Linguistic pragmatics of the dark words as a manifestation of the genderlect among Ladino speakers in Israel

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46661/meldar.12428

Keywords:

Ladino, ethnography of communication, linguistic pragmatics, sociolinguistics, Sephardic studies, "dark" words

Abstract

This article presents a qualitative analysis of the differential use of taboo, swearwords, or insulting words between male and female Ladino speakers in different cities in Israel. The recording of this type of vocabulary, classified as dark words by Ladino speakers, and also the recording of the assessment of their use by informants were conducted by employing sociolinguistic interviews with a sample of native speakers selected in a non-random sampling.

The interview was constructed from the perspectives of ethnography of communication and linguistic pragmatics, which relevance to study the Ladino in context is set out in the methodological foundation. Emic aspects or those related to the subjectivity of Ladino speakers are considered and integrated into the explanation of the variation in the use of dark words between men and women. The

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Published

2025-12-15

How to Cite

Hernández Rodríguez, J. D. (2025). Linguistic pragmatics of the dark words as a manifestation of the genderlect among Ladino speakers in Israel. Meldar: International Journal of Sephardic Studies , (6), 11–42. https://doi.org/10.46661/meldar.12428

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No. 6 (2025)

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Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Juan David Hernandez Rodriguez

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