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DISCOURSE ANALYSIS – FIONA DALZIEL, Assignments
1.WORKGROUP 04/
Image 7
- The photo was taken outside of an ethnic restaurant, probably in Italy
- It is not an official sign
- It was produced by the owner of the restaurant
- The sign is directed to both Italian and Bangladeshi customers
- The languages present are Italian and Bengali
- Italian is there because the restaurant is in Italy, but it probably has Bangladeshi customers The sign reveals that the regular customers of this restaurant are both Bangladeshi and Italian. IMAGE N. 7 The photo was taken in front of a Bangla fast-food restaurant, the owner wrote the sign, it's directed at its customers, and it's written in Italian and Bengali language, Bengali is probably the owner language and Italian is used because it's the country where the restaurant is situated. Overall, it reveals the presence of a small community of Bangladesh people living in Italy and who cares about its traditions. Image 3
- The photo was probably taken in an airport or a station in France or Canada or more in general in a francophone country.
- It is an official sign.
- The sign is produced by the airport or station.
- The sign is directed at travellers
- The languages present are French and English
- The sign was probably made for a bilingual country, or it can be placed in France and English is there because it is useful to international travellers. The sign reveals that this particular community is probably bilingual, or it interacts with tourist on a regular basis.
2.METAPHOR IN PUBLIC SPEAKING
Emmeline Pankhurst, 1913 - Speech delivered in Hartford, Connecticut
I am here as a soldier: she's saying this, because she's in a battle for feminism. I am here as a person: she's saying this, because she's also just a person, a woman. Queen Elizabeth 2020 - Together we are tackling the disease Together we are tackling this disease: this could be a metaphor, because the term tackling is used for sport and means to face a challenge, which in this case is Coronavirus pandemic. Malala Yousafzai 2013 - Our books and our pens are the most powerful weapons Our books and our pens are the most powerful weapons: this metaphor shows that pens and books can be used as a weapon, because studying and learning makes you less easily influenceable and gives you the power to think alone, with your own mind. Kamala Harris 2020 - Nomination Acceptance at Democratic Convention these women inspired us to pick up the torch and fight on: this metaphor explains the passage of testimony from women who fought for their rights until nowadays and those who will do it in the future.
3.STUDYING AT UNIVERSITY DURING LOCKDOWN
Studying at university during lockdown was very challenging under various aspects. It was like living in a constant loop, doing the same things again and again until you didn't realize it anymore. I had the luck to live in the countryside, so I could go outside, have a walk or just stay in my garden and sunbathe while following some lessons, reading a book or doing some university assessments. Fortunately, it was never boring because I live in a large family, so I could spend some quality time with my siblings or parents. In the other hand, it was very stressful for me, because I felt the university like a sort of escape from the reality, like this kind of parallel universe where I had a different life; staying at home for me was like being in prison without a proper reason: one day, they just put you in without giving you an explanation and never let you go. You just had to stay there and pretend to live a “normal” life so as not to go insane. However, having spent this whole time studying on lockdown was like reinventing the wheel: it taught us that there are other ways to learn beyond the usual ones. In my personal experience, I found studying online with my friend via Zoom very useful, because we didn't have to make any plans to meet: we just had to decide when, seeing as everyone was at home doing nothing but trying to live as good as they could.
4.LEXICAL CHOICES IN CAMERON TEXT
Extracts from: Cameron, D. (2007). The Myth of Mars and Venus. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Look at the extracts from the book by Deborah Cameron, The Myth of Mars and Venus and discuss these questions.
- Which different opinions on the way women and men talk are expressed in the extracts?
3. Can you give some examples of inclusive language? Which terms/forms might you choose to use and which kinds of words would you try to avoid? It is considered polite and inclusive to use “they/them” pronouns instead of assuming someone refers to themselves with the pronouns assigned by biological sex; regarding the matter or avoiding sexist language it is preferred to use “humankind” instead of “mankind” and so on. Generally speaking, you should avoid expressions based on assumptions, and try not to include everyone in a “category” based on “similar characteristics” such as: “The single mothers; the Asian people; the Muslims” and so on.
6. EVALUATION IN SPEECHES
Barack Obama's Speech
1. Which examples of "loaded" language can you find? How do these impact on the way in which the speaker conveys his opinion? We can find examples of loaded language in the extract in the second paragraph when Obama addresses the 'original sin of slavery: this word choice already conveys the speaker's position on the topic of slavery. 2. How does the speaker make use of modal verbs to put forward his position? The speaker uses modals such as 'what would be needed', 'were willing to do', 'would not be enough', in an epistemic modality to make a prediction and to make the listeners reflect and react**.
