Racist Language in Society and in Dictionaries: A Pragmatic Perspective

Abstract

After a reference in the Introduction to action by pressure groups against derogatory language used by the speech community when referring to particular social groups or social convictions , mention is made of various unprotesting social groups. The whole of section 2 is devoted to a discussion of racist language in society. Seven different categories are illustrated with examples from various languages. The important question of how racist language should be handled in dictionaries is examined in section 3. Examples of protests by ethnic pressure groups are given, followed by a wide-ranging discussion of subjects such as the inclusion or exclusion of racist lexical items, definitions and usage labels of racist items, and the utilization of usage examples of racist items with definientia. Where applicable, suitable definitions and effectual usage labels are suggested .