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Dysphemism
A dysphemism is an expression with connotations that are derogatory either about the subject matter or to the audience. Dysphemisms contrast with neutral or euphemistic expressions. Dysphemism may be motivated by fear, distaste, hatred, contempt, or humour. Etymology The word ''dysphemism'' was composed from the Greek elements ''dys'' δύς "mis-" and ''pheme'' φήμη "speech, voice, reputation" in the late 19th century. Related terms include ''malphemism'' (from the Latin ''malus'' "bad"), and ''cacophemism'' (from the Greek ''kakos'' κακός "bad"). Usage A dysphemism is a marked form (standing out as unusual or divergent) which expresses a speaker's view or attitude towards the listener or group. Types Synecdoche One kind of dysphemism is synecdochic, where a part is used to represent the whole, such as "What an asshole." Dysphemistic epithets Animal names are frequently used as dysphemistic epithets. By using one, the speaker attempts to offend or antagoniz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euphemism Treadmill
A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes to downplay. Euphemisms may be used to mask profanity or refer to topics some consider taboo such as disability, sex, excretion, or death in a polite way. Etymology ''Euphemism'' comes from the Greek word () which refers to the use of 'words of good omen'; it is a compound of (), meaning 'good, well', and (), meaning 'prophetic speech; rumour, talk'. '' Eupheme'' is a reference to the female Greek spirit of words of praise and positivity, etc. The term ''euphemism'' itself was used as a euphemism by the ancient Greeks; with the meaning "to keep a holy silence" (speaking well by not speaking at all). Purpose Avoidance Reasons for using euphemisms vary by context and intent. Commonly, euphemisms are used to avoid directly addressing sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euphemism
A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes to downplay. Euphemisms may be used to mask profanity or refer to topics some consider taboo such as disability, sex, excretion, or death in a polite way. Etymology ''Euphemism'' comes from the Greek word () which refers to the use of 'words of good omen'; it is a compound of (), meaning 'good, well', and (), meaning 'prophetic speech; rumour, talk'. '' Eupheme'' is a reference to the female Greek spirit of words of praise and positivity, etc. The term ''euphemism'' itself was used as a euphemism by the ancient Greeks; with the meaning "to keep a holy silence" (speaking well by not speaking at all). Purpose Avoidance Reasons for using euphemisms vary by context and intent. Commonly, euphemisms are used to avoid directly addressing sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reappropriation
In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change (i.e. change in a word's meaning). Linguistic reclamation can have wider implications in the fields of discourse and has been described in terms of personal or sociopolitical empowerment. Characteristics A ''reclaimed'' or ''reappropriated'' word is a word that was at one time pejorative but has been brought back into acceptable usage, usually starting within its original target, i.e. the communities that were pejoratively described by that word, and later spreading to the general populace as well. Some of the terms being reclaimed have originated as non-pejorative terms that over time became pejorative. Reclaiming them can be seen as restoring their original intent. This, however, does not apply to all such words as some were used in a der ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pejoration
A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a term is regarded as pejorative in some social or ethnic groups but not in others, or may be originally pejorative but later adopt a non-pejorative sense (or vice versa) in some or all contexts. Etymology The word ''pejorative'' is derived from a Late Latin past participle stem of ''peiorare'', meaning "to make worse", from ''peior'' "worse". Pejoration and melioration In historical linguistics, the process of an inoffensive word becoming pejorative is a form of semantic drift known as pejoration. An example of pejoration is the shift in meaning of the word ''silly'' from meaning that a person was happy and fortunate to meaning that they are foolish and unsophisticated. The process of pejoration can repeat itself around a single concept, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ar, ''Jabhat Taḥrīr Moro al-ʾIslāmiyyah'') is a group based in Mindanao seeking an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro region of Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago, Palawan, Basilan, and other neighbouring islands. The armed wing of the group was the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), although the name of its parent organization, the MILF, was often used to refer to the BIAF. In July, 2018, the Philippine government passed the Bangsamoro Organic Law, giving more autonomy to Muslims. In return, MILF announced that it would disarm its 30,000 fighters. History Following the Jabidah massacre in 1968, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was established clandestinely in 1969 by Moro students studying at the University of the Philippines, Egypt, and in the Middle East who sought to create an independent Muslim nation in southern Philippines. The MNLF g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his long career, he was the most consistent and prolific practitioner of impressionism's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to ''plein air'' (outdoor) landscape painting. The term "Impressionism" is derived from the title of his painting '' Impression, soleil levant'', exhibited in the 1874 ("exhibition of rejects") initiated by Monet and his associates as an alternative to the Salon. Monet was raised in Le Havre, Normandy, and became interested in the outdoors and drawing from an early age. Although his mother, Louise-Justine Aubrée Monet, supported his ambitions to be a painter, his father, Claude-Adolphe, disapproved and wanted him to pursue a career in business. He was very close to his mot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, unusual visual angles, and inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience. Impressionism originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s. The Impressionists faced harsh opposition from the conventional art community in France. The name of the style derives from the title of a Claude Monet work, ''Impression, soleil levant'' (''Impression, Sunrise''), which provoked the critic Louis Leroy to coin the term in a Satire, satirical review published in the Parisian newspaper ''Le Charivari''. The development of Impressionism in the visual arts was soon followed by analogo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yankee
The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United States, or Americans in general. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', it is "a nickname for a native or inhabitant of New England, or, more widely, of the northern States generally". Outside the United States, ''Yank'' is used informally to refer to an American person or thing. It has been especially popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand where it may be used variously with uncomplimentary overtones or cordially. In the Southern United States, ''Yankee'' is a derisive term which refers to all Northerners, and during the American Civil War was applied by Confederates to soldiers of the Union army in general. Elsewhere in the United States, it largely refers to people from the Nort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicano
Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American identity was related to encouraging assimilation into White American society and separating the community from the African-American political struggle, Chicano identity emerged among anti-assimilationist youth. Some belonged to the Pachuco subculture, and claimed the term (which had previously been a classist and racist slur). The term ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed by ethnic Mexicans in the 1960s and 1970s to express political empowerment, ethnic solidarity, and pride in being of Indigenous descent (with many using the Nahuatl language), diverging from the more assimilationist ''Mexican American'' term. Chicano Movement leaders collaborated with Black Power movement. Chicano youth in ''barrios'' rejected cultural assimilation into whit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigga
''Nigga'' () is a colloquial and vulgar term used in African-American Vernacular English that began as a dialect form of the word ''nigger'', an ethnic slur against black people. The word is commonly associated with hip hop music and African-American gang culture. In dialects of English (including standard British English) that have non-rhotic speech, ''nigger'' and ''nigga'' are often pronounced the same. Usage The use of ''nigger'' non-pejoratively within the black community was documented in the 1912 novel ''The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man'' by James Weldon Johnson, in which he recounted a scene in New York City around the turn of the century: I noticed that among this class of colored men the word "nigger" was freely used in about the same sense as the word "fellow," and sometimes as a term of almost endearment; but I soon learned that its use was positively and absolutely prohibited to white men. There is conflicting popular opinion on whether there is any me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigger
In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–mention distinction, mentioned but not directly used. The term ''nigger'' is also used casually and fraternally among African Americans, most commonly in the form of ''nigga''. The word originated in the 18th century as an adaptation of the Spanish word ''wikt:negro#Spanish, negro'', a descendant of the Latin adjective ''wikt:niger#Latin, niger'', which means "black". Over time it took on a derogatory connotation and became a racist insult by the 20th century. Accordingly, it began to disappear from general popular culture. Its inclusion in classic works of literature has sparked controversy and ongoing debate. Etymology and history Early use The variants ''neger'' and ''negar'' derive from various Romance l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steven Pinker
Steven Arthur Pinker (born September 18, 1954) is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author, and public intellectual. He is an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. Pinker is the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, and his academic specializations are visual cognition and developmental linguistics. His experimental subjects include mental imagery, shape recognition, visual attention, children's language development, regular and irregular phenomena in language, the neural bases of words and grammar, as well as the psychology of cooperation and communication, including euphemism, innuendo, emotional expression, and common knowledge. He has written two technical books that proposed a general theory of language acquisition and applied it to children's learning of verbs. In particular, his work with Alan Prince published in 1989 critiqued the connectionist model of how children ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
