Swearing, swearing, obscene expressions are an ambiguous phenomenon. On the one hand, there are poorly educated and uncultured people who cannot even put together two words without swearing, on the other hand, fairly intelligent and well-mannered people sometimes also swear. Sometimes these words themselves fly out of our mouths. After all, there are situations when it is impossible to express your attitude to what is happening in any other way...
So, let's figure out what this phenomenon is and where it came from.
Mat is a type of profanity in Russian and other languages. For the most part, swearing is condemned by society and is perceived negatively. And sometimes it can even be regarded as hooliganism. In addition, there are cases when swear words were used in the works of classical authors such as Pushkin (yes, yes! It’s hard to believe, but it’s true), Mayakovsky, etc.
If someone covers someone or something with an endless stream of swear words, and doing it in their own intricate way, then this is called a “three-story obscenity.”
Origin
There is an opinion that swearing was brought to our land by the Tatar-Mongol hordes. And that until this very moment in Rus' they did not know swear words at all. Naturally, this is not so. Because the position in the spirit of “everything nasty was brought to us from outside” is very convenient, and is so characteristic of many of us.
Nomads have nothing to do with this, because... they had no custom of swearing. This fact was noted back in the 13th century by the Italian traveler Plano Carpini, who then visited Central Asia. He wrote that the Tatar-Mongols had no swear words at all, and on the contrary, Russian chronicle sources tell us that swear words were widespread in Rus' long before the Horde yoke.
Modern obscene language has its roots in distant linguistic antiquity.
The most important swear word is the word x**, the same one that can be found on walls and fences all over the world :)
If you take this iconic three-letter word, then the word “dick” also corresponds to it. In Old Russian, “pokherit” means to cross out cross by cross. And the word “her” means “cross”. We are accustomed to thinking that given word used to refer to the male sexual organ, along with that same three-letter swear word. The fact is that in Christian philosophical symbolism, the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified is viewed not as an instrument of shameful execution, but as the victory of life over death. Thus, the word "her" was used in Rus' to mean the word "cross". The letter “x” in Russian is denoted in the form of intersecting lines, and this is not just so, because Christ, Christianity, temple, kher (cross). There is also an opinion according to which the phrase “Fuck you all!” was invented by defenders Slavic paganism. They shouted it, swearing at the Christians who had come to instill their faith. Originally this expression meant a curse, to paraphrase we can say that they meant “Go to the cross!”, i.e. let you be crucified like your God.” But in connection with the victory of Orthodoxy in Rus', the term “cross” ceased to have a negative meaning.
In Christianity, for example, foul language is considered a great sin, and the same is true in Islam. Rus' adopted Christianity later than its Western neighbors. By this time, swearing, along with pagan customs, was firmly rooted in Russian society. With the advent of Christianity in Rus', the fight against swear words began. Orthodoxy declared war on swearing. There were cases when in Ancient Rus', foul-mouthed people were punished with whips. Swearing was a sign of a slave, a stinker. It was believed that a noble person, and an Orthodox one at that, would never use foul language. A hundred years ago, a person who used bad language in public could be taken to the police station. AND Soviet authority waged a war with swearers. According to Soviet law, foul language in a public place should have been punishable by a fine. In fact, this punishment was used very rarely. Along with vodka, swearing at this time was already considered a certain attribute of brave valor. The police, military, and senior officials were arguing. The top management has a “strong word” and is still in use. If a leader uses swear words in a conversation with someone, this means special trust.
Only in an intelligent environment was swearing a sign of bad taste. But what about Pushkin, you say, and Ranevskaya? According to contemporaries, Pushkin did not use rude expressions in his life. However, in some of his “secret” works you can find swear words. It was just shocking - a slap in the face to the refined society that rejected him. Oh, you are so polished - so here is my “peasant” answer. For Ranevskaya, swearing was an integral part of her bohemian image - image, as they say now. For that time it was original - internally a very subtle nature, outwardly he behaves like a man - he smokes stinking cigarettes, swears. Now, when obscenities are heard at every step, such a trick will no longer work.
In general, linguists believe that the roots of swear words are found in many Indo-European languages, but they were able to truly develop only on our land.
So, three main swear words denoting male and female genital organs and the sexual act itself as such. Why did these words, which basically mean things inherent in all living beings, eventually become curse words? Apparently our ancestors attached great importance great importance reproductive function. Words that denoted the reproductive organs were given a magical meaning. It was forbidden to pronounce them in vain, so as not to damage people.
