A semantic investigation of slurs and offenses derived from animal names

• Grant number: 23/09393-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics
• Principal Investigator: Renato Miguel Basso
• Grantee: Giovanna Costa Silva
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research investigates the use of animal names as pejorative terms in contemporary Brazilian Portuguese, some as offenses and some as slurs. It aims to describe the use of insults and offenses derived from animal names using the formal semantic practices of natural languages, based on a non-exhaustive inventory of the most common terms.