- Is there anything else you notice about how language is used to give strength to the speaker's vision of the future?** The speaker puts an accent on his backstory and uses positive words such as 'decency, generosity unity', to convey a positive aura around his candidature as American president.
Boris Johnson’s speech
In Boris Johnson speech, we noticed that he frequently uses the modal verb “will” as a way to express his future intentions for England under his government. Using this modal, he is quiet sure of being in the right path to help England and its people. Moreover some of the “loaded”words we found are “promise”, “protect”, “chance”, “control” and “prosperity”. These are all words with a positive connotation. Though them, Johnson aims at including and encouraging the audience with an emotional intent. For this same reason, Johnson uses a lot the pronoun “we” and also “our” as well as “together” and “union” to convey the sense of being all united, he included. Finally, he makes references to a lot of data and concrete facts to show the real improvements he is carrying on in England after Brexit and the Covid health emergency.
7. CONTEXT PARAGRAPH
The speech analysed here was delivered by Martin Luther King Jr., on August 28, 1963, in Washington, DC. The audience of 150,000 followers was gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in occasion of The March
on Washington. The speech of 1623 words demanded civil rights and an equal future without discrimination for black people. Moreover, Martin Luther King Jr. denounced the injustices related to black slavery in the United States and claim for a fair future society. Revised The speech analysed here was delivered by Martin Luther King Jr., on August 28, 1963, in Washington, DC. The audience of 150,000 followers was gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the occasion of The March on Washington. The speech of 1623 words demanded civil rights and an equal future without discrimination for black people. Moreover, Martin Luther King Jr. denounced the injustices related to black slavery in the United States and demanded a fair future society. The speech Our books and our pens are the most powerful weapons analysed here was delivered by Malala Yousafzai on 12 July 2013. It took place at the United Nations in New York, on the occasion of the “United Nations Youth Assembly”. In the presence of youth delegates and world leaders, she gave a speech focusing on the themes of education and equality, highlighting the importance of the struggle for the rights of women and girls. As far as the technical aspects of the speech are concerned, this young Pakistan woman used a total of 1508 words, making her speech lasting 20 minutes. Revised The speech Our books and our pens are the most powerful weapons analysed here was delivered by Malala Yousafzai on 12 July 2013. It took place at the United Nations in New York, on the occasion of the “United Nations Youth Assembly”. In the presence of youth delegates and world leaders, Malala Yousafzai gave a speech focusing on the themes of education and equality, highlighting the importance of the struggle for the rights of women and girls. As far as the technical aspects of the speech are concerned, this young Pakistan woman used a total of 1508 words, making her speech last 20 minutes.
8. RWANDA and Boris- SUMMARY AND COMMENTARY The Guardian’s article openly criticizes the plan of Boris Johnson and Priti Patel. It underlines the fact Rwanda is a country with “significant human rights issues”, so the journalist considers that decision unethical. It uses words with a negative connotation such as wicked idea, eye-watering cost, and inhumanity. Moreover, it highlights Patels’ responsibility by the sentence “addiction to the politics of performative cruelty”. The article of the Daily Mail is more neutral since it reports the result of polls, so it reveals objective statistics and data. However, it presents some opinions of people that support the Prime Minister, so the article probably tends to support the migration plan with economic data without saying it directly. Both articles use the expression “eye-watering costs” because the two sides are focused on the economic issues of the plan. Revised The Guardian’s article openly criticizes the plan of Boris Johnson and Priti Patel. It underlines the fact that Rwanda is a country with “significant human rights issues”, so the journalist considers that decision unethical. It uses words with a negative connotation such as wicked idea, eye-watering cost, and
9. PARTICIPANT REFERENCE
Look at these two possible newspaper headlines. Woman arrested for stealing necklace Woman attacked outside her home Think of different ways of identifying this “woman”
- Add premodifiers to the noun head “woman”
- Change the noun head e.g. Doctor attacked outside her home
- Young w oman arrested for stealing necklace 21 - year-old woman arrested for stealing necklace Homeless woman arrested for stealing necklace Poor woman attacked outside her home Innocent woman attacked outside her home Blind woman attacked outside her home 2. Thief arrested for stealing necklace Girl arrested for stealing necklace Cleaning lady arrested for stealing necklace Teacher attacