Zur Semantik der ethnischen Schimpfnamen

This article aims to advance a theory of the semantic status of racial epithets able to account for the relationship between the denotation and connotation of these terms. The more common approaches to the topic are considered and some of their drawbacks are illustrated. Then, a solution based on the speech-act theory is offered. It is claimed that a speaker, when using a racial epithet, performs two different speech-acts, one of which is always an expressive, according to Searle�s terminology. The defended theory is in line with those which consider the connotative meaning of racial epithets as semantically expressed and can be extended to every connoted term of a linguistic system.

本文旨在构建一种关于种族蔑称（racial epithets）语义地位的理论，以阐释此类术语的外延与内涵之间的关联。本文梳理了该议题下较为常见的研究路径，并阐释了其中部分路径的局限性。随后，本文提出了一种基于言语行为理论（speech-act theory）的解决方案。本文主张，说话者在使用种族蔑称时，会实施两种不同的言语行为，根据塞尔（Searle）的术语体系，其中一种始终为表达性言语行为。本文所捍卫的理论，与那些将种族蔑称的内涵意义视为语义层面所表达内容的研究路径相一致，且可推广至语言系统中的所有带有内涵意义的术语。