8

Feb

José Antonio Sánchez Fajardo (Universidad de Alicante) Linguistic taboo and morphological structure: An analysis of X-word constructions in English.

8 February 2023 13:15 to 15:00 Seminar

English Language and Linguistics Research Seminar

The objective of this study is twofold. Firstly, it is aimed to examine the semantic variability of X-word constructions through the effects of the semantics of X- and its X-phemistic function(s) on the overall frequency of the construction in the dataset. Based on an axiological-evaluative approach, this research study seeks to assess how the aspect of semantic variability of an X-word construction is dependent on the semantic and sociolinguistic value of X-.

The second objective is to identify and investigate the pragmatic functions (or motivations) underlying the making of X-word constructions. The dataset, which is extracted from NOW Corpus, includes a total of 24 X-word categories (e.g. a-word, b-word), in each of which the first 200 hits are examined to determine the etymons of the initialism and the pragmatic function of the construction, as well as to calculate the index (R). This index measures the degree of semantic variability by dividing the total number of X- bases, or (f), by the total number of X-word constructions, or (F).

Findings show that the X-word constructions with a dysphemistic function (e.g. f-word < feminism) have a higher index (f), suggesting that the semantic transition undergone by -word (from a euphemizing form to a dysphemizing one) effects the values of semantic variability and pragmatic multifunctionality. (R), which is numerically lower in the constructions where X- stems from a hurtful or taboo etymon (e.g. n-word), corroborates the proposition that X-word constructions such as n-word and y-word are less likely to be morphologically replicated. Another important finding was that, of the three types of pragmatic macrofunctions identified (i.e. euphemism, dysphemism, relevance), the dysphemistic one shows a higher variety of pragmatic motivations (i.e. hilarity, disparagement, criticism, seriousness, debasement, controversy). The function of relevance, although it generally falls outside the X-phemistic scope, confirms the degree of semantic variability that is inherited from seminal (or prototypical) X-phemistic motivations.

About the event:

8 February 2023 13:15 to 15:00

Location:
SOL H339

Contact:
satu.manninenenglund.luse

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