John Benjamins Publishing Company
The meaning and use of slurs
Abstract
This paper focusses on some aspects of the meaning and use of slurs that have been neglected in the literature so far. On the pragmatic side, it concentrates on non-pejorative uses and the distinction between target groups and in-groups. It shows that emotions play a critical role in all contexts of use, irrespective of whether these contexts are derogatory or not. On the semantic side, the paper adopts a multiple component approach and brings empirical evidence that slur terms do not only have a referential and pejorative component but also a component of degree of offensiveness. There are many sources informing a speech community about a term’s offensiveness, including racist institutions, stereotypes, prohibitions, perlocutionary effects, and meta-linguistic discussions. All of these fluctuating influencing factors add to the complex picture of slur terms and make their semantic components subject to enormous changes.
Abstract
This paper focusses on some aspects of the meaning and use of slurs that have been neglected in the literature so far. On the pragmatic side, it concentrates on non-pejorative uses and the distinction between target groups and in-groups. It shows that emotions play a critical role in all contexts of use, irrespective of whether these contexts are derogatory or not. On the semantic side, the paper adopts a multiple component approach and brings empirical evidence that slur terms do not only have a referential and pejorative component but also a component of degree of offensiveness. There are many sources informing a speech community about a term’s offensiveness, including racist institutions, stereotypes, prohibitions, perlocutionary effects, and meta-linguistic discussions. All of these fluctuating influencing factors add to the complex picture of slur terms and make their semantic components subject to enormous changes.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- What is pejoration, and how can it be expressed in language? 1
-
Pejoration in different linguistic domains
- Pejorative prosody 21
- How do evaluative derivational meanings arise? A bit of Geforsche and Forscherei 41
- Quantification with pejoratives 75
- Pejoration, normalcy conceptions and generic sentences 103
- Demonstrative pejoratives 119
-
Pejoration, slurring and sarcasm
- Slurring as insulting 145
- A multi-act perspective on slurs 167
- The meaning and use of slurs 187
- Pejoration via sarcastic irony and sarcasm 219
-
Pejoration in different linguistic contexts
- Pejoration in contact 243
- Bla, bla, bla in German. A pejorative construction? 269
- Pejoratives in Korean 301
- Pejorative aspects attributed to hearing people in signed constructed dialogue 325
- Index 355
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- What is pejoration, and how can it be expressed in language? 1
-
Pejoration in different linguistic domains
- Pejorative prosody 21
- How do evaluative derivational meanings arise? A bit of Geforsche and Forscherei 41
- Quantification with pejoratives 75
- Pejoration, normalcy conceptions and generic sentences 103
- Demonstrative pejoratives 119
-
Pejoration, slurring and sarcasm
- Slurring as insulting 145
- A multi-act perspective on slurs 167
- The meaning and use of slurs 187
- Pejoration via sarcastic irony and sarcasm 219
-
Pejoration in different linguistic contexts
- Pejoration in contact 243
- Bla, bla, bla in German. A pejorative construction? 269
- Pejoratives in Korean 301
- Pejorative aspects attributed to hearing people in signed constructed dialogue 325
- Index 355
