The offensiveness of animal metaphors
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Ewa Wałaszewska
Abstract
The paper examines how animal metaphors are communicated and understood, considering that such metaphors have been known since Antiquity and are universally common. First, uses of animal metaphors are described, focusing on their use as insults or terms of abuse. It seems that the source of these metaphors most often include animals′ appearance, behaviour, habitat, cultural and economic utility as well as their intelligence and character. Such metaphors are usually directed at a person’s physical appearance, sexual organs, sexual behaviour or human mental and psychological properties. The range of meanings triggered by these metaphors has been described and explained by reference to dehumanization, the Great Chain of Being or interrelations between taboo, closeness and edibility. It is argued that relevance theory provides a well-motivated explanation of how these meanings get communicated and how the associated emotional effects arise. At the propositional level, concepts lexicalized as words referring to or associated with animals are modified and, as ad hoc concepts, are included in the proposition expressed, or explicature, with modifications involving broadening and narrowing or the combination of the two processes. Emotional effects, such as offensiveness, on the other hand, are considered to be non-propositional and non-paraphrasable and accounted for by postulating a range of weak implicatures (poetic effects) or impressions identifiable by “metacognitive awareness”.
Abstract
The paper examines how animal metaphors are communicated and understood, considering that such metaphors have been known since Antiquity and are universally common. First, uses of animal metaphors are described, focusing on their use as insults or terms of abuse. It seems that the source of these metaphors most often include animals′ appearance, behaviour, habitat, cultural and economic utility as well as their intelligence and character. Such metaphors are usually directed at a person’s physical appearance, sexual organs, sexual behaviour or human mental and psychological properties. The range of meanings triggered by these metaphors has been described and explained by reference to dehumanization, the Great Chain of Being or interrelations between taboo, closeness and edibility. It is argued that relevance theory provides a well-motivated explanation of how these meanings get communicated and how the associated emotional effects arise. At the propositional level, concepts lexicalized as words referring to or associated with animals are modified and, as ad hoc concepts, are included in the proposition expressed, or explicature, with modifications involving broadening and narrowing or the combination of the two processes. Emotional effects, such as offensiveness, on the other hand, are considered to be non-propositional and non-paraphrasable and accounted for by postulating a range of weak implicatures (poetic effects) or impressions identifiable by “metacognitive awareness”.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Inhalt V
- Einleitung: Sprachliche Aggression beschreiben, verstehen und erklären 1
-
Teil I: Zum Ausdruck verbaler Aggression
- Was sind aggressive Sprechakte? 35
- On the strength of explicit and implicit verbal offences 51
- The offensiveness of animal metaphors 73
- Aggression in Banter 89
- Aggressiv oder supportiv? 123
- Offene und versteckte Aggression im Gebrauch von Dysphemismen und Euphemismen 145
-
Teil II: Verbale Aggression in Praxisfeldern
- Kommunikative Gewalt in der Psychotherapie 171
- Ist Fehlerkorrektur im Fremdsprachenunterricht ein aggressives Verhalten? 209
- „Von Ihrer Bewerbung können wir keinen Gebrauch machen“ 219
-
Teil III: Hassrede und Ideologie
- Zur Multi-Akt-Semantik der Ethnophaulismen 245
- Kulturhistorische Blicke auf die Sprache des Dritten Reiches und die antisemitische Hassrede 269
- „Um den Schädling zu vernichten” 289
- Implizite Aggression in Onlinekommentaren anlässlich der Debatte um rassistische Sprache in Kinderbüchern 305
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Teil IV: Inszenierungen verbaler Aggression
- „Doing aggressive 2.0“ 331
- The leader’s voice and communicative aggression in social media 357
- Politische Clowns in Klartext-Manier: Expressivität und Aggressivität in Zeiten transnationaler Öffentlichkeit 377
- Verbale Aggression in parlamentarischen Debatten 401
- Verbale Aggression im Realsozialismus und ihre Literarisierung 425
- Inszenierte Aggression in poetischer Sprache 447
- Autorinnen und Autoren 471
- Namen- und Sachregister 479
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Inhalt V
- Einleitung: Sprachliche Aggression beschreiben, verstehen und erklären 1
-
Teil I: Zum Ausdruck verbaler Aggression
- Was sind aggressive Sprechakte? 35
- On the strength of explicit and implicit verbal offences 51
- The offensiveness of animal metaphors 73
- Aggression in Banter 89
- Aggressiv oder supportiv? 123
- Offene und versteckte Aggression im Gebrauch von Dysphemismen und Euphemismen 145
-
Teil II: Verbale Aggression in Praxisfeldern
- Kommunikative Gewalt in der Psychotherapie 171
- Ist Fehlerkorrektur im Fremdsprachenunterricht ein aggressives Verhalten? 209
- „Von Ihrer Bewerbung können wir keinen Gebrauch machen“ 219
-
Teil III: Hassrede und Ideologie
- Zur Multi-Akt-Semantik der Ethnophaulismen 245
- Kulturhistorische Blicke auf die Sprache des Dritten Reiches und die antisemitische Hassrede 269
- „Um den Schädling zu vernichten” 289
- Implizite Aggression in Onlinekommentaren anlässlich der Debatte um rassistische Sprache in Kinderbüchern 305
-
Teil IV: Inszenierungen verbaler Aggression
- „Doing aggressive 2.0“ 331
- The leader’s voice and communicative aggression in social media 357
- Politische Clowns in Klartext-Manier: Expressivität und Aggressivität in Zeiten transnationaler Öffentlichkeit 377
- Verbale Aggression in parlamentarischen Debatten 401
- Verbale Aggression im Realsozialismus und ihre Literarisierung 425
- Inszenierte Aggression in poetischer Sprache 447
- Autorinnen und Autoren 471
- Namen- und Sachregister 479
