According to the author of this study, although hate speech has become a matter of international concern, permeating institutional and lay discussions alike, what it means to refer to a linguistic act as ‘hate speech’ remains unclear.
In light of such evidence, focusing on lay understandings of hate speech, the study explores the relationship between hate speech and hate, the distinction between hate speech and offensive speech, considering also how hate speech is defined in the UK Public Order Act 1986.
Using a corpus-based discourse analysis, 255 hate speech–related news articles were analyzed, alongside data from the General English Web 2020 corpus.
Hate speech is found to be a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, because hate is a central component, but it is not sufficient on its own to classify an act as hate speech, and elements such as threats, denigration of the targets based on a protected characteristic (age, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability), the potential to cause harm and the intent to stir up hatred, are also essential in distinguishing hate speech and offense.
Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1075/jlac.00082.vil
Reference
Vilar-Lluch, S. (2023). Understanding and appraising ‘hate speech.’ Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict, 11(2), 279–306