The Language of Harassment: Pragmatic Perspectives on Language as Evidence

The Language of Harassment: Pragmatic Perspectives on Language as Evidence addresses harassment head-on by conducting a thorough linguistic analysis of this pervasive social phenomenon. Utilizing a dearth of linguistic research on this topic, this book investigates the strategic language used by harassers to convey their ill intentions and inflict harm upon their victims. The linguistic analysis focuses on how harassment is constructed through verbal and physical interactions between the perpetrator or group of perpetrators and the victim at a discourse level. The author revisits several court cases tried in the US and Europe to show the phenomenal difficulties victims face to support their claims with evidence. This volume applies pragmatic linguistic theories to shed light on the defining elements of harassment, which include repetitive hostile and unethical communication, ill intentions, power imbalances, and harm inflicted upon the victim. In addition, the author illustrates the linguistic analysis through live cases of workplace mobbing, school bullying, sexual harassment, psychological harassment, stalking, and sexting.

Victoria Guillén-Nieto is associate professor of applied linguistics at the University of Alicante.