解

令人惊讶的是，“fuck”这个极其多才多艺的词，其词源却相当模糊。

The most probable origin for the word comes from Germanic, Norwegian, and Swedish languages,

这个词最有可能的起源是日耳曼语、挪威语和瑞典语，

deriving from words such as the ones displayed.

源自如屏幕上显示的这些词。

And I'm not going to try and pronounce them because you all know what happened in the last video 用詞

我不会去尝试发音，因为你们都知道在上一期视频中，

when I mispronounced shakt,

当我把“shakt”读错时，

I mean kakt.

我是说“kakt”。

Men and women have different habits when it comes to swearing. 短語搭配

男人和女人在骂人方面有着不同的习惯。

For example, men most commonly use the words fuck, shit, and motherfucker,

例如，男性最常使用的词是“fuck”、“shit”和“motherfucker”，

while women usually prefer the words bitch, piss, and retard. 用詞

而女性通常更喜欢用“bitch”、“piss”和“retard”。

Men usually swear more often than women,

男人通常比女人骂得更频繁，

but reduce the use of profanity when women are around.

但当有女人在场时，他们会减少脏话的使用。

Women, however, seem to swear more when men are around.

然而，当有男人在场时，女人似乎更喜欢骂脏话。

But the real difference lies with age, 語法

但真正的差异在于年龄，

where it peaks during the teenage years and then declines thereafter. 用詞

在青少年时期达到顶峰，然后随之下降。

In comics and other types of text,

在漫画和其他类型的文本中，

you can often see a cluster of symbols to substitute for profanity. 短語搭配

你经常可以看到一串符号来代替脏话。

These things actually have a name of their own.

这些东西其实有自己的名字。

It's called a grawlix. 文化背景

它被称为“grawlix”。

Some of you might be wondering why I'm not using the word cursing or cussing. 表達脈絡

你们中可能有人会问，为什么我不用“cursing”或“cussing”这个词。

Well, that's because cursing actually has a slightly different meaning than that of swearing. 語法

嗯，那是因为“cursing”实际上与“swearing”的意思略有不同。

Cursing literally means to curse someone. 用詞

“Cursing”字面意思是诅咒某人。

Phrases such as goddamn it and may the devil take you would fall under this category. 短語搭配

像“goddamn it”和“may the devil take you”这样的短语就属于这一类。

While swearing more or less means to use profane or indecent language 語氣意圖

而“swearing”或多或少是指使用亵渎或下流的语言，

such as shit, fuck, bitch, and most of the other words used as swear words.

比如“shit”、“fuck”、“bitch”以及大多数其他被用作脏话的词。

And if you don't want to use the words cussing, cursing, or swearing,

如果你不想用“cussing”、“cursing”或“swearing”这些词，

there's also obscenity, profanity, blasphemy, vulgarism, expletive,

还有 obscenity、profanity、blasphemy、vulgarism、expletive，

and bad, adult, foul, offensive, abusive, rude, and uncivil language.

以及 bad、adult、foul、offensive、abusive、rude 和 uncivil language 等说法。

The gesture of holding up your middle finger has been used as an insult from as far back as the first century. 講解

竖中指的手势早在公元一世纪就被用作一种侮辱。

It originated in ancient Greece,

它起源于古希腊，

where the gesture was used in a manner meant to degrade, intimidate, and threaten the individual receiving it.

这个手势旨在贬低、恐吓和威胁接受手势的人。

Much like how we still use it today.

就像我们今天仍然使用它的方式一样。

Back then, the gesture was known as katapugon

在当时，这个手势被称为“katapugon”，

and literally means rump or buttocks.

字面意思是臀部或屁股。

During the Middle Ages, the gesture went somewhat on the ground and was seen as something unholy,

在中世纪时期，这个手势在某种程度上转入地下，并被视为不神圣的东西，

so most people stayed away from ever using it. 短語動詞

所以大多数人都对其敬而远之。

But in 1886, baseball pitcher Charles Radbourn

但在1886年，棒球投手 Charles Radbourn

slipped his middle finger into the Boston Beaneaters team picture.

在波士顿食豆人队的合影中偷偷竖起了中指。

Americans everywhere quickly started using the gesture again,

于是，全美国的美国人很快又开始使用这个手势，

and it is now a universal sign

如今它已成为一个普遍的标志，

strongly associated with the phrases fuck off and fuck you. 講解

与“fuck off”和“fuck you”等短语紧密相连。

If you happen to live in the state of Utah and you should somehow come across a dead person, 講解

如果你恰好住在犹他州，并且不知怎么遇到了一具死尸，

you better watch what you say, 語法

你最好管好你的嘴，

as it's illegal to swear around the deceased. 用詞

因为在死者身边骂人是违法的。

There are tons of reasons why we swear.

我们骂人的原因有很多。

For example, swearing can be used to relieve pain, as mentioned earlier.

例如，如前所述，骂人可以用来减轻疼痛。

Or it can be used to inflict pain on someone else. 短語搭配

或者它可以用来给别人带来痛苦。

Not physical, but emotional pain.

不是肉体上的，而是精神上的痛苦。

Or it can be used to make something sound funnier, wittier, or more exaggerated than it really is. 語法

或者它可以用来让某些事情听起来比实际更有趣、更诙谐，或者更夸张。

It can be used to fit in or sound cool. 短語動詞

它可以用来合群或装酷。

We also perceive swearing as the lack of intelligence, 語法

我们也曾认为说脏话是缺乏智力的表现，

but just as many perceive people who swear as more intelligent.

但同样也有许多人认为说脏话的人更聪明。

But the biggest reason of all, the reason why almost all of us use swear words, 語法

但最大的原因，也是我们几乎所有人都会使用脏话的原因，

is because we don't think it's such a big deal. 習語

是因为我们觉得这没什么大不了的。

It's part of the language we speak,

它是我们所说语言的一部分，

and it's very useful,

而且非常有用，

so why not use it? 語氣意圖

那为什么不用呢？

We simply don't have any fucks to give. 習語

我们只是根本不在乎。