Linguistic Circle

Speakers: Elin McCready (Aoyama Gakuin University) and Christopher Davis (University of the Ryukyus)

Title: Invocations, Slurs, and Social Meaning

Abstract: Slur terms are a paradigmatic case of terms with lexical content which relates to and helps to create and reinforce oppressive social structures, stereotypes and institutions. In this talk we present ongoing work analyzing these terms under the rubric of *invocational meaning*, which unilaterally brings certain kinds of social facts to cognitive and contextual salience. We situate and contrast our own analysis with ones from the linguistic, philosophical, and psychological literature, arguing that invocational meaning is at the core of what makes the use or mention of slur terms such a volatile social issue. The talk closes by looking at some other cases where we think the notion of invocations provides a useful analytic perspective, and close with some auxiliary linguistic and philosophical issues.

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Linguistic Circle committee