Legal-Linguistic Typology of Hate Speech as a Matrix for Its Legal Regulation

Hate speech as a phenomenon concerning mainly mass media and new technologies emerged beyond the traditional legal classification of violations of law. As a social phenomenon, it can be deemed detrimental to or characteristic of contemporary society. Meanwhile, accommodating hate speech within the structure of law is much more difficult, mainly due to the complexity of acts perceived as representing hate speech and action related to it. What is more, contemporary society enshrined in its laws numerous provisions protecting the freedom of speech that set legal limits on attempts aiming at combatting expressions of hate with legal means. This study uncovers the prerequisites of hate speech conceptualization in the discussion about the legal regulation of this phenomenon. Furthermore, it draws upon the analysis of European and American cases and upon attempts to systematize legally relevant action in legal-linguistic terms. Finally, this study shows that legal-linguistic analysis of hate speech facilitates the determination of acts that would have to be regulated by laws.