We investigate experimentally whether the perceived offensiveness of slurs survives when they are reported, by comparing Italian slurs and insults in base utterances (Y is an S), direct speech (X said: "Y is an S"), mixed quotation (X said that Y is "an S"), and indirect speech (X said that Y is an S). For all strategies, reporting decreases the perceived offensiveness without removing it. For slurs, but not insults, indirect speech is perceived as more offensive than direct speech. Our hypothesis is that, because slurs constitute hate speech, speakers employ quotation marks to signal their dissociation from slur use.

Slurs in quarantine / Cepollaro, Bianca; Sulpizio, Simone; Bianchi, Claudia; Stojanovic, Isidora. - In: MIND & LANGUAGE. - ISSN 0268-1064. - 39:3(2024), pp. 381-396. [10.1111/mila.12492]

Slurs in quarantine

Cepollaro, Bianca
Co-primo
;
Sulpizio, Simone
Co-primo
;
Bianchi, Claudia
Co-primo
;
2024-01-01

Abstract

We investigate experimentally whether the perceived offensiveness of slurs survives when they are reported, by comparing Italian slurs and insults in base utterances (Y is an S), direct speech (X said: "Y is an S"), mixed quotation (X said that Y is "an S"), and indirect speech (X said that Y is an S). For all strategies, reporting decreases the perceived offensiveness without removing it. For slurs, but not insults, indirect speech is perceived as more offensive than direct speech. Our hypothesis is that, because slurs constitute hate speech, speakers employ quotation marks to signal their dissociation from slur use.
2024
expressives
hate speech
insults
quotation
slurs
speech reports
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11768/160304
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