Articulations and associations
Abstract
I critically examine Stojnić and Lepore’s key claim from their book Inflammatory Language that articulations are particularly important to the analysis of slurs. I agree with Stojnić and Lepore that we should endorse the significance of articulations for our linguistic intuitions, especially when it comes to the causal and social powers of language; I argue that for locating this approach to the articulations of slurs in a broader context of fiction and taboos. However, while I accept Stojnić and Lepore’s evidence for theorizing some slurs through associations at the level of articulations, I argue for continuing to account for slurs in part through prohibitions and through associations at the level of words and concepts.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Swearing
Euphemism
Multilingualism
Ethics
Aesthetics
and Art
Syntax
Semantics
Linguistic Variation
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Croatian Journal of Philosophy
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 75
- Pages
- 371–382
- Publication date
- 13 January 2026
- Language
- EN