2016-08-14

Adams, Michael; Shanahan, James

This week, we’ll hear from Michael Adams, Provost Professor of English at Indiana University, and author of “In Praise of Profanity” (Oxford University Press, 2016).

Adams sees “In Praise of Profanity” as a continuation of 2009’s “Slang: The People’s Poetry.” In it, he argues that profanity is not only oversimplified as being taboo, it is also valuable and essential as a vehicle of communication and an element of style.

Adams is an English language historian and a frequent contributor to various dictionaries and academic journals. Though his published articles often explore arcane aspects of language, he also writes books aimed at broader audiences. They include “Slayer Slang: A ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Lexicon” and “From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages.”

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