Can Morphology Inform Philosophy? The Case of Italian Pejoratives as Hybrid Evaluatives

Abstract This study critically engages with and contributes to the Presuppositional Account of Hybrid Evaluatives by studying a set of Italian constructions formed through pejorative suffixation applied to socially connoted bases. Drawing on data from the ItTenTen20 corpus, manually annotated and analysed, the paper shows that these forms combine a socially identifiable target with an unstable degree of offensiveness, linked to morphopragmatic effects related to the suffix. At the same time, the negative evaluation seems presupposed, being relatively resistant to negation and cancellation. The paper argues that such constructions can be described as Hybrid Evaluatives within the framework of the Presuppositional Account of slurs and that they occupy an intermediate position between slurs and thick terms. The paper suggests therefore to describe Hybrid Evaluatives within a continuum, contributing to the ongoing debate on slurs and hate speech.