ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the expletive repertoire of some of the 'adult educated native speakers of British English' in the London-Lund Corpus with special emphasis on expletives used as interactive devices. It discusses the term 'expletive' for a set of words and expressions that are sometimes referred to as 'swearwords'. Expletives are either interactive or non-interactive. As interactive devices they are used, for instance, as 'reaction signals' which show the addressee's reaction to a message, and 'go-on signals' which encourage the current speaker to continue. As non-inter active devices they are used mainly as emotional amplifiers, as intensifies, as emotionally coloured substitutes, and as markers of emphasis. In addition, expletives can also have the subsidiary function of 'covert prestige signals', reflecting the speaker's secret wish to be looked upon as vigorous and unsophisticated, and as 'intimacy signals', aimed at building up an informal, chummy atmosphere.
