Mat accompanies the Russian man for many centuries. A scientific study of this amazing phenomenon began relatively recently. It has already been proven that foul language contributes to the production of testosterone in the body, as well as the release of endorphins, which have an analgesic effect. Let’s try to figure out where the mat came from in Russian, and why other nations do not have such a phenomenon.
Scientific terms
To begin with, let's deal with concepts. Profanity in the Russian language (as well as in other languages) is considered to be a segment of rude, swearing words and expressions that become a spontaneous speech reaction of a person to an unexpected and, most often, unpleasant situation.
In addition, taboo phrases are distinguished that, for moral, religious, political or other reasons, cannot be pronounced in society or its specific layers. Such words are not necessarily abusive words. For example, in Judaism it is forbidden to pronounce the name of God aloud, and the ancient tribes tried not to name the animals they hunted. Instead, euphemisms were used (the bear is the "master").
At the intersection of two linguistic phenomena, the so-called obscene vocabulary arose, including the most rude and taboo curses. Its variety in Russian and other related languages has become a mat, which is based on ancient sacred prohibitions. Scientists have found that the basis for all obscene curses are only 7 words.
Characteristics
Interestingly, profanity is present in other languages. There they also try not to use it in a decent society. However, not everywhere it is associated with sexual intercourse, as with us. The Germans, for example, swear on the topic of bowel movements.
A characteristic feature of the Russian mat is the strongest expression and taboo. It is significant that curse words were included in foreign academic dictionaries, starting with the very first editions. At the same time, the Russian mat was first verbally recorded only at the beginning of the 20th century. Prohibited curses were included in the third edition of Dahl's famous dictionary (ed. Baudouin de Courtenay). This caused sharp criticism of the Soviet regime. Only by the end of the 20th century did the first explanatory dictionaries of profanity in the Russian language begin to appear.
Let's see what such strong prohibitions are connected with. Today, a lot of research is being conducted on the topic of where the mat came from in Russian. Scientists disagree. We will get to know them in more detail to get closer to the solution to this mystery.
Are the Tatars to blame?
Many scientists in the 20th century claimed that initially the Slavs did not know how to swear obscurantly and only called each other different animals: dogs, goats, rams. A logical question arises: where did the mat come from in Russian? The most common version was the assumption of the bad influence of the Tatar-Mongols. It was believed that it was from their language that the main roots of obscene language came to the Slavs.
However, soon this point of view had to be abandoned. It turned out that in the dictionary of nomads there were no swear words at all. This is confirmed by the records of the Italian Plano Carpini, who traveled through Central Asia in the 13th century. But the Russian people knew how to swear before the invasion of the Tatar-Mongols, as evidenced by the birch bark letters found in Novgorod. They date from the 12th and 13th centuries. Steamy curses are included in teasers or wedding wishes from the matchmaker.
So where did the mat come from in Russian? Linguistic studies have shown that the main curses have ancient Indo-European roots. Similar words and even phrase models are available in Polish, Serbian and Slovak languages. It is difficult to establish the time of their occurrence. Perhaps the capacious word was first uttered by the Cro-Magnon, trying to cope with a huge mammoth.
Prohibited Etymology
No scientist can say for sure how many mats are in Russian. Such lexical wealth is achieved through many derivatives. There are several main roots. Researcher Plutzer-Sarno conducted a survey, asking people what words they consider abusive. A total of 35 roots were identified. Some curses can hardly be called mats (for example, the word "eat").
The analysis showed that the most significant are 7 curses, from which several thousand various obscene expressions are formed. The remaining 28 words in total did not give rise to thousands of derivatives. Of the selected seven, 4 curses are currently widely used.
Consider their origin in Russian. Mats, oddly enough, initially sounded completely harmless and did not bear a negative color. For example, the word "p ….da", denoting the female genitalia, goes back to the pre-Indo-European root sed / sod / sd. It is easy to understand its meaning from the modern words “sit, ” “saddle.” "Pi" is a prefix. When pronouncing the word, our ancestors simply pointed to the part of the human body involved in sitting. By the way, the same root has the token "nest" ("the place where the bird sits").
