Niech mnie piekło pochłonie!
Damn me!

Self-destructive content in contemporary Polish formulaic curses

Author(s): Ewa Rudnicka
Subject(s): Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Sociology, Film / Cinema / Cinematography, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: swear words; curse; self-destruction; wishes; pop culture; formulaic constructions
Summary/Abstract: The subject of the article is contemporary curses/swear words in the form of schematic formulas, which in fact are also self-destructive desires (e.g. niech mnie drzwi ścisną). The aim of the considerations is to present the results of observations of contemporary linguistic customs in the use of wishful self-destructive formulas and to discuss the most important changes within the Polish custom of cursing oneself, taking into account the original, magical function of curses and the sphere of the sacred.

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