C yourself out - how the most offensive word killed Slipper

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 10 Oktober 2012 | 20.01

YESTERDAY, a four-letter word became a game changer in the Australian political landscape.

Starting with "c" and ending with "t" the word offended our prime minister, a whole host of female MPs and effectively led to Peter Slipper's resignation from parliament.

These are mighty consequences indeed, but we shouldn't be surprised.

The "c" word is still considered the most taboo word in the English language. And it's been offending people since the beginning of the 20th Century.

According to Adam Smith, a professor of linguistics at Sydney's Macquarie University, the "c" word is Anglo Saxon in origin and was first recorded in the early 1300s.

Then spelt "quenynt" it appeared in the lyrics of popular ballads as well as the pages of British author Geoffrey Chaucer's,  A Miller's Tale published in 1330.

Back then, in the fourteenth century, the "c" word was considered more of a taboo than a derogatory term.

As Kate Burridge and Keith Allen explain in their book, Forbidden Words, that's because this was a time when anything to do with sex and bodily functions were not considered fit topics for discussion.

Fast forward several hundred years and the word has lost a little of its edge.

As Burridge wrote, its appeared with increasing frequency in popular culture, for example shows like Sex and the City, The Panel and even Big Brother

That might be true, but as yesterday's series of events showed, it's clearly lost none of its power.


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