The first violators of this prohibition were sorcerers who were engaged in casting spells on people and doing other charming things. Afterwards, this taboo began to be violated by those who wanted to show that the law was not written to them. Gradually they began to use obscenities just like that, out of fullness of feeling, for example. At the same time, all this developed, and the main words acquired a mass of words derived from them.
There are three main linguistic versions of the introduction of swearing into the Russian language, based on research conducted at different times by various historians and linguists:
1. Russian swearing - heritage Tatar-Mongol yoke(one of the theories, which, as we have already found out, is untenable in itself);
2. Russian swear words once had two meanings, subsequently displacing one of the meanings or merging together and turning the meaning of the word into a negative one;
3. Mat was and is an integral part of occult and pagan rituals existing in different languages from different nationalities.
There is no single point of view where the word mat itself came from. In some reference books you can find a version that “swearing” is a conversation. But why is the word “mate” so similar to the word mother?
There is a version related to the fact that the word “mate” came into the Russian language after the appearance of the expression “send to mother.” In fact, this is one of the first expressions to become obscene. After the appearance of this particular phrase, many words that had previously existed in the language began to be classified as abusive and indecent.
Practically, until the 18th century, those words that we now classify as obscene and abusive were not such at all. Words that have become indecent previously denoted either some physiological features (or parts) of the human body, or were generally ordinary words.
Relatively recently (just about a thousand years ago), a word meaning a woman of easy virtue was included in the list of swear words; it comes from a quite common word in ancient Rus' the words “vomit”, which means “to spew out abomination.”
The verb “whore” in the Old Russian language meant “to talk idle talk, to deceive.” In the Old Russian language there was also a verb fornication - “to wander.” There are two meanings of this word: 1) avoidance straight path and 2) illegal, celibate cohabitation. There is a version that there was a merger of two verbs (blyaditi and fornication).
In the Old Russian language there was a word “mudo”, meaning “male testicle”. This word was rarely used and did not have an obscene connotation. And then, apparently, it came down to our times, turning from rarely used to commonly used.
Addition to the article from Artyom Alenin:
The topic of swearing in Russia is a very fertile and popular topic. At the same time, there are a lot of untrue facts and rumors regarding swearing wandering on the Internet. For example: “Once upon a time, scientists conducted an experiment. They swore at the water and then poured it on the wheat seeds. As a result, of those grains that were watered with water with a curse, only 48% sprouted, and the seeds watered with holy water sprouted by 93%.” Naturally, this is all a lie and fiction. You cannot “charge” water with just one word. As they say, no one has yet canceled the laws of chemistry and physics. By the way, this myth was once perfectly dispelled in the show MythBusters.
They very often try to ban swearing. Various laws are constantly coming out that limit the use of swear words in the media. But you don’t need to do this! The reason lies in the following aspects.
Firstly, swearing is not necessarily an offensive word. Work at a construction site for a week and you will understand that swearing is great way communication. Especially swearing helps to communicate with citizens of the union republics who, apart from swearing, do not understand anything else :)
In addition, without using swear words, you can insult a person and even drive him to murder or suicide. So what needs to be banned is not swearing, but insults and humiliation in the media.
Secondly, mat is a word that reflects a very deep feeling. We associate swearing with sharp negative feelings like rage or anger. Therefore, it is impossible to prohibit swearing - for this you need to change your consciousness. Theoretically, if a child is fenced off from swearing from childhood, then he will not swear. However, he will still come up with words to express his anger.
The sensory background of swearing is also evidenced by the fact that a person with amnesia, even if he does not remember the language, can still swear.
Our legislators are smart people, and therefore there is no article punishing swearing. But there are logical articles about slander and insult. Moreover, these articles were recently canceled because the responsibility for them was too low (public apology). But then these articles were returned again. Apparently the state realized that the absence of at least some kind of punishment would let people off the “chain.” This is especially true for swearing in the media.
Interestingly, in Europe and the USA it is not swearing itself that is prohibited, but insults (which is logical). At the same time, one should not think that there are no swear words in the English language. According to statistics, there are more swear words in English than in Russian. There is also a lot of swearing in Dutch and French(with their famous "kurwa", which is now in Polish and other languages).
