The Definition and Typological Model of a Dogwhistle

Abstract A formal, speaker-based definition for the linguistic trope known as a ‘dogwhistle’ is provided. This definition is supported by an 11-part typological model for distinguishing dogwhistles from similar linguistic tropes (i.e., puns, innuendo, inside jokes) and other speech acts. The model i...

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Main Author: Kimberly Witten
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Estadual de Campinas 2023-07-01
Series:Manuscrito
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-60452023005001202&lng=en&tlng=en
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author Kimberly Witten
author_facet Kimberly Witten
author_sort Kimberly Witten
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description Abstract A formal, speaker-based definition for the linguistic trope known as a ‘dogwhistle’ is provided. This definition is supported by an 11-part typological model for distinguishing dogwhistles from similar linguistic tropes (i.e., puns, innuendo, inside jokes) and other speech acts. The model is applied to many data examples from a variety of sources. The model allows for data input, filtering against the criteria, and classification of the speech act as a dogwhistle or not. Additionally, the model can highlight how well the data example adheres to certain criteria. This informs interpretations about whether the speech act is a successfully constructed dogwhistle as well as provide possible reasons for failed dogwhistles. This analysis deepens our understanding of political and social discourse and the ways it can be manipulated for personal gains, resulting in new insight that helps dismantle strategic racism (Haney-López, 2014) and other threats to democracy.
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spelling doaj.art-17dd1913683e42d781b7e37bba0ee44f2023-07-04T07:45:35ZengUniversidade Estadual de CampinasManuscrito2317-630X2023-07-0110.1590/0100-6045.2023.v46n3.kwThe Definition and Typological Model of a DogwhistleKimberly Wittenhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0823-8828Abstract A formal, speaker-based definition for the linguistic trope known as a ‘dogwhistle’ is provided. This definition is supported by an 11-part typological model for distinguishing dogwhistles from similar linguistic tropes (i.e., puns, innuendo, inside jokes) and other speech acts. The model is applied to many data examples from a variety of sources. The model allows for data input, filtering against the criteria, and classification of the speech act as a dogwhistle or not. Additionally, the model can highlight how well the data example adheres to certain criteria. This informs interpretations about whether the speech act is a successfully constructed dogwhistle as well as provide possible reasons for failed dogwhistles. This analysis deepens our understanding of political and social discourse and the ways it can be manipulated for personal gains, resulting in new insight that helps dismantle strategic racism (Haney-López, 2014) and other threats to democracy.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-60452023005001202&lng=en&tlng=enDiscourseDogwhistlesTropesRacismSociolinguistics
spellingShingle Kimberly Witten
The Definition and Typological Model of a Dogwhistle
Manuscrito
Discourse
Dogwhistles
Tropes
Racism
Sociolinguistics
title The Definition and Typological Model of a Dogwhistle
title_full The Definition and Typological Model of a Dogwhistle
title_fullStr The Definition and Typological Model of a Dogwhistle
title_full_unstemmed The Definition and Typological Model of a Dogwhistle
title_short The Definition and Typological Model of a Dogwhistle
title_sort definition and typological model of a dogwhistle
topic Discourse
Dogwhistles
Tropes
Racism
Sociolinguistics
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-60452023005001202&lng=en&tlng=en
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