Video Transcript Vocabulary – Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from offense, slurs, pronouns, names, policy, and phonetics in the lecture notes.

use-mention distinction

A distinction between using a word to refer to the word itself (mention) and using it to refer to its meaning or use (use). In text, italics often signal a mention.

slur

A highly offensive term aimed at a marginalized group; often a taboo word used to insult or denigrate.

offense

Social or psychological harm caused by language to discourse participants, varying with context and audience.

vulgarity

Expressions that involve taboo bodily references and can be offensive in certain contexts.

expletive

An outburst word used to express strong emotion; may be vulgar but not necessarily targeting someone.

derogation

A term or expression that disparages or devalues a person or group (pejoration).

pejoration

The process by which a word acquires more negative or insulting meaning over time.

coded slur

A slur expressed indirectly through euphemisms or coded language, often requiring in-group knowledge to recognize.

toxicity

The strong emotional harm associated with slurs, arising from power dynamics and social context.

power imbalance

Unequal power relations between speaker and target that intensify the harm of slurs.

reclaiming (reclaiming slurs)

Reappropriating a slur within a community to express empowerment or solidarity.

indexical bleaching

Replacing a person’s name with an English or more mainstream name, erasing linguistic or cultural identity.

queer (as reclaimed slur)

An example of reclamation where a historically negative label becomes a source of community solidarity.

deadnaming

Using a transgender person’s birth name after transition; a form of misnaming that can be harmful.

misgendering

Referring to a person using pronouns or gender terms that do not align with their gender identity.

pronouns

Words used to refer to people or things (e.g., I, you, he, she, they); encode person, number, and sometimes gender.

singular they

Using they to refer to a single person, often to avoid gender specification; historically long-used and increasingly common.

specific-singular-they

Using singular they to refer to a known individual whose gender identity is non-binary or not specified.

they/them

Nonbinary pronouns used by some individuals to refer to a single person or multiple people.

gender binary

A two-category view of gender (male and female) that many cultures assume as the default.

non-binary

Gender identities that are not exclusively male or female (e.g., genderqueer, gender-fluid).

matched-guise study

A research method where identical stimuli are presented under different names/guises to elicit attitudes.

guise

The label or name attached to stimuli in a matched-guise study to cue social information.

power of names

Names reveal social categories (gender, ethnicity) and can influence perceptions, status, and identity.

L1

First language learned from birth.

L2

Any language learned after the first language.

Official Languages Act

Canadian law (1969) establishing English and French as official languages and shaping bilingual policy.

linguicide

Killing or erasing a language through policy and assimilation efforts.

language policy

Gov't or institutional rules governing language use, recognition, and rights.

vocal fry

A low-frequency voice quality (creaky voice) that can influence perceptions of speaker traits.

accent stigma

Negative attitudes toward accents that differ from the mainstream or standard variety.

perceptual adaptation

Improvement in understanding unfamiliar accents through exposure and experience.

prescriptive grammar

A belief that certain language forms are correct and others incorrect; normative policing of language use.

linguistic law enforcement

Societal policing of language use, often tied to social norms and power structures.

modality

The production and perception of language; the chain from articulation to perception (sound or sign signals).

articulation

Movement of speech organs (and sign systems) to produce linguistic signals.

perception

Processing and interpretation of linguistic signals by a listener or reader.

IPA

International Phonetic Alphabet, a system for notating sounds of spoken language.

ASL

American Sign Language, a natural language that uses sign modalities.