Thank you for your attention!
P.S. The fact that we talk so loyally about swearing does not mean that you need to swear on our website :) So write comments in the usual civilized style.
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The opinion has taken root in the popular consciousness that swear words are of Turkic origin and penetrated into the Russian language during the dark times of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Many even claim that before the Tatars came to Rus', Russians did not swear at all, and when swearing, they called each other only dogs, goats and sheep. Is this really so, we will try to figure it out.
Three letter word.
The most important swear word in the Russian language is rightfully considered to be the same three-letter word that is found on the walls and fences of the entire civilized world. When did this three-letter word appear? Isn’t it in Tatar-Mongol times? To answer this question, let's compare this word with its Turkic counterparts. In those same Tatar-Mongolian languages, this object is denoted by the word “kutah”. Many people have a surname derived from this word and do not consider it in the least dissonant. One of these carriers was even the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, the famous ace of the Second World War, twice Hero Soviet Union, Air Chief Marshal Pavel Stepanovich Kutakhov. During the war, he made 367 combat missions, conducted 63 air battles, in which he personally shot down 14 enemy aircraft and 24 in a group. Did this native of the village of Malokirsanovka, Matveevo-Kurgan district, know Rostov region, what is the translation of his surname, which he immortalized with his heroism?
The most reliable version seems to be that the three-letter word itself arose as a euphemism to replace the taboo root pes-. It corresponds to the Sanskrit पसस्, the ancient Greek πέος (peos), the Latin penis and the Old English fæsl, as well as the Russian words “púsat” and “dog”. This word came from the verb peseti, which denoted the primary function of this organ - to emit urine. According to this version, the three-letter word is a sound imitation of the sound of the pipe, which the god of sex and fertility had with him and which looked like a penis.
What was the name of the reproductive organ in ancient times? Until the end of the 18th century, it was designated by the word “oud”, from which, by the way, comes a quite decent and censored fishing rod. However, this two-letter word already served as a literary analogue of the well-known three-letter word, which has long been replaced by various euphemisms (from the Greek ευφήμη - “prudence”).
The word "dick"
One of such euphemisms is, for example, the word “dick”. Most literate people know that this was the name of the 23rd letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, which turned into the letter “ha” after the revolution. To those who know this, it seems obvious that the word "dick" is a euphemistic replacement, arising from the fact that the word being replaced begins with that letter. However, in reality it is not so simple. The fact is that those who think so do not ask the question, why, in fact, is the letter “X” called dick? After all, all the letters of the Cyrillic alphabet are named Slavic words, the meaning of most of which is clear to the modern Russian-speaking public without translation. What did this word mean before it became a letter? In the Indo-European base language, which was spoken by the distant ancestors of the Slavs, Balts, Germans and other European peoples, this word meant a goat. This word is related to the Armenian որոճ, Lithuanian ėriukas, and Latvian. jērs, Old Prussian еristian and Latin hircus. In modern Russian, the word “harya” remains a related word. Until recently, this word was used to describe goat masks used by mummers during carols. The similarity of this letter to a goat was obvious to the Slavs in the 9th century. The top two sticks are his horns, and the bottom two are his legs. Then, in prehistoric times, the goat symbolized fertility, and the god of fertility was depicted as a two-legged goat. The attribute of this god was an object that bore the same name in the Proto-European language as in the modern Russian swear word. However, this object was not what was later designated by the word "ud". Judging by the surviving images, it was a wind instrument like a primitive pipe. The now well-known word arose as a designation for the sound made by this pipe. However, this onomatopoeia was also initially applied to the penis as a euphemism. But here the question immediately arises, what was it called before? In the base Indo-European language this part of the body was called paesus. It corresponds to Sanskrit पसस्, Ancient Greek πέος (peos), Latin penis and Old English fæsl. This word came from the verb peseti, which denoted the primary function of this organ - to emit urine. The word “fart” is also of Indo-European origin. It comes from the ancient Indo-European root perd-. In Sanskrit it corresponds to the word पर्दते (párdate), in ancient Greek - πέρδομαι (perdomai), and in Old English, in which all the ancient Indo-European “p”s were replaced by “f”, it corresponds to the verb feortan, which in modern English turned into the verb to fart. Here we need to remind our readers that the ending –an in Old English meant the same thing as the particle –т in modern Russian or the particle to in modern English. She designated the infinitive, that is, indefinite form verb. And if you remove it from the word feortan, and replace “f” with the common Indo-European “p”, then you get “fart” again.
