Re: Swearing in other cultures (was Langmaker.com and...)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tristan McLeay" <conlang@...>

>> Hmm, I only know 'His/Her mother's!' as a very bad Chinese insult, but
>> I don't know many...  This seemingly strange insult is insulting by
>> cultural agreement, it seems, and the real insult is just not
>> explicitly expressed. :-)
>
> I've heard 'your mum' used as an offensive insult on more than one
> occasion, usually from the mouths of (east) Asians, normally Vietnamese
> I think. I originally interpreted it as being abbreviated from the
> non-offensive insults like 'Your mum's so fat, she got a parking ticket
> while waiting to cross the road!', but the degree to which it offends
> suggested it probably came from something from their culture. The
> Chinese did have a strong influence over the Vietnamese in the past, so
> it seems even more likely.
This must be all over the world (referencing the other comments about other
cultures that have "your mother").  Because I've heard that "tu madre" in
Spanish is one of the vilest things you can say to someone.  Sometimes it's
"a tu madre," i.e., stick it to your mother.

Sally