CLLAM Seminar: Ethan Nowak (Umeå)
Seminar
Date: Friday 7 October 2022
Time: 10.00 – 12.00
Location: D700
Sociolinguistic variation, slurs, and speech acts
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that the ‘social meanings’ associated with sociolinguistic variation put pressure on the standard philosophical conception of language, according to which the foremost thing we do with words is exchange information. Drawing on parallels with the explanatory challenged posed by slurs and pejoratives, I argue that the best way to understand social meanings is to think of them in speech act theoretic terms, and I develop a distinctive form of pluralism about the performances realized by means of sociolinguistic variants.
Last updated: September 14, 2022
Source: Department of Philosophy