Recently, opponents of the reviving Rodnoverie, in order to discredit it, have launched the thesis that the god Perun is nothing more than a fart. In fact, the word “Perun” comes from the word “percus”, which meant oak - that very symbolic world tree, the roots of which go to the Underworld, and the branches, performing a load-bearing function, support the vault of heaven.
Word for female vagina
The word for the female vagina is also of absolutely Indo-European origin. It also has nothing to do with its Turkic name “am”. True, from modern languages this word is preserved only in Latvian and Lithuanian, but the Greek word pωσικά is slightly similar to it. But the modern one English word cunt is of later origin. It first appears in the name of the London street Gropecuntelane, on which brothels have been located since 1230. The name of this street literally translates from Old English as Vaginal Row. After all, we have Karetny and Okhotny rows in Moscow. So why shouldn't there be a Vaginal in London? This street was located between Aldermanbury and Coleman Street, and now the Swiss Bank stands in its place. Oxford linguists believe that this word comes from the ancient Germanic verb kuntan, meaning to clean, but Cambridge professors, arguing with Oxford ones, argue that the word cunt comes from the Latin cunnus, meaning sheath. Until recently in the British version in English There was also the term cunning, which meant both beating of the thumbs and sexual intercourse. However, in the post-war period, this word was supplanted by the American faq.
The word "fucking"
This series would be incomplete without one topic that is widespread throughout the CIS countries. I'm talking about rude and swear words.
Today we are completely Let's look into the issue of the influence of swearing on a person and his health. We will pay attention to 4 aspects:
- what is mat,
- the history of the origin of swearing (here you may be very surprised),
- what is the effect of swear words, what happens with constant use of swear words.
- And How get rid of the influence of swear words
What are swear words? The influence of swearing
It seems that swear words have become so deeply ingrained in our society, as if it were normal. I've even met people who claim that swearing allows you to relax,
Curse words - these are unnatural rude words. No matter what they say, these words evoke inside discomfort, shame, indignation.
But worse than that, swear words are contagious. It has already been noted more than once that when a child is sent to kindergarten, for example, and there is at least one child who swears - your child easily adopts the “shoemaker habit.” And he himself begins to swear like a shoemaker. Yes, and adults are the same, in fact - a man will work among builders who speak swear words for only 30 days, and involuntarily he himself begins to use this language.
Let's figure out where this infectious thing came from.
The history and origin of swear words/swear words.
There are several versions of the origin of the mat.
- The influence of the Tatar-Mongol yoke.
- Pagan roots of Slavic peoples
Some deny the first and agree with the second. But both seem to have an impact.
The first version has recently found fewer and fewer supporters among researchers.
It is refuted by two facts.
First- analysis of the language of the ancient Mongols, carried out in the 20s. last century did not reveal the presence of swear words.
Second - birch bark letters found in Novgorod. A total of 4 letters were found containing words starting with the letters “e”, “b”, and “p”. Three of the four charters date back to the 12th century, i.e. their writing occurred at least half a century before Mongol invasion. Apart from this, it is also important to mention one more fact. Italian traveler Plano Carpini, visited in the 13th century Central Asia, noted that the nomads did not have swear words. In fairness, it is worth noting that the word with “x” still exists in the modern Mongolian language. It has several meanings, but none of them refers to the male sexual organ.
How did swear words enter our speech?
During the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, for the use of swear words in in public places severe punishment was imposed - up to and including the death penalty.
In the 19th century foul language is transformed from swearing into the basis of the language of factory workers and artisans.
And after the revolution of 1917, swearing entered the vocabulary of political figures. AND Lenin, And Stalin used rude language in his speech. The fish rots from the head, so it is all the more clear why all the other high-ranking party workers swore.
In the early 90s, swearing came into widespread use. And without "hot word" many people cannot speak up.
The mystical origins of such a phenomenon as swearing go back to the pagan past. To protect themselves from the attacks of the demonic world, people of the pre-Christian era contacted it. This contact had two sides to the coin:
- on the one hand, the pagans pleased him by sacrificing him,
- on the other hand, they drove away, scared away.
