Bianca Cepollaro
Biographic Data
| ID | 1116573 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bianca Cepollaro |
| GIVEN NAMES | Bianca |
| FAMILY NAME | Cepollaro |
| SIGNATURE | CEPOLLARO B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Vita-Salute San Raffaele University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2695-2125 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 20 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
The Case of ‘Autistic’: Pejorative Uses and Reclamation
In addition to its descriptive uses, ‘autistic’—originally a medical label—is also used pejoratively (against ingroups and outgroups), and has recently been proudly reclaimed, especially in connection with neurodiversity movements. This phenomenon raises interesting questions for the philosophical debate on pejoratives. In this paper, we focus on two such questions: (i) Is ‘autistic’ a pejorative term? And (ii), How is ‘autistic’ being reclaimed?…
How is the reclamation of slurs perceived in Italian: A sociolinguistic survey to inform future NLP studies
This study presents a sociolinguistic survey that investigates how the reclamation of LGBT+ slurs is perceived in Italian. Reclamation refers to the practice of repurposing historically derogatory terms into expressions of identity, pride, solidarity, activism. Despite significant advancements in AI in the automatic detection of the abusive use of derogatory terms, the reclamation of slurs remains largely overlooked in NLP research – especially i…
The Politics of Language
Literally ‘a jerk: An Experimental Investigation of Expressives in Predicative Position
The semantic literature on negative expressive terms, such as ‘bastard’ and ‘jerk’, converges on two assumptions. First, the content associated with expressives is attitudinal; more precisely, it amounts to the condition that the agent (typically the speaker) has a negative attitude toward the target (that is, the person referred to with the expressive). Second, the use of such terms is felicitous as long as this condition is satisfied, regardles…
Norms of Public Argumentation and the Ideals of Correctness and Participation
Argumentation as the public exchange of reasons is widely thought to enhance deliberative interactions that generate and justify reasonable public policies. Adopting an argumentation-theoretic perspective, we survey the norms that should govern public argumentation and address some of the complexities that scholarly treatments have identified. Our focus is on norms associated with the ideals of correctness and participation as sources of a politi…
Slurs in quarantine
We investigate experimentally whether the perceived offensiveness of slurs survives when they are reported, by comparing Italian slurs and insults in base utterances (Y is an S), direct speech (X said: “Y is an S”), mixed quotation (X said that Y is “an S”), and indirect speech (X said that Y is an S). For all strategies, reporting decreases the perceived offensiveness without removing it. For slurs, but not insults, indirect speech is perceived …
Person-first and identity-first approaches to Autism: Metaphysical and linguistic implications
Over the past few years, there has been much debate about how autistic people should be described and labeled. Two main tendencies have emerged in this discussion, usually known as the person-first approach and the identity-first approach. While the former proposes to talk about ‘person(s) with autism’, the latter claims that ‘autistic person’ is more adequate. We first discuss person-first and identity-first approaches along with the reasons tha…
Bending as Counterspeech
In this paper, we identify and examine an overlooked strategy to counter bigoted speech on the spot. Such a strategy we call ‘bending’. To ‘bend’, in our sense, is to deliberately give a distorted response to a speaker’s harmful move – precisely, an ameliorative response, which may turn that move into a different, less harmful, contribution. To substantiate our proposal, we distinguish two ideas of uptake – interpretation and response – and argue…
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“Slurs and thick terms: When language encodes values”
The successes of reclamation
Teaching & Learning Guide for: Counterspeech
Counterspeech is communication that tries to counteract potential harm brought about by other speech. This might involve, for example, vocally criticising a hateful tirade, or publicly correcting misinformation. The appeal of counterspeech stems partly from considerations of free speech, and partly from considerations of effectiveness: unlike legal restrictions, counterspeech aims to prevent speech-based harms without prohibiting speech; moreover…
Counterspeech
Counterspeech is communication that tries to counteract potential harm brought about by other speech. Theoretical interest in counterspeech partly derives from a libertarian ideal - as captured in the claim that the solution to bad speech is more speech - and partly from a recognition that well-meaning attempts to counteract harm through speech can easily misfire or backfire. Here we survey recent work on the question of what makes counterspeech …
Who Reclaims Slurs
Reclamation is usually taken to be the phenomenon wherein in‐groups employ a slur to express pride, foster camaraderie, or subvert discriminatory structures. We provide data showing that, under some special circumstances, out‐groups successfully reclaim slurs too. Thus, the mainstream restriction to in‐groups is merely an approximation of the correct extension of the phenomenon – of who does actually reclaim slurs. Removing any such stipulative r…
When is it ok to call someone a jerk? An experimental investigation of expressives
Slurs and Thick Terms: When Language Encodes Values
What is the relation between language, communication, and values? In Slurs and Thick Terms: When Language Encodes Values, Bianca Cepollaro explores the ways in which certain pieces of evaluative language not only reflect speakers’ moral perspectives, but also contribute to promoting their evaluative stance. She focuses on slurs—the prototypical example of hate speech, including racial and homophobic epithets—and so-called thick terms, that is, th…
How bad is it to report a slur? An empirical investigation
When evaluation changes – An echoic account of appropriation and variability
In defence of a presuppositional account of slurs
In defence of a presuppositional account of slurs
Counterspeech
Counterspeech is communication that tries to counteract potential harm brought about by other speech. Theoretical interest in counterspeech partly derives from a libertarian ideal - as captured in the claim that the solution to bad speech is more speech - and partly from a recognition that well-meaning attempts to counteract harm through speech can easily misfire or backfire. Here we survey recent work on the question of what makes counterspeech …
When evaluation changes – An echoic account of appropriation and variability
