The act of communication skills: between freedom of expression and hate speech

Abstract

This paper presents an original research study based on a series of relevant observations, considerations, and suggestions resulting from a careful analysis of master’s dissertations in the field of Institutional Communication, Master’s cycle, at the Cross-Border Faculty of “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galati. Our attention was drawn to several papers that aim to examine communication conflicts with a destructive character. Starting from the premise that people consciously trigger conflicts, many countries have laws designed to combat violence and cruelty, to restrict materials containing indecent language, and, implicitly, to prevent manifestations of verbal aggression. These laws aim to fight for the truthfulness of information and the observance of ethical communication norms. The essence of human aggression, its real causes, and ways to overcome it have long concerned specialists from various fields. Different
scientific domains offer various approaches to this concept, depending on which element is considered essential. Aggression has become an object of study for linguists, sociologists, psychologists, educators, and experts from other scientific areas who analyze human thought and behavior. Moreover, verbal aggression, in a broad sense, is also a focus of legal specialists and is regulated by legislation. As a social phenomenon, aggression manifests both physically and verbally. The analysis and detailed description of verbal violence are among the core objectives of sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics, which are rooted in the theory of verbal activity. A substantial number of specialists have examined the various aspects of how aggression manifests in its multiple forms.