Exactly, and people scared away the demon with his name or spells. By the way, they called upon demons with the same words, thereby showing their readiness to merge with him.
The spells that were addressed to pagan idols consisted of their names. And it was precisely during that period of time that the cult of fertility was widespread. Thus, Most swear words are associated with the genitals of men and women.
The Slavs were also familiar with swearing. For example, the swear word of a girl of easy virtue “b...” is found on Novgorod notes and birch bark documents of the 12th century. It just meant something completely different. The meaning of the word was the name of a demon with whom only sorcerers communicated. According to ancient beliefs, this demon punished sinners by sending them a disease, which is now called “uterine rabies.”
Another word, the verb "e...", has Slavic origin, and is translated as to curse.
The remaining swear words are the names of pagan gods, or demonic names. When a person swears, he calls demons on himself, his family, his clan.
Thus, swearing is an appeal to demons, only it consists of spells and names of certain demons. The history of swearing shows this.
In other words, swearing is the language of communication with demons.
It is no coincidence that lexicologists call this type of vocabulary infernal, which means hellish.
Today the mat is used for:
- Displays of emotions
- Emotional release
- Insults, humiliation
- Demonstrations of fearlessness
- Demonstrations of belonging to “their own”
- Demonstrations of disdain for the system of prohibitions
- Demonstrations of aggression, etc.
The effect of swearing on human health
Let’s just give 6 facts about the influence of swearing:
- The effect of swearing on DNA
Human words can be represented in the form of electromagnetic vibrations, which directly affect the properties and structure of DNA molecules responsible for heredity. If a person uses swear words day after day, DNA molecules begin to produce "negative program" and they change significantly. Scientists say: a “dirty” word causes mutagenic effect similar to radiation exposure.
Swear words have a negative effect on genetic code swearing, are written down in it, become a curse for the person himself and his heirs.
- Curse words pass along other nerve endings than ordinary words
There is an observation by doctors that people suffering from paralysis, with a complete lack of speech, express themselves exclusively in obscenities. Although at the same time unable to say “Yes” or “No”. At first glance, the phenomenon, although very strange, says a lot. Why does a completely paralyzed person exclusively utter obscenities? Is it really of a different nature than ordinary words?
- The influence of mat on water. Scientific experiment.
Sprouting technology has long been used in biology and agriculture.
Water is treated by some influence, and this water wheat grains are processed.
Three types of words were used:
- Prayer "Our Father"
- Household mat, which is used for speech communication
- The mat is aggressive, with clearly expressed expression.
After a certain time, the number of sprouted grains and the length of the sprouts are checked.
On the second day
- 93% of the grains sprouted in the control batch
- In a batch of grains processed by prayer - 96% of grains. And the longest sprout length, up to 1 cm.
- In the batch treated with household mat - 58% grains
- The expressive mat had such an effect that only 49% of the grains grew. The length of the sprouts is uneven and mold has appeared.
Scientists believe that the appearance of mold is the result strong negative impact of the mat on water.
After a while.
- The influence of household swearing - only 40% of sprouted grains remained
- The effect of the expressive mat - only 15% of sprouted grains remained.
Seedlings placed in mat-treated water indicate that this environment is not suitable for them.
Humans are 80% water. Draw your own conclusions, friends.
Here is a video proof of this experiment.
- Swear words very often come out of people from whom demons are cast out.
This is recognized by all confessions: from Orthodox to Protestants.
For example, an Orthodox priest, Father Sergius, writes: “The so-called swearing is the language of communication with demonic forces. It is no coincidence that this phenomenon is called infernal vocabulary. Infernal means hellish, from the underworld.” It is very easy to be convinced that swearing is a demonic phenomenon. Go to Russian Orthodox church during the report. And take a close look at the person who is being chastised with prayer. He will moan, scream, struggle, growl, and the like. And the worst thing is that they swear a lot...
Thanks to science, it has been proven that because of swearing, not only a person’s morality suffers, but also his health!
Ivan Belyavsky is one of the first scientists to put forward this theory. He believes that everyone mat is an energy charge that negatively affects human health.
It has already been proven that swearing comes from the sacred names of the gods. The word "mate" means "strength". A destructive force that affects a person’s DNA and destroys him from the inside, especially women and children.
- Swear words have a detrimental effect on women
Abuse of swear words is destructive for a woman's hormonal background. Her voice becomes low, testosterone is in excess, fertility decreases, and the disease hirsutism appears...
