A Cultural Interpretation of Curse Words Among the Yongning Mosuo
This article examines the cultural connotations of taboo/abusive language (詈语, invective) used by the Mosuo people of Yongning, a matrilineal ethnic group in Yunnan, China. Drawing on the linguistic principle that vocabulary reflects a culture's worldview, kinship system, and cognitive patterns, the authors survey Mosuo invective and find it notably limited in quantity, type, and severity compared to other languages. Through analysis of the relationship between Mosuo invective, social life, and kinship terminology, the study reveals that Mosuo ethical values center on love and respect for the family, women, mothers, and maternal uncles. The scarcity and mildness of insults is linked to a pervasive "shyness culture," which generates strong sexual taboos among blood relatives and avoidance of sex-related topics. The paper illustrates how Mosuo invective encodes the community's distinctive matrilineal social structure and moral order.
This page publishes the bibliographic record and the project's summary. The scanned article text belongs to its publisher and is shown to readers under a research-use policy; it is not reproduced in this record.