十大真相：關於說髒話：英語精讀講義

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

大多數孩子在會背字母表之前就已經學會了罵人。

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

通常，一個孩子到兩歲時至少知道一個髒話。

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

平均而言，普通人每天大約使用 15000 個單詞。

About 75 of those words are swear words.

其中大約有 75 個是髒話。

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

相比之下，這與「we」和「our」等詞彙的使用量差不多。

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

但請記住，這些數字因人而異，差異很大，

depending on age,

取決於年齡、

nationality, occupation, and so on.

國籍、職業等等。

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

當你受傷時，罵髒話實際上有助於緩解疼痛。

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

有一項研究，要求人們盡可能長時間地把手浸在冰水中。

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

在測試過程中，允許一組人使用一個他們選擇的髒話，

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

而另一組只能使用研究人員給他們的非髒話對照詞。

The study showed that 73% of the participants

研究表明，73% 的參與者

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

如果被允許罵髒話，他們把手放在水裡的時間會更長。

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

平均而言，罵人組在冰水中的時間要長 30 到 40 秒。

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

許多流行的髒話已經存在了一千多年。

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

例如，「shit」這個詞可以追溯到6世紀初，

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

也就是英國歷史上的盎格魯-撒克遜時期。

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

其他諸如「ass」和「fart」等詞也可以追溯到這個時期。

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

然而，在當時這些詞並不像現在這樣被認為是不禮貌的。

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

令人驚訝的是，「fuck」這個極具百搭性的詞，其詞源卻相當模糊。

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

這個詞最有可能是起源於日耳曼語、挪威語和瑞典語，

deriving from words such as the ones displayed.

源自如螢幕上顯示的這些詞。

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

我不會去嘗試發音，因為你們都知道在上一集影片中，

when I mispronounced shakt,

當我把「shakt」讀錯時，

I mean kakt.

我是說「kakt」。

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

男人和女人在罵人方面有著不同的習慣。

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

例如，男性最常使用的詞是「fuck」、「shit」和「motherfucker」，

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

而女性通常更喜歡用「bitch」、「piss」和「retard」。

Men usually swear more often than women,

男人通常比女人罵得更頻繁，

but reduce the use of profanity when women are around.

但當有女人在場時，他們會減少髒話的使用。

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

然而，當有男人在場時，女人似乎更喜歡罵髒話。

But the real difference lies with age, 文法

但真正的差異在於年齡，

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

在青少年時期達到頂峰，然後隨之下降。

In comics and other types of text,

在漫畫和其他類型的文本中，

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

你經常可以看到一串符號來代替髒話。

These things actually have a name of their own.

這些東西其實有自己的名字。

It's called a grawlix. 文化背景

它被稱為「grawlix」。

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

你們中可能有人會問，為什麼我不用「cursing」或「cussing」這個詞。

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

嗯，那是因為「cursing」實際上與「swearing」的意思略有不同。

Cursing literally means to curse someone. 用詞

「Cursing」字面意思是詛咒某人。

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

像「goddamn it」和「may the devil take you」這樣的短語就屬於這一類。

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

而「swearing」或多或少是指使用褻瀆或下流的語言，

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

比如「shit」、「fuck」、「bitch」以及大多數其他被用作髒話的詞。

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

如果你不想用「cussing」、「cursing」或「swearing」這些詞，

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

還有 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 等說法。

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

豎中指的手勢早在西元一世紀就被用作一種侮辱。

It originated in ancient Greece,

它起源於古希臘，

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

這個手勢旨在貶低、恐嚇和威脅接受手勢的人。

Much like how we still use it today.

就像我們今天仍然使用它的方式一樣。

Back then, the gesture was known as katapugon

在當時，這個手勢被稱為「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,

在中世紀時期，這個手勢在某種程度上轉入地下，並被視為不神聖的東西，

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

所以大多數人都對其敬而遠之。

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.

在波士頓食豆人隊的合影中偷偷豎起了中指。

Americans everywhere quickly started using the gesture again,

於是，全美國的美國人很快又開始使用這個手勢，

and it is now a universal sign

如今它已成為一個普遍的標誌，

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

與「fuck off」和「fuck you」等短語緊密相連。

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

如果你恰好住在猶他州，並且不知怎麼遇到了一具死屍，

you better watch what you say, 文法

你最好管好你的嘴，

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

因為在死者身邊罵人是違法的。

There are tons of reasons why we swear.

我們罵人的原因有很多。

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

例如，如前所述，罵人可以用來減輕疼痛。

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

或者它可以用來給別人帶來痛苦。

Not physical, but emotional pain.

不是肉體上的，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. 文法

或者它可以用來讓某些事情聽起來比實際更有趣、更詼諧，或者更誇張。

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

它可以用來合群或裝酷。

We also perceive swearing as the lack of intelligence, 文法

我們也曾認為說髒話是缺乏智力的表現，

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

但同樣也有許多人認為說髒話的人更聰明。

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

但最大的原因，也是我們幾乎所有人都會使用髒話的原因，

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

是因為我們覺得這沒什麼大不了的。

It's part of the language we speak,

它是我們所說語言的一部分，

and it's very useful,

而且非常有用，

so why not use it? 語氣意圖

那為什麼不用呢？

We simply don't have any fucks to give. 慣用語

我們只是根本不在乎。