Anthropology 250Issues in Anthropology

Linguistics and Garbage

Linguistics• Semantics - the study of meanings in language.

• Etymology - the study of the history of words.• Euphemism - New word or phrase that replaces

one that has negative connotations• Metaphor - understanding one thing in terms

of another using an analogy.• Irony - the use of words to convey a meaning

that is the opposite of its literal meaning

Etymology of “Garbage”

• Middle English "the offal of a fowl, giblets, kitchen waste", originally "refuse, what is purged away" from

• Old French garber "to refine, make neat or clean"

• Germanic origin, akin to Old High German garawan "to prepare, make ready",

• Old English “to make ready, adorn”

Etymology for “Trash”• "anything of little use or value," 1510s, perhaps from a

Scandinavian source (cf. O.N. tros "rubbish, fallen leaves and twigs,"

• Norwegian trask "lumber, trash, baggage," Swedish trasa "rags, tatters").

• Applied to ill-bred persons or groups from 1604. • Applied to domestic refuse or garbage in 1906 (Amer.Eng.). • The verb meaning "to discard as worthless" is 1895, from

the noun; • in the sense of "destroy, vandalize" it is attested from

1970; extended to "criticize severely" in 1975.

Etymology for “Rubbish”• c.1400, from Anglo-Fr. rubouses (late 14c.), of

unknown origin. Apparently somehow related to rubble.

• Anglo Norman *robel (“bits of broken stone”). Presumably related to rubbish, originally of same meaning (bits of stone).

• Ultimately presumably from Proto German raub (“to break”), perhaps via Old French robe (English rob (“steal”)) in sense of “plunder, destroy”; see also Middle English, Middle French.

• The verb sense of "disparage, criticize harshly" is first attested 1953 in Australian and New Zealand slang.

Some Synonyms•Oddments•Offal•Recyclables•Refuse•Rubbish•Rubble•Scrap•Scraps•Trash•Waste

•Debris•Dregs•Droppings•Dross•Excess•Filth•Fragments•Garbage•Junk•Leavings•Litter

Some Euphemisms“Take out the trash”

• Perform oral sex on a man. “its time to take out the trash, get on your knees”

• The good guy gives the bad guy what’s coming to him.

• Having a bowel movement “ I have to stop by the house and take out the trash”

• Disposal of a body by a murderer.• To get rid of something that is in the way using

violence.

Trash Metaphors• “Trailer Trash”• “White Trash”• “Trashy women” • “Her purse was a soft-sided trash bin, filled to the top with

bits of used tissues, crumpled papers, and a half-eaten apple.”

• Rubbish. British word for lies. British synonym for bullshit.• Rubbish. Ideas, opinions that are not valued. George

Harrison “intellectual rubbish”. • Rubbish. Crappy, poorly performing

Psychological Trash• “If the trash stinks, take

it out” removing negative thoughts and attitudes from daily life

• “Head trash”

• Oscar the grouch

Psychological Garbage

• The Law of the Garbage Truck “Many people are like garbage trucks. They run

around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they look for a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you. So when someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be happier.”

Trash in Technology

• “Garbage in garbage out”• Computer “recycling bin” file and icon–A trash receptacle simulated by an application

or operating system that stores items deleted by the user. The receptacle is an interim holding place that lets users restore the item if needed. In order to completely "empty" the receptacle and save disk space, an "empty trash" or equivalent option must be selected by the user.

Garbage IronyIronic shock value:

• Rubbish. A clothing company name.• Garbage. A Scottish/American alternative rock

band formed in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1994• Heavy Trash – A band based on “the stench of

avant punk trash and nasty garage ooze and grind”

• Rubbish music - a band that makes music out of recycled stuff.

Naples, Italy Garbage Crisis Irony

Garbage Irony