Postcards from Tasma

Reading a great book at the moment, given to me by my friend Barb.

It’s called Language Most Foul, and it’s by Ruth Wajnryb.

It’s about, umm, the social anthropology and history of swearing in Australia.

My favourite parts so far are the following 2 quotes:

The first from the comedian Judith Lucy, regarding her role the movie “Crackerjack”:

My first line is “fuck off”. My last line is “you’re fucked”. So obviously I go on quite an emotional journey.

The next, imagined, from Joan of Arc:

I don’t suppose it’s gonna fucking rain is it?

One of the many good points she makes is that if you were an alien arriving from another planet, and wanted to use the body of work which makes up modern linguistics as a way to learn how to talk to people, you would be screwed, because this line of study has so neglected taboo words, which not only make up so much of speech and writing now, but are extremely nuanced. Newcomers to a language usually raise a laugh with their attempts at swearing – kids and ferners, simply because the usage is so nuanced.

She covers the “Dirty Dozen” – the 12 most commonly used swearwords in Australia, but probably more fun is all the stuff about context, about how we use the words and the service they do us in different contexts. As the blurb says, this is a book for “anyone who loves language – or has ever stubbed their toe.”

But she does all this without pretending that she doesn’t have a potty mouth, and letting us know from the start that it’s always made her feel good to talk dirty. Never dry or boring. So there’s always this half smile, and you feel the whole way through that you really do want to sit and watch bad tv and drink beer with her. In fact, she comes across a lot like Judith Lucy. In fact, as I read the book, Judith Lucy is standing in for the narrator, for me. Judith can swear a blue streak. I think we all use little actors and sets for the stories we read. Like kids playing with dolls. I’d love to see some of those sets.

We all read the text, but our imaginations put the scenery and the sounds together for us. When I read about a cave, I will picture my cave, which is near Normanville on the Fleurieu peninsula in South Australia. You picture yours. In non fiction, if the narrator’s voice is strong enough, she becomes a homunculus too. Well, I hear Judith Lucy’s voice narrating this book, and I love it. She’s made for the part.

Now playing at Tarilta:

06 You Better Move On from the album “Country Got Soul” by Travis Wammack

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