Provocative Vocatives: Slurs as Expressives.

Fifty years ago, Zwicky demonstrated the slur‐neutral counterpart vocative divergence thesis (SNCVD):Slurs occur freely as vocatives. Neutral counterparts do not. In this article, I craft a novel problem for theories of slurs. The Vocatives Problem is the challenge to explain the SNCVD. I argue that...

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Publicado en:Philosophical Perspectives Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 41 - 54
Autor principal: Jeshion, Robin
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Dec2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Provocative Vocatives: Slurs as Expressives.
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        au: Jeshion, Robin
        affil: The University of Southern California, Los Angeles California, , USA
      su:
        Expressive language
        Contempt (Attitude)
        Semantics
        Linguistics
        Discriminatory language
        Pragmatics
        Speech acts (Linguistics)
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        subj:
          Expressive language
          Contempt (Attitude)
          Semantics
          Linguistics
          Discriminatory language
          Pragmatics
          Speech acts (Linguistics)
      keyword:
        epithets
        expressives
        names
        pejoratives
        slurs
        syntax
        vocatives
      ab: Fifty years ago, Zwicky demonstrated the slur‐neutral counterpart vocative divergence thesis (SNCVD):Slurs occur freely as vocatives. Neutral counterparts do not. In this article, I craft a novel problem for theories of slurs. The Vocatives Problem is the challenge to explain the SNCVD. I argue that there are two strong solutions. One construes slurs as encoding non‐expressive pejorative evaluation. Another construes them as expressives, as tools for expressing speaker‐contempt. I advance further rationales for treating slurs as expressives as a best solution. I argue that four alternative accounts, none of which place restrictions on slurs' semantics, fail to explain SNCVD. Finally, I show how the Vocatives Problem presents a formidable challenge to leading analyses of slurs that explain slurs' derogatory force exclusively via appeal to pragmatics, socio‐linguistic rules like prohibitions, or articulations.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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