It certainly wasn’t when I was younger. But alot of people, some of them quite intelligent, use it that way.
I have to tell you, I literally cringe every time I hear someone use it that way. But who am I to judge?
Also, I often hear people in the news media, local at least, use it that way. In fact this local newscaster, from Britain no less (Tim Pamplin–? [I live in Detroit]) often uses it that way.
So I have to ask: Is “disrespect” a Verb now? I am talking about standard English, which is constantly changing, you have to admit.
It wasn’t when you were younger? You are clearly a marvel of medicine and should get straight to a research institute so they can figure out how you’re still alive after more than four full centuries! The use of disrespect as a verb goes back to the 1600s, it’s not something new or recent.
How has the OP not heard this form? I just quickly did a search on 20th Century books, and here’s a snippet from one in 1903 called “American Primary Teacher” where it has the phrase “don’t disrespect your elders.” It’s hardly a new usage. The “new usage” was the shortening of “disrespect” into “diss.”
I think (I have no actual evidence to support this thought) that using the word “disrespect” as a verb lost some favor during the time of my youth and young adulthood. It regained some favor in the 80s and 90s, along with the slang “diss”. So some people thought it to be a “new” usage, based on the noun they had used all along, as in showing someone disrespect.
That doesn’t sound implausible to me. I grew up in the 80s, so I swear I remember forms like “don’t disrespect your parents” and “don’t you disrespect me!” being common but it’s difficult to remember exactly when one first learned those constructions.
I did a Google Ngram search on disrespected and disrespecting (but not disrespect itself because it’s impossible to separate the verb from the noun). The verb has had its ups and downs over the centuries. It’s been growing again since the 1930s but really took off in the mid-1980s with no sign of slowing down. Ngram results
What annoys me is when respect/disrespect is used when what is meant is politeness or courtesy. Politeness can be given to anyone–respect has to be earned.
Looks about right. I just tried the phrases “disrespect him/her/you/me” and they all follow a similar pattern.
I can’t account for the blips in the late 1700s for “disrespect him.” (I tried searching books, but there are no matches for that exact phrase), but a lot of the 1800s ones are “disrespect Him” as in , God.
So, anyhow, it looks like it was occasionally used previously, but in the 80s it took off, just as you wrote.
It’s not really dialectal slang, though. It’s a word that’s long been around. (Actually, I suppose you can say that about “ask” and “aks,” as well, but I don’t think “disrespect” has ever gotten the :dubious: from grammarians.) I mean, just looking through Google books, I see all sorts of stuff. Here’s one from the Diesel and Oil Engine Handbook, 1923: “Don’t disrespect the authority of the Chief Engineer in charge.” Or “Travel and Camera”, 1956: "Don’t disrespect your camera. Or The Concordia Theological Seminary in 1965: “Are you jealous of what others have and thus moved to suspect or to disrespect your neighbor?”
Now, it’s possible/probable that the word took off in the 80s because of pop cultural influences, but it’s never – to my knowledge – been a word that’s been “problematic.”
The use of disrespect as a verb goes back to the 1600s, it’s not something new or recent.