Travis (montanaisaleg) wrote in linguaphiles,
Travis
montanaisaleg
linguaphiles

Insults

I'm fluent in exactly one language: English. As such, I don't know much about insults in other languages.


To cut to the chase, how common is it for other languages to use phrases like "fuck you" as insults? Is it pretty standard for phrases with similar meanings to be the worst standard insult in a language?

[EDIT]
For some context, I saw this video (or see below if youtube gives you problems) of an American soldier laying into a bunch of Iraqi police recruits. He uses lots of colorful language, and the translator next to him doesn't miss a beat. I got to wondering if some of the phrases have direct translations in the other language (Arabic?).



Tags: insults, taboos
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