- The influence of swear words on a person in countries where there is no abuse against the reproductive organs.
Another very interesting fact. In countries where there is no swearing indicating the reproductive organ, cerebral palsy and Down syndromes have not been found. But in the CIS countries these diseases exist. Unfortunately…
How to get rid of the influence of swearing?
You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
We have already proven the origin of swear words. Considered a scientific experiment. But the purpose of this series and the “Word of Encouragement” project is to encourage, to help overcome every vice that binds a person.
Here we will give a recipe for liberation from swear words, which is tested on personal experience. Just 5 simple steps.
- Recognize
Very important admit that swear words are a vice that has a destructive effect on a person. It is to admit, not to resist.
- Repent
Warm repentance before God is very important.
He is the Lord, He knows everything. And He will help, but first just repent of the fact that this dirty language came out of your mouth.
(If you have never acknowledged Jesus as the Lord of your life - then you should)
- Accept yourself as a new creation
If you have prayed the prayer of repentance, then you have become a new creation, a child of Almighty God. Before that, every person is a sinner, a product of the devil.
Many people in the world say “Why reject swearing - it’s normal!” It's okay if you are a sinful person. And if you repented before God and asked for forgiveness of your sins, you have already become a new creation.
And you need to accept it
The Word of God says:
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the ancient has passed away, now everything is new.
Start to think well of yourself, to think of yourself as God’s beloved child, as the one for whom the Lord gave His Son.
Trust God. You have become different inside.
Eph.5:8 You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord: walk as children of light,
- Believe that words are capsules filled with power.
That's essentially what this series is all about. What we say is what we have.
But you, if you have already cursed, need to accept it again. Your swearing produced one effect in your life.
Now you need your words to bring good.
Col.4:6 Let your word always be with grace
Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouth, but only that which is good for edification of the faith, so that it may bring grace to those who hear.
This means that every time you open your mouth, ask God for wisdom, so that your words will bring grace and benefit to those listening.
- Dedicate your mouth, your tongue to God.
This is not just a resolution: “I’ll stop swearing since the New Year.”
It is a decision that your mouth belongs to the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth. And with your lips you will only bless God and His creation.
James 3:9-10 With it we bless God the Father, and with it we curse men, created in the likeness of God. From the same lips comes blessing and curse: it should not be so, my brethren.
If you dedicate your mouth to God, it will not be easy. But even when you stumble, remember that the word of God says “it must not happen.” God does not give impossible tasks. If it is written in His Word, then it is real. And this means that it is possible to live in such a way as not to utter curses and swear words against loved ones.
Word of Encouragement
I want to end in a very good place.
Remember that you will give an account for every word. And if you say a lot of good things into the lives of your loved ones, bless your wife/husband, children, parents, employees - God will bring these words to judgment. And from these words you will be justified. So says the Word of God
Matthew 12:36-37 But I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment: 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
Text prepared by: Vladimir Bagnenko, Anna Pozdnyakova
And what Russian doesn’t express himself with strong words? Moreover, many swear words have been translated into foreign languages, but the interesting thing is that there are no full-fledged analogues of Russian swear words in foreign languages no and are unlikely to ever appear. Linguists have long calculated that there are no other languages on the planet with as many curse words as in Russian!
In oral form
How and why did swearing appear in the Russian language? Why do other languages do without it? Perhaps someone will say that with the development of civilization, with the improvement of the well-being of citizens in the vast majority of countries on our planet, the need for swearing naturally disappeared? Russia is unique in that these improvements never occurred in it, and swearing in it remained in its virgin, primitive form... It is no coincidence that not a single great Russian writer or poet avoided this phenomenon!
Where did he come to us from?
Previously, a version was spread that swearing appeared in the dark times of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, and before the arrival of the Tatars in Rus', Russians did not swear at all, and when swearing, they called each other only dogs, goats and sheep. However, this opinion is erroneous and is denied by most research scientists. Of course, the invasion of nomads influenced the life, culture and speech of the Russian people. Perhaps such a Turkic word as “baba-yagat” (knight, knight) changed social status and gender, turning into our Baba Yaga. The word "karpuz" (watermelon) has turned into a well-fed little boy. But the term “fool” (stop, halt) began to be used to describe a stupid person.