Person-first and identity-first approaches to Autism: Metaphysical and linguistic implications
Over the past few years, there has been much debate about how autistic people should be described and labeled. Two main tendencies have emerged in this discussion, usually known as the person-first approach and the identity-first approach. While the former proposes to talk about ‘person(s) with autism’, the latter claims that ‘autistic person’ is more adequate. We first discuss person-first and identity-first approaches along with the reasons tha…
The successes of reclamation
When is it ok to call someone a jerk? An experimental investigation of expressives
How bad is it to report a slur? An empirical investigation
In defence of a presuppositional account of slurs
When evaluation changes – An echoic account of appropriation and variability
How bad is it to report a slur? An empirical investigation
Slurs and Thick Terms: When Language Encodes Values
What is the relation between language, communication, and values? In Slurs and Thick Terms: When Language Encodes Values, Bianca Cepollaro explores the ways in which certain pieces of evaluative language not only reflect speakers’ moral perspectives, but also contribute to promoting their evaluative stance. She focuses on slurs—the prototypical example of hate speech, including racial and homophobic epithets—and so-called thick terms, that is, th…
When is it ok to call someone a jerk? An experimental investigation of expressives
Who Reclaims Slurs
Reclamation is usually taken to be the phenomenon wherein in‐groups employ a slur to express pride, foster camaraderie, or subvert discriminatory structures. We provide data showing that, under some special circumstances, out‐groups successfully reclaim slurs too. Thus, the mainstream restriction to in‐groups is merely an approximation of the correct extension of the phenomenon – of who does actually reclaim slurs. Removing any such stipulative r…
Bending as Counterspeech
In this paper, we identify and examine an overlooked strategy to counter bigoted speech on the spot. Such a strategy we call ‘bending’. To ‘bend’, in our sense, is to deliberately give a distorted response to a speaker’s harmful move – precisely, an ameliorative response, which may turn that move into a different, less harmful, contribution. To substantiate our proposal, we distinguish two ideas of uptake – interpretation and response – and argue…
Reply to commentaries
Preview this article: Reply to commentaries, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/pc.00030.cep-1.gif
“Slurs and thick terms: When language encodes values”
The successes of reclamation
Teaching & Learning Guide for: Counterspeech
Counterspeech is communication that tries to counteract potential harm brought about by other speech. This might involve, for example, vocally criticising a hateful tirade, or publicly correcting misinformation. The appeal of counterspeech stems partly from considerations of free speech, and partly from considerations of effectiveness: unlike legal restrictions, counterspeech aims to prevent speech-based harms without prohibiting speech; moreover…
Counterspeech
Counterspeech is communication that tries to counteract potential harm brought about by other speech. Theoretical interest in counterspeech partly derives from a libertarian ideal - as captured in the claim that the solution to bad speech is more speech - and partly from a recognition that well-meaning attempts to counteract harm through speech can easily misfire or backfire. Here we survey recent work on the question of what makes counterspeech …
Norms of Public Argumentation and the Ideals of Correctness and Participation
Argumentation as the public exchange of reasons is widely thought to enhance deliberative interactions that generate and justify reasonable public policies. Adopting an argumentation-theoretic perspective, we survey the norms that should govern public argumentation and address some of the complexities that scholarly treatments have identified. Our focus is on norms associated with the ideals of correctness and participation as sources of a politi…
Slurs in quarantine
We investigate experimentally whether the perceived offensiveness of slurs survives when they are reported, by comparing Italian slurs and insults in base utterances (Y is an S), direct speech (X said: “Y is an S”), mixed quotation (X said that Y is “an S”), and indirect speech (X said that Y is an S). For all strategies, reporting decreases the perceived offensiveness without removing it. For slurs, but not insults, indirect speech is perceived …
Person-first and identity-first approaches to Autism: Metaphysical and linguistic implications
Over the past few years, there has been much debate about how autistic people should be described and labeled. Two main tendencies have emerged in this discussion, usually known as the person-first approach and the identity-first approach. While the former proposes to talk about ‘person(s) with autism’, the latter claims that ‘autistic person’ is more adequate. We first discuss person-first and identity-first approaches along with the reasons tha…
The Politics of Language
Literally ‘a jerk: An Experimental Investigation of Expressives in Predicative Position
The semantic literature on negative expressive terms, such as ‘bastard’ and ‘jerk’, converges on two assumptions. First, the content associated with expressives is attitudinal; more precisely, it amounts to the condition that the agent (typically the speaker) has a negative attitude toward the target (that is, the person referred to with the expressive). Second, the use of such terms is felicitous as long as this condition is satisfied, regardles…
The Case of ‘Autistic’: Pejorative Uses and Reclamation
In addition to its descriptive uses, ‘autistic’—originally a medical label—is also used pejoratively (against ingroups and outgroups), and has recently been proudly reclaimed, especially in connection with neurodiversity movements. This phenomenon raises interesting questions for the philosophical debate on pejoratives. In this paper, we focus on two such questions: (i) Is ‘autistic’ a pejorative term? And (ii), How is ‘autistic’ being reclaimed?…
How is the reclamation of slurs perceived in Italian: A sociolinguistic survey to inform future NLP studies
This study presents a sociolinguistic survey that investigates how the reclamation of LGBT+ slurs is perceived in Italian. Reclamation refers to the practice of repurposing historically derogatory terms into expressions of identity, pride, solidarity, activism. Despite significant advancements in AI in the automatic detection of the abusive use of derogatory terms, the reclamation of slurs remains largely overlooked in NLP research – especially i…
Philosophy (11 works) · Epistemology (9 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Political science (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Linguistics (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Feminist Epistemology and Gender Studies (5 works)