A Pragmatic Approach to the Composition, Types, Functions and Interpretations of Chinese-specific Curse Guo Ma “ta ma de” and Its Variants

Abstract

Guo Ma (Chinese-specific cursing terms) is a type of scolding expressions widely spread in colloquial Chinese, expressing such emotion as dislike, grudge, indignation. Searching the internet reveals that, while there are many comments and essays about this kind of words, a theoretically systematical discussion of their construction, pragmatic and textual function is rare. This paper, based on corpus observation and questionnaire analysis, aims at exploring the composition, types, functions and pragmatic forces of Chinese-specific cursing terms ta ma de and its variants. It is revealed that: (1) There are eight main types of Chinese-specific cursing words in ta ma de and its variants; (2) These cursing terms under observation convey not only negative attitude and emotion as traditionally recognized but also neutral or even positive attitude and emotion; (3) Chinese national curse ta ma de and its variants are phrases used not only to perform the pragmatic function of swearing but also play a grammatical cognitive function. The researchers do not intend to offer a deliberate justification for these terms but show that they are not diabolic expressions and deserve a full attention of linguists.