Expressing Ethnic Stereotypes from the Perspective of Anthropological Linguistics on the Basis of Attributive Ethnonyms

This article aims at analyzing the linguistic aspect of ethnicity from the perspective of anthropological linguistics (Fedorak 2017). We interpret an ethnic stereotype as an idealized cognitive model (ICM) consisting of metonymic submodels containing properties stereotypically attributed to a given ethnic group. Each of the subset models can serve as a basis for creating an attributive ethnonym, i.e. an ethnic name that refers to a particular attribute assigned to the target group. Although contemporary attributive ethnonyms are mostly seen as dysphemisms, it is ultimately context—taking into account situational, social and cultural determinants—that determines their axiological charge.