A word or an expression has a pejorative meaning when it is used to criticize, despise or ridicule another person, a group or ideas. The pejorative word comes from the Latin peiorare, which means to get worse.
The intention in communication
When we communicate, it is quite common for us to express our preferences, philias and phobias. What we find unpleasant we express with some derogatory term, that is, pejoratively. A word or expression takes on a pejorative meaning when it is used in an insulting or injurious way. Thus, the word Jew indicates in principle that someone professes a religion, but the term Jewish has historically been used as an insult.
The consideration of a word as pejorative depends on the intention of the speaker, the cultural context and the tone used in the communication. In some cases, an insulting term can be said in a friendly way, as is the case with some Andalusian expressions.
Examples of pejorative concepts in Spanish culture
Whether a word or expression is pejorative or not depends on the cultural tradition of each country or each community. If two black friends greet each other and one says "black" to the other, there is no insult, but there may be if it is a white person addressing a black person. There are many terms with a pejorative connotation. Thus, in the Basque Country the word maketo is used to refer to those who are not Basque and the same happens in Catalonia with the word charnego or in the Canary Islands with the term godo. In the nineteenth century in Spain, supporters of the French political tradition were called afrancesados, a clearly pejorative name.
A gypsy is someone who belongs to the gypsy ethnic group, but in practice this term is used as an insult, implying that it is someone who is engaged in some criminal or suspicious activity.
A curious case is what happens with the term civil servant, which in principle is someone who works for the public administration but is often used in a derogatory way in Spanish culture towards this group. Spain is a country very visited by tourists, who in popular language are known as "guiris", an equally derogatory name.
From praise to insult
The pejorative connotation of a word can evolve and in this sense it must be remembered that the word "fascist" or "Spanish" had a complimentary connotation decades ago and today can be used as an insult. Something very similar occurs with the cry "Long live Spain!", Which for many years indicated an expression of national pride and patriotism and is currently interpreted very negatively by large sectors of the population.
Photos: iStock - Diana Hirsch / Izabela Habur
