Re: OT: Slang, curses and vulgarities

Gary Shannon wrote:
>
>> Have any of you taken any of your conlangs down the
>> path toward slang, curses, cuss words and vulgarities?
[snip]
>> But what about in conlangs? Can a you curse like a
>> drunken sailor in your conlang?  Seems to me that's an
>> important part of any language.
I don't have much in the way of general vulgarity, but the Xinkùtlan are
quite inventive when it comes to curses.  Curses (and blessings) are, of
course, a very serious thing in their culture, and most of the phrases and
words they use where we would use expletives are actually warding-off-of-
evil type phrases (I think _apotropaic_ is the technical term).  Into this
category fall:  Names of gods, phrases like "May the ancestors protect!"
and "May it not come!", nonsense-words used in shamanic rituals (the rough
equivalent of "abracadabra") and the like.  But I haven't got there yet.

Vulgarities & derogatory terms:
------------------------------
dzup   excrement, sh*t
dzup dzemèkun  "worm sh*t" (worse than /dzup/)
nèkod   penis
unèkod setèic!  "your leprous penis!"[1]
bèqem   idiot, jerk
bèrecep   male of large animal (eg hippo, elephant)[2]
imàlu   female of large animal (eg hippo)[3]
dzèmek   worm[4]

[1]  used to imply that someone has just told an outrageous bald-
faced lie; a contracted reference to the vulgar oath "may my penis
shrivel/become leprous if I am telling a lie!"
[2], [3] quite normal words when used for an animal, but quite
insulting when used for people.  If you want to be _really_ insulting you
would call a person by the term pertaining to the other gender.
[4]  worms and other soft-bodied animals which lack any kind of
bones, shell or exoskeleton are considered unclean by the Xinkùtlan.  To
liken a person to one of these is to imply they are lacking a vital soul.

Curses:
-------
na robuàzax unàpa!         May your house be cleared for farming!
  (may IFT.clear_for_crops.PSS of_2sgl(inf).house!)[5]
na rodzil ut qub loi mun! May you never own livestock![6]
  (may IFT.possess 2sgl(inf) NEG EMPH livestock!)
na rotlàka uduìa!  May your 1st ancestor turn aside (from you)!
  (may IFT.turn_aside of_2sgl(inf).first_ancestor!)
na rotlàka ukexìn nai!         May all your ancestors turn aside!
  (may IFT.turn_aside of_2sgl(inf).ancestor all!)
na roqap kenemòr utuan!         May you be attacked by the gorgon!
  (may IFT.bite death_eye 2sgl.to!)
na rodoq qèdzik ubecàm!         May scorpions infest your liver!
  (may IFT.infest scorpion of_2sgl(inf).liver!)

[5]  The immediate future tense used here is used in this
construction for maximum effect.  The distant future tense is fairly vague,
being used in many instances for speculative happenings, whatever the time
factor involved.  Near future tense is a good deal more definite, and thus
more insulting.  Immediate future tense is the most powerful;
[6]  This is actually a direct borrowing of one of my favourite
Kazakh curses.  The Xinkùtlan are not quite so dependent on livestock,
however, and it's not quite as perjorative.  Also in use among the
Xinkùtlan is "na rodzil ut qub loi cun!", meaning "May you never own a
fishing boat!"

Other curses which I have worked out in English but not Xinkùtlan include:

-May your ancestor shrine be untended!
-May your shadow evaporate!
-May your speech vanish/be unremembered!
-May your children bless your enemy!
-May worms pour from your mouth! (used to counter another's curse; the
general meaning is "may the words (of your curse) turn to worms in your
mouth")

There are lots of others as well.  They are quite inventive when it comes
to curses. :)

Geoff