CLASP
The Centre for Linguistic Theory and Studies in Probability

Dogwhistles: Masking, Vigilance, and Unmasking

Abstract

Dogwhistles are coded signals used todisguise one’s social persona from some listeners while revealing it to others,usually those who are sympathetic with it. This talk sketches a theory ofdogwhistles set in a game-theoretic context and considers two aspects ofdogwhistle interpretation and use: how searching for them can lead tohypervigilance and consequent disruptions in social cohesion, and in what kindsof circumstances speakers choose to abandon dogwhistling for direct signalingof their personas, arguing that both these phenomena are intertwined.