Swearing has nothing to do with the Turkic language, because it was not customary for the nomads to swear, and swear words were completely absent from the dictionary. From Russian chronicle sources (the oldest known examples in birch bark letters of the 12th century from Novgorod and Staraya Russa. See “Obscene vocabulary in birch bark letters.” The specifics of the use of some expressions are commented on in the “Russian-English Dictionary Diary” by Richard James (1618−1619) .) it is known that swear words appeared in Rus' long before the Tatar-Mongol invasion. Linguists see the roots of these words in most Indo-European languages, but they became so widespread only on Russian soil.
Here to stay
So why, out of many Indo-European peoples, did swear words stick only to the Russian language? Researchers also explain this fact by religious prohibitions that other peoples had earlier due to the earlier adoption of Christianity. In Christianity, as in Islam, foul language is considered a great sin. Rus' adopted Christianity later, and by that time, along with pagan customs, swearing was firmly rooted among the Russian people. After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', war was declared on foul language.
The etymology of the word “mat” may seem quite transparent: it supposedly goes back to the Indo-European word “mater” meaning “mother”, which was preserved in various Indo-European languages. However, special studies propose other reconstructions.
So, for example, L.I. Skvortsov writes: “The literal meaning of the word “mate” is “a loud voice, a cry.” It is based on onomatopoeia, that is, involuntary cries of “ma!”, “me!” - mooing, meowing, roaring of animals during estrus, mating calls, etc.” Such an etymology might seem naive if it did not go back to the concept of the authoritative Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages: “...Russian mat, - a derivative of the verb “matati” - “shout”, “loud voice”, “cry”, is related to the word “matoga” - “curse”, i.e. grimace, break, (about animals) shake your head, “curse” - disturb, disturb. But "matoga" in many Slavic languages means “ghost, ghost, monster, bogeyman, witch”...
What does it mean?
There are three main swear words and they mean sexual intercourse, male and female genitalia, all the rest are derivatives of these three words. But in other languages, these organs and actions also have their own names, which for some reason did not become swear words? To understand the reason for the appearance of swear words on Russian soil, researchers looked into the depths of centuries and offered their own version of the answer.
They believe that in the vast territory between the Himalayas and Mesopotamia, in the vast expanses, there lived a few tribes of the ancestors of the Indo-Europeans, who had to reproduce in order to expand their habitat, so great importance was attached to the reproductive function. And words associated with reproductive organs and functions were considered magical. They were forbidden to say “in vain,” so as not to jinx them or cause damage. The taboos were broken by sorcerers, followed by untouchables and slaves for whom the law was not written.
Gradually I developed the habit of using obscenities out of fullness of feelings or just to connect words. Basic words began to acquire many derivatives. Not so long ago, just a thousand years ago, the word denoting a woman of easy virtue, “f*ck,” became one of the swear words. It comes from the word “vomit,” that is, “vomit abomination.”
But the most important swear word is rightfully considered to be the same three-letter word that is found on the walls and fences of the entire civilized world. Let's look at it as an example. When did this three-letter word appear? One thing I will say for sure is that it was clearly not in Tatar-Mongol times. In the Turkic dialect of the Tatar-Mongolian languages, this “object” is denoted by the word “kutah”. By the way, many now have a surname derived from this word and do not consider it at all dissonant: “Kutakhov.”
In the Indo-European base language, which was spoken by the distant ancestors of the Slavs, Balts, Germans and other European peoples, the word “her” meant a goat. This word is related to the Latin "hircus". In modern Russian, the word “harya” remains a related word. Until recently, this word was used to describe goat masks used by mummers during carols.
Thus, we can conclude that swearing arose in ancient times and was associated with pagan rituals. Mat is, first of all, a way to demonstrate readiness to break taboos and cross certain boundaries. Therefore, the theme of curses in different languages is similar - “bottom line” and everything related to the fulfillment of physiological needs. And among Russians this need has always been great. It is possible that even, like no other people in the world...
Don't be confused!
In addition to “corporal curses,” some peoples (mostly French-speaking) have blasphemous curses. The Russians don't have this.
And one more important point- you cannot mix argotisms with swearing, which are absolutely not swearing, but most likely just foul language. As, for example, there are dozens of thieves’ argotisms alone with the meaning “prostitute” in the Russian language: alura, barukha, marukha, profursetka, slut and the like.
