| Abstract [eng] |
The aim of this research is to determine how contemporary Lithuanian youth – adults between the ages of 18 and 35 years old – conceptualize hate speech, and what attributes they associate with it. The main objective of this research is to define the hate speech concept as it is perceived by Lithuanian youth, based on the definitions and evaluations provided by the test subjects. The method of quantitative survey has been chosen to achieve this objective. The survey was conducted by gathering anonymous questionnaires, in which the participants had to answer closed-ended and open-ended questions on how they perceive the concept of hate speech. A total of 128 completed questionnaires were gathered during the research, and the collected data was analyzed by applying the methods of content analysis and descriptive statistics. The findings of this research show that contemporary Lithuanian youth associate hate speech with explicitly disparaging stereotyping, derogatory lexemes, threats of violence, calls for violence, and the expression of desire for violence towards a certain group, as well as a certainty of the stance expressed in the utterance. Though a variation of opinions were perceived when evaluating the possibility of hate speech being targeted at non-group-affiliated individuals, as well as whether utterances that contain superficially non-derogatory stereotyping, and an uncertainty of the stance expressed in the utterance, could be considered acts of hate speech. There were also varying opinions on whether a conscious act of silence in certain situations could be considered an act of hate speech. It is important to note that some demographic groups may have been underrepresented in this research, as the large majority of the participants were women, as well as university graduates, and people that do not consider themselves as members of socially vulnerable groups. Therefore, it would be beneficial to conduct further research that would take a larger representation of other social groups into consideration. I would also be beneficial to conduct further qualitative research on how the concept of hate speech is perceived by members of various social groups in Lithuania. This research may be interesting and useful for other researchers of hate speech – linguists, sociologists, psychologists, legal researchers, political researchers, anthropologists, as well as various hate speech regulators, such as lawmakers, internet communication companies, and human resource managers in various companies. |
