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    Slurs and dog-whistles exhibit a distinct semantic profil... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→'inner-city' is not genuinely ambiguous between a racial meaning and a geographic meaning

    Slurs and dog-whistles exhibit a distinct semantic profile from standard ambiguity, functioning as what Nunberg calls 'deferred reference' rather than lexical ambiguity.

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    1 reason for
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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Dog-whistles require pragmatic context and speaker intent to convey their coded meaning, unlike standard ambiguity which relies on lexical features alone.
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    • 2.Slurs reference their target group indirectly through social conventions, not through multiple discrete dictionary definitions, fitting deferred reference better.
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    • 3.Standard ambiguity allows hearers to consciously choose between meanings; slurs work covertly, suggesting a distinct semantic mechanism operating beneath conscious access.
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    Reasons Against

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    • 1.Deferred reference still requires multiple available meanings; if slurs have only one standard meaning plus hidden coding, calling it 'deferred' obscures rather than clarifies.
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    • 2.Many standard ambiguities (bank, bat) also depend heavily on context and pragmatic inference, not just lexical features, undermining the claimed distinction.
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    • 3.The theoretical value of invoking 'deferred reference' is unclear—standard linguistic frameworks already account for context-dependent, coded, or implicit meaning effectively.
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    Related

    'inner-city' is not genuinely ambiguous between a racial meaning and a geographi...Deferred reference still requires multiple available meanings; if slurs have onl...Dog-whistles require pragmatic context and speaker intent to convey their coded ...Many standard ambiguities (bank, bat) also depend heavily on context and pragmat...
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    Slurs reference their target group indirectly through social conventions, not th...Standard ambiguity allows hearers to consciously choose between meanings; slurs ...The theoretical value of invoking 'deferred reference' is unclear—standard lingu...

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