"Nyt mun täytyy kyllä vaihtaa rekisteriä, eli siis vittu": - Voimasanankäytöstä Mikko Rimmisen Pussikaljaromaanissa

In this article, I discuss the use of swearwords in Finnish contemporary literature, and more specifically, in a novel called Pussikaljaromaani by Mikko Rimminen. The novel is about a day in the lives of three young men walking around an urban area in Helsinki called Kallio, spending their day loitering and drinking or searching for beer. There is a sharp contrast between the edgy characters and the seeming lack of a plot and the beauty and innovativeness of the language. On account of the timeframe, the central role of the location and the creative language use, this award-winning story is reminiscent of, for example, James Joyce’s Ulysses.

I use the novel to illustrate both typical and innovative forms and uses of swearwords in literature. Here, the Finnish term voimasana is used as a hypernym which covers the terms kirosana, päivittelysana and kirosanaeufemismi. (Please note that the English translation swearword is commonly used for both voimasana and kirosana, but it is not an exact equivalent for either of these terms. Swearword is commonly considered to have a wider range of meaning than the Finnish terms, which is also the case here.) The first of these three refers to non-literal dysphemistic taboo words that have shock potential. The second refers to milder words with to some extent different characteristics and typical constructions than swearwords. These are usually of religious origin and refer only to positive figures of religion. In English, corresponding expressions include god (as in my god!) and lord (as in oh lord!). The third group comprises swearword euphemisms that can be created for example by means of remodelling, abbreviation, and substitution with words that have a phonemic resemblance or alliteration, or merely by choosing a random word and using it in a prototypical swearing-like expression.

Finnish swearwords find form as intensifying expressions and interjections, and they may be placed at the beginning as well as in the middle or at the end of a sentence. Interjections include single swearwords or fixed constructions including swearwords. Intensifiers are commonly swearwords in the genitive form. Swearwords, according to the definition applied here, are words and expressions the meaning of which is normally determined on the basis of the context alone. Most Finnish swearwords are taboo words relating to religion/mythology, sexuality/the body or excrements.

The prototypical usage of a swearword is the expression of anger or frustration, but a closer examination of any actual use proves that there need not be a negative emotion involved. This is apparent from authentic sources as well as fictional sources such as the novel studied here. Thus swearwords are intensifying at the surface structure but not necessarily at a deeper level. For example, they may in fact mollify an expression instead of adding to its force, as is illustrated by one example quoted here. As Pussikaljaromaani shows, swearwords are also common elements in building comic effects in literature. The novel also contains interesting examples of how swearwords can be used in creating the idiolect of a character of a particular age and identity. Furthermore, I discuss a particular type of swearword use that is often forgotten in research literature, namely metalinguistic swearword use. Pussikaljaromaani contains an unusual number of examples of metalinguistic discourse on swearwords and their use, for example, when a character or the narrative voice of the story comments on for example the word choice of a character and its suitability for the user and the situation. The novel provides fine examples of both typical and innovative swearword use, and demonstrates how swearwords have their own place and function also in literature language.