A bidimensional account of slurs

Abstract

Working within a bidimensional semantic framework derivative of Gutzmann (Use-Conditional Meaning, OUP, 2015), I focus on the systematic ambiguity of some slurs ascriptions. I argue that the semantic type of a slur's non-truth-conditional dimension is a particular kind of de se use-conditional proposition, which attributes the derogatory attitude to a contextually salient agent. A pragmatic interpretation principle warrants that the default attribution is speaker-oriented. However, conditions are clearly stated under which non-speaker-oriented attributions are licensed.