The word "… bat" came from the pre-Indo-European iebh, which means "hit, invade." Subsequently, it acquired a new meaning: "mate, unite." The word began to designate paired objects. From here came the harmless word "both."
The curse "b … q" became such only in the XVIII century. Until the 15th century, this primordially Russian word meant liars or people who had gone astray. You can consider related tokens "fornication", "rogue", "wander", "rogue". The meaning "to debauch" appeared much later. It becomes clear why the word was often used by priests in their sermons (in particular, Protopope Habakkuk). Thus, the origin of the mat in the Russian language can be easily explained in terms of etymology. This also applies to the most common three-letter word.
Main obscene word
This ancient lexeme can often be seen on fences and porches. Not everyone knows that the word "x … y" was originally used as a euphemism and replaced the more ancient names of the penis of men. Initially, it sounded like pes and came from the pre-Indo-European "pisati" ("peeing like a man"). From here came the Russian words “write” and “dog”. Similar roots are found in Latin, German, English and other languages. From there, by the way, the word "penis" originates.
However, the Slavs ancient name was banned. Other words came to the rescue: oud (it was in use until the 18th century, the уд fishing rod’came from here) and x … th. The last name is derived from the Slavic root "hu", which means "process". From him came the common word "needles." Over time, the new designation also became taboo.
Then he was replaced by the word "dick", which is now turned into a rude curse. But how was it in the old days? The origin of mats in Russian is extremely interesting. Educated people know that "dick" was called one of the letters of the Cyrillic alphabet (the one with which the indecent word begins). She reminded her of a cross and initially from her words were formed exclusively with a positive meaning (“cherub”, “heroism”, “heraldry”).
Our ancestors used the expression "to snooze …", but it had a literal meaning (cross out what was written with two intersecting features similar to the letter "x"). Only in the 19th century did the name of the letter begin to be used to replace indecent words.
So over the course of a long history mats appeared in Russian. Where they came from is no longer a mystery. But another question remains unanswered: why did the Slavic words turn into swear words and were banned? Surprisingly, in the Russian language there is not a single decent word for the designation of the human genitals, not counting the medical names. To understand this, we listen to the versions of scientists.
What does the mother have to do with it?
Researchers agree that the roots of foul language go back to paganism. The very name of a linguistic phenomenon - mat. In the etymological dictionary of Slavic languages it is elevated to the verb "matati" ("scream loudly, vote"). Skvortsov L.I. believes that the basis was onomatopoeia mating roar of animals: "Ma! Me!"
However, the generally accepted version is the origin of the name from the expression "swearing". Why did the word "mother" appear to be associated with the grossest of curses from the Slavs? You can understand this by unraveling the meaning of the familiar expression "… your mother."
No one knows how many mats are in the Russian language, but this statement is central and has sacred meanings. In ancient sources it is not depersonalized and takes the form of a wish ("So that the dog … your mother"). Dogs among the Slavs were considered unclean animals, serving Morena, the goddess of death. This word also meant the Gentiles, who, according to the Russians, did not have a soul and behaved inappropriately. But how did curse come about and what lies at its core?
Mat and cult of fertility
The version of Uspensky B. A. is considered classical, which connects the appearance of curses with pagan rites. In his opinion, the formula initially sounded like "Thunder God … your mother." The Slavs called the mother fertile soil, giving them food. Many peoples have myths about the sacred marriage of heaven and earth, which leads to the fertilization of the latter.
Weddings and agricultural ceremonies of the Slavs from ancient times were accompanied by profanity, swearing ditties and conspiracies. Similar traditions existed in Greek farmers, as indicated by philologist B. Bogaevsky. In Serbia, to cause rain, a peasant threw an ax into the sky and swore. Given the above, it becomes clear where the mat came from in Russian.
