Vulgarity is the quality of being common, coarse, or unrefined. This judgement may refer to language, visual art, social class, or social climbers.[1]John Bayley claims the term can never be self-referential, because to be aware of vulgarity is to display a degree of sophistication which thereby elevates the subject above the vulgar.[2]
From the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, "vulgar" simply described the common language or vernacular of a country. From the mid-seventeenth century onward, it began to take on a pejorative aspect: "having a common and offensively mean character, coarsely commonplace; lacking in refinement or good taste; uncultured; ill bred".[citation needed]
In the Victorian age, vulgarity broadly described many activities, such as wearing ostentatious clothing. In a George Eliot novel, one character could be vulgar for talking about money, a second because he criticizes the first for doing so, and a third for being fooled by the excessive refinement of the second.[3] The effort to avoid vulgar phrasing could leave characters at a loss for words. In George Meredith's Beauchamp's Career, an heiress does not wish to make the commonplace statement that she is "engaged", nor "betrothed", "affianced", or "plighted". Though such words are not vulgarity in the vulgar sense, they nonetheless could stigmatize the user as a member of a socially inferior class. Even favored euphemisms such as toilet eventually become stigmatized like the words they replace (the so-called euphemism treadmill), and currently favored words serve as a sort of "cultural capital".[4]
Vulgarity, in the sense of vulgar speech, can refer to language which is offensive or obscene.
The word most associated with the verbal form of vulgarity is "cursing." However, there are many subsections of vulgar words. American psychologist Timothy Jay classifies "dirty words" because it "allows people interested in language to define the different types of reference or meaning that dirty words employ. One can see that what is considered taboo or obscene revolves around a few dimensions of human experience that there is a logic behind dirty word usage."[5] One of the most commonly used vulgar terms in the English language is fuck.[6]
Referencesedit
^Susan David Bernstein, Elsie Browning Michie (2009). Victorian vulgarity: taste in verbal and visual culture. Ashgate publishing. ISBN978-0-7546-6405-5.
^John Bayley (1964). "Vulgarity". The British Journal of Aesthetics. 4 (4): 298–304. doi:10.1093/bjaesthetics/4.4.298.
^Susan David Bernstein, Elsie Browning Michie (2009). Victorian vulgarity: taste in verbal and visual culture. Ashgate publishing. pp. 1–10. ISBN978-0-7546-6405-5.
^Susan David Bernstein, Elsie Browning Michie (2009). Victorian vulgarity: taste in verbal and visual culture. Ashgate publishing. p. 17. ISBN978-0-7546-6405-5.
^Jay, Timothy (1992). Cursing in America. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 9. ISBN9781556194528.
^Blomquist, Robert F. "The F-Word: A Jurisprudential Taxonomy of American Morals (In a Nutshell)." Santa Clara L. Rev. 40 (1999): 65.
External linksedit
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February 16, 2024
vulgarity, quality, being, common, coarse, unrefined, this, judgement, refer, language, visual, social, class, social, climbers, john, bayley, claims, term, never, self, referential, because, aware, vulgarity, display, degree, sophistication, which, thereby, e. Vulgarity is the quality of being common coarse or unrefined This judgement may refer to language visual art social class or social climbers 1 John Bayley claims the term can never be self referential because to be aware of vulgarity is to display a degree of sophistication which thereby elevates the subject above the vulgar 2 Contents 1 Evolution of the term 2 Language 3 References 4 External linksEvolution of the term editFrom the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries vulgar simply described the common language or vernacular of a country From the mid seventeenth century onward it began to take on a pejorative aspect having a common and offensively mean character coarsely commonplace lacking in refinement or good taste uncultured ill bred citation needed In the Victorian age vulgarity broadly described many activities such as wearing ostentatious clothing In a George Eliot novel one character could be vulgar for talking about money a second because he criticizes the first for doing so and a third for being fooled by the excessive refinement of the second 3 The effort to avoid vulgar phrasing could leave characters at a loss for words In George Meredith s Beauchamp s Career an heiress does not wish to make the commonplace statement that she is engaged nor betrothed affianced or plighted Though such words are not vulgarity in the vulgar sense they nonetheless could stigmatize the user as a member of a socially inferior class Even favored euphemisms such as toilet eventually become stigmatized like the words they replace the so called euphemism treadmill and currently favored words serve as a sort of cultural capital 4 Language editFurther information Profanity See also Vulgarism Vulgarity in the sense of vulgar speech can refer to language which is offensive or obscene The word most associated with the verbal form of vulgarity is cursing However there are many subsections of vulgar words American psychologist Timothy Jay classifies dirty words because it allows people interested in language to define the different types of reference or meaning that dirty words employ One can see that what is considered taboo or obscene revolves around a few dimensions of human experience that there is a logic behind dirty word usage 5 One of the most commonly used vulgar terms in the English language is fuck 6 References edit Susan David Bernstein Elsie Browning Michie 2009 Victorian vulgarity taste in verbal and visual culture Ashgate publishing ISBN 978 0 7546 6405 5 John Bayley 1964 Vulgarity The British Journal of Aesthetics 4 4 298 304 doi 10 1093 bjaesthetics 4 4 298 Susan David Bernstein Elsie Browning Michie 2009 Victorian vulgarity taste in verbal and visual culture Ashgate publishing pp 1 10 ISBN 978 0 7546 6405 5 Susan David Bernstein Elsie Browning Michie 2009 Victorian vulgarity taste in verbal and visual culture Ashgate publishing p 17 ISBN 978 0 7546 6405 5 Jay Timothy 1992 Cursing in America John Benjamins Publishing Company p 9 ISBN 9781556194528 Blomquist Robert F The F Word A Jurisprudential Taxonomy of American Morals In a Nutshell Santa Clara L Rev 40 1999 65 External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Vulgarity nbsp Look up vulgarity in Wiktionary the free dictionary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vulgarity amp oldid 1194092336, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
