An Indexical Theory of Racial PejorativesCitation formats

Standard

An Indexical Theory of Racial Pejoratives. / Scott, Michael; Stevens, Graham.

In: Analytic Philosophy, Vol. 60, No. 4, 2019, p. 385-404.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Harvard

Scott, M & Stevens, G 2019, 'An Indexical Theory of Racial Pejoratives', Analytic Philosophy, vol. 60, no. 4, pp. 385-404. https://doi.org/10.1111/phib.12156

APA

Scott, M., & Stevens, G. (2019). An Indexical Theory of Racial Pejoratives. Analytic Philosophy, 60(4), 385-404. https://doi.org/10.1111/phib.12156

Vancouver

Scott M, Stevens G. An Indexical Theory of Racial Pejoratives. Analytic Philosophy. 2019;60(4):385-404. https://doi.org/10.1111/phib.12156

Author

Scott, Michael ; Stevens, Graham. / An Indexical Theory of Racial Pejoratives. In: Analytic Philosophy. 2019 ; Vol. 60, No. 4. pp. 385-404.

Bibtex

@article{750dfbf3c1fb452fb62600dbdaceedd6,
title = "An Indexical Theory of Racial Pejoratives",
abstract = "This paper defends a novel truth-conditional theory of racial pejoratives that is distinctive by locating an indexical component in their content. The paper reviews rival theories (which are divided into three main approaches: semantic, pragmatic and prohibition accounts) and sets out some of their main difficulties, with particular focus on the difficulties in explaining the apparent context sensitivity of the content of pejorative expressions. The indexical theory, it is argued, not only avoids these problems but provides a better account of three characteristic features of pejoratives that a satisfactory theory of pejoratives should be able to explain. These are, first, the explosive force that utterances of pejoratives have even in apparently {\textquoteleft}innocent{\textquoteright} uses; second, the apparently non-derogatory use of pejoratives when they are appropriated by the target community; third, the distinctive behaviour of pejoratives in contexts of embedding under verbs of propositional attitude.",
keywords = "Semantics, Pragmatics, Pejoratives, Indexicals",
author = "Michael Scott and Graham Stevens",
year = "2019",
doi = "10.1111/phib.12156",
language = "English",
volume = "60",
pages = "385--404",
journal = "Analytic Philosophy",
issn = "2153-960X",
publisher = "John Wiley & Sons Ltd",
number = "4",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - An Indexical Theory of Racial Pejoratives

AU - Scott, Michael

AU - Stevens, Graham

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - This paper defends a novel truth-conditional theory of racial pejoratives that is distinctive by locating an indexical component in their content. The paper reviews rival theories (which are divided into three main approaches: semantic, pragmatic and prohibition accounts) and sets out some of their main difficulties, with particular focus on the difficulties in explaining the apparent context sensitivity of the content of pejorative expressions. The indexical theory, it is argued, not only avoids these problems but provides a better account of three characteristic features of pejoratives that a satisfactory theory of pejoratives should be able to explain. These are, first, the explosive force that utterances of pejoratives have even in apparently ‘innocent’ uses; second, the apparently non-derogatory use of pejoratives when they are appropriated by the target community; third, the distinctive behaviour of pejoratives in contexts of embedding under verbs of propositional attitude.

AB - This paper defends a novel truth-conditional theory of racial pejoratives that is distinctive by locating an indexical component in their content. The paper reviews rival theories (which are divided into three main approaches: semantic, pragmatic and prohibition accounts) and sets out some of their main difficulties, with particular focus on the difficulties in explaining the apparent context sensitivity of the content of pejorative expressions. The indexical theory, it is argued, not only avoids these problems but provides a better account of three characteristic features of pejoratives that a satisfactory theory of pejoratives should be able to explain. These are, first, the explosive force that utterances of pejoratives have even in apparently ‘innocent’ uses; second, the apparently non-derogatory use of pejoratives when they are appropriated by the target community; third, the distinctive behaviour of pejoratives in contexts of embedding under verbs of propositional attitude.

KW - Semantics

KW - Pragmatics

KW - Pejoratives

KW - Indexicals

U2 - 10.1111/phib.12156

DO - 10.1111/phib.12156

M3 - Article

VL - 60

SP - 385

EP - 404

JO - Analytic Philosophy

JF - Analytic Philosophy

SN - 2153-960X

IS - 4

ER -