Дисфемизмы: Использование уничижительных выражений в речи.

Expression with derogatory connotations
A dysphemism is an expression with connotations that are derogatory either about the subject matter or to the audience. Dysphemisms contrast with neutral or euphemistic expressions. Dysphemism may be motivated by fear, distaste, hatred, contempt, or humour.

The word dysphemism was composed from the Greek elements dys δύς "mis " and pheme φήμη "speech, voice, reputation" in the late 19th century. Related terms include malphemism (from the Latin malus "bad"), and cacophemism (from the Greek kakos κακός "bad").

A dysphemism is a marked form (standing out as unusual or divergent) which expresses a speaker's view or attitude towards the listener or group.

Animal names are frequently used as dysphemistic epithets. By using one, the speaker attempts to offend or antagonize the listener by targeting their humanity. Examples include "bitch", "pig", "swine", "chicken", "weasel", "sheep", "snake", "rat", and "jackass".

Some phrases that are euphemisms in certain contexts can be considered dysphemistic in others. These are often referred to as X phemisms: whether the utterance is dysphemistic or not depends on the context of the utterance. For example, many X phemisms regarding sexual intercourse could be considered euphemistic within peer groups yet dysphemistic in certain audiences. One might be more likely to say that one "got laid" to a friend than to one's grandparents. It was their belief that by calling their organization a terrorist organization they were being directly compared to Al Qaeda, with whom they claim no connection. Naming groups in this way has been described, "A name will place emphasis on certain aspects and characteristics of an object, while neglecting or omitting other key areas". Certain lexical items can be used to activate these representations, conjuring stereotypical images which then become the prototype in the listener's mind. Dysphemic terms activate negative stereotypes present in the listener's memory and affect their interpretation of the given text.

The process of pejoration leads to words that were once considered euphemisms to now be considered dysphemisms. In American culture, words like "colored" were once considered euphemisms, but have since been replaced by terms like "Black" and "African American". Sometimes slight modifications of dysphemisms can make them acceptable: while "colored people" is considered dysphemistic, "people of color" does not carry the same connotations. The words "idiot" and "moron" were once polite terms to refer to people with mental disabilities, but they are now rarely used without dysphemism. Likewise, the word "retarded" was introduced as a new polite form once the previous terms became dysphemistic; since then, "retarded" has itself become dysphemistic. Often a word with both euphemistic and dysphemistic uses becomes restricted to the dysphemistic use alone. The term "euphemism treadmill", coined by Steven Pinker, describes this process, in which terms with an emotionally charged referent that were once euphemisms become dysphemistic by association with the referent.