.png)
Mat (Russian:мат;матерщи́на /ма́терныйязы́к,romanized: matershchina /materny yazyk) is the term forvulgar,obscene, orprofane language inRussian and some otherSlavic language communities.
In 2013,Roskomnadzor compiled a list of four lexical roots, with any words derived from these roots – nouns, adjectives, verbs, participles etc. – of the Russian language which it deemed "absolutely unacceptable in themass media":khuy ('cock');pizda ('cunt');yebat' ('to fuck'); andblyad ('whore'). Roskomnadzor defined the banned terms as follows: "Obscene designation of the male genital organ, obscene designation of the female genital organ, obscene designation of the process of copulation and obscene designation of a woman of dissolute behavior, as well as all linguistic units derived from these words".[1]
David Remnick writes thatmat has thousands of variations but ultimately centers on those four words.[2]
Mat-words were included by Polish publisherJan Baudouin de Courtenay in the 3rd and 4th editions of theExplanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, which was printed four times in 1903–1909 (twice) and in 1911–1912, 1912–1914.[3][4][5][6][7] The inclusion of rude and abusive words became an obstacle to the reprinting of this version of the dictionary in the Soviet Union for censorship reasons.[8]
Khuy (хуй;хуйⓘ), often also written in Latin script ashui or evenhooy by Russian schoolchildren/beginners in their English studies, means 'cock', 'penis', or for an equivalent colloquial register, 'dick'. The etymology of the term is unclear. Mainstream theories include fromProto-Indo European (PIE) *ks-u-, related toхвоя (khvoya, 'pine needles'), attributed to Pederson, 1908.[9][10]
From PIE *hau-, related toхвост (khvost, 'tail'), attributed to Merlingen, 1955; fromMongolian хуй (khui, meaning 'sheath' or 'scabbard'). This was the etymology endorsed by theSoviet government and attributed toMaxim Gorky, who claimed it was a loan word, imposed during theMongol yoke.[citation needed]
The first volume of theGreat Dictionary of Mat by the Russian linguist and folkloristAleksey Plutser-Sarno [ru] treats only expressions with the stemхуй (khuy), numbering over 500 entries; 12 volumes are planned.[citation needed] The wordkhuy also appears in various other Slavic languages with the same meaning and pronunciation but not always the same spelling, such as thePolishchuj.
A minorinternet meme swept the Russian segment of the internet with a clip from the Chinese playLi Huiniang, where the heroine's name was repeated several times, which for a Russian ear sounds likekhuynya (хуйня), an obscene term for something unknown or unimportant or strange.[11]
Pizdá (пизда́;пиздаⓘ) means 'cunt'. A derivative of this word is the interjection and nounpizdets. This word, depending on the situation, can express a vivid form of almost any emotion, ranging from sadness and annoyance ("Pizdets, my girlfriend cheated on me", or "Pizdets, I missed my flight"), to an expression of joy ("Pizdets, my son has just been born!")[2]
Yebát' (еба́ть;ебатьⓘ) means 'to fuck (somebody)'. This verb usually expresses a unilateral action and requires (or implies) adirect object.The mutual action expressed in English with verbs 'to copulate', 'to have intercourse' is rendered in mat by thereciprocal form of the verb,yebát'sya (еба́ться): 'to fuck each other'. Historically, women have been perceived as sexually submissive, so the verb mostly refers to an action of a man. In modern times it may refer to a woman's action, in contexts when she initiates (or plans to initiate) the intercourse or plays an active role. See the wiktionary entry for some figurative uses of the word.
Blyád' (блядь;блядьⓘ) means 'whore'.[2] In theOld East Slavic the word блѧдь (блядь in modern orthography) –blyad, meaning: 'deception, nonsense, insane, adulteress',[12] is preserved in theChurch Slavonic in three meanings: 'deception, delusion', 'idle talk, trivia' and 'debauchery, adultery'.[13]
To enhance the expressivity, the word may be combined with the non-mat insultsuka (сука,'bitch') to formsuka, blyád (сука, блядь) especially among Internet users and memes, an approximate analogue for the expression 'fucking shit'. The term is popular in theCounter-Strike video game community in the stylized form of "rush B, cyka blyat".[14]
Some claim that the termmat derives from the Russian word for mother, a component of the key phrase Ёб твою мать,yob tvoyu mat ('fuck your mother').[15][better source needed] However there is a Russian expression благим матом (blagim matom) which has no relation to obscenities, and whose etymology is unsure as well.[16]
Obscenities are among the earliest recorded attestations of the Russian language (the first writtenmat words date to the early Middle Ages[17]).
Mikhail Lermontov's 1834A Holiday in Peterhof (Петергофский праздник) is one example of the usage ofmat.
And so I will not pay you: | Итак, тебе не заплачу я: | Iták, tebé ne zaplachú ya: |
The prologue toLuka Mudishchev, probably written at some time in the mid 19th century, was often ascribed toIvan Barkov, an obscene poet who lived in the 18th century:[18]
Hear ye, matrons and widows fair, | О вы, замужние, о вдовы, | O vy, zamuzhnie, o vdovy, |
Mat is also used in humor or puns by juxtaposing innocent words so that the result will sound as if an obscene word was used. An example is aDon Cossack song cited inAnd Quiet Flows the Don byMikhail Sholokhov:[19]
- Щуку я, щуку я, щуку я поймала.
- Девица красная, уху я варила.
- Уху я, уху я, уху я варила.
Here Уху я варила ('I cooked thefish stew') may be reinterpreted as У хуя варила ('Cooked near the dick') or even Ух, хуй я варила ('Ooh, I cooked a dick').
The contemporaneous use ofmat is widespread, especially in the army, police, blue-collar workers, the criminal world, and many other all-male milieus, with particular fervor in the male-dominated military and the structurally similar social strata.[20] An article byVictor Erofeyev (translated by Andrew Bromfeld) analyzing thehistory, overtones, andsociology of mat appeared in the 15 September 2003 issue ofThe New Yorker.[21]
In theSoviet Union obscenity was censored in print and in the media, and could be prosecuted as pettyhooliganism when used in public places. With thecollapse of the Soviet Union censorship of mat stopped, and a number of writers, singers, and actors started using taboo-shatteringmat in their works. For example, the singerSergey "Shnur" Shnurov is notorious of using mat in his songs.[22]
In 2013mat has been banned in Russia in allmass media, printed and electronic.[2][1] Since 1 July 2014,mat has been banned in Russia from all movies, theatrical productions, and concerts.[2]
In modern Russia, since the times of theSoviet Union, the use of obscenities in public aggravates adisorderly conduct and may lead to its qualification as pettyhooliganism, punishable under article 20.1.1 of theOffences Code of Russia,[23] although there was no clear legal definition what exactly constitutes an obscenity.[24]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)нарушение общественного порядка, выражающее явное неуважение к обществу, сопровождающееся нецензурной бранью в общественных местах ... влечет наложение административного штрафа в размере от пятисот до одной тысячи рублей или административный арест на срок до пятнадцати суток" ('disorderly conduct displaying explicit disrespect to society, accompanied by obscene language in public ... is punishable by a fine from 500 to 1000 rubles or arrest up to 15 days')
Media related toRussian-language profanity at Wikimedia Commons| By language | |
|---|---|
| Devices | |
| Other | |