Words related to sexual intercourse and childbearing were initially considered sacred. Pronouncing them, a person received tremendous power. Ancient curses were equivalent to prayer, they could save from illness or evil spirits, give children and a good harvest.
But at the same time, such words should be treated with great caution. It was believed that due to their powerful energy, they can cause damage to the race and deprive a person of reproductive power. Therefore, they tried not to be wasted, avoided in everyday life, replacing euphemisms. The exception was made by sorcerers who used curses for magical purposes.
Adoption of christianity
It is impossible to answer the question of where the mat came from in Russian, without contacting the time of the Baptism of Russia. Christian tradition sharply condemned pagan cults in general and the ritual “shamefulness” in particular. It contrasted the power of the swear word with prayer.
Most likely, it was during this period that the defiling formula “Dog … your mother” appeared, directed against the sacred maternal principle. It has been around since at least the 15th century. In a blasphemous phrase, instead of the Thunderer, the spouse of the Earth was his unclean antipode (dog). Thus, pagan ideas about cosmic harmony were violated. Among the Slavs, who had not yet lost faith in the power of swear words, the belief spread that from such obscene expressions the insulted earth could open, shake or burn.
However, over time, people forgot about the myth. Under the mother began to mean the real mother of the interlocutor. The dog soon ceased to be mentioned at all. Pagan ideas were rapidly lost, cults degraded. The priests convinced the parishioners that swearing leads to a desecration of the soul, invokes demons and removes a person from the true God. There are many church circulars and decrees directed against the mat.
But to displace it completely did not work. Sorcerers and healers continued to engage in household magic. Ordinary people out of habit resorted to a strong word to express aggression, to make their speech more emotional, to relieve tension. The mat is quite firmly rooted in the midst of buffoons and has become an integral part of fun performances. Christian teachings and testimonies of foreigners of the XVII-XVIII centuries indicate that obscene words were then commonplace in colloquial speech. Parents specifically taught their children to use them. Only in the XVIII century, swearing was clearly separated from the literary language.
Special male code
Not all scientists agree with this version of the origin of profanity in Russian. So, Yakovenko I. G. draws attention to the fact that obscene curses deny the feminine and often imply violence against the weaker sex. Words formed from the name of the female genital organs (“sp … child” - to steal, “p … dun” - a liar, “p … dec” - an unhappy ending) are associated with bad and miserable phenomena.
There is an opinion that they could appear at the stage of transition from matriarchy to patriarchy. Men, in order to confirm their power, entered into a ritual intimate relationship with the main "mother" of the clan. With the help of mats, they publicly stated this and tried their best to belittle the role of women.
Another point of view is held by Mikhailin V. Yu. Studying the question of where the mat came from in Russian, he turns to Indo-European legends. According to them, in the Bronze Age (tentatively in the XVIII-XII centuries BC), peoples who worshiped dogs and wolves lived between the Dnieper and the Urals. Their military detachments were particularly ferocious and were called "dogs." The young men included in them wore animal skins, called themselves dog names and lived separately from the rest of the tribe.
Teenagers who wanted to join the squad went into the woods, where they studied hunting and military affairs according to wolf laws. Then they went through the initiation and turned into dogs, eating their meat. Mikhailin believes that it was in this marginal environment that the mat was born. The expression "So that the dog … your mother" was originally intended to insult enemies. It could be accompanied by a demonstration of the genitals for the purpose of intimidation. At the same time, the man went beyond the framework of culture, meaning by "dog" himself. Conscious of himself as a beast, and not a man, he could rob, kill and rape with impunity.
Thus, the mat was the code language of warriors. Its other Slavic name is “dog bark”. Swearing was used to humiliate the enemy and raise morale. In ordinary, "home" life they were not consumed. But in an aggressive environment, foul language helped a person withstand stress. Swearing, the warrior violated sacred prohibitions, confirmed his power and went beyond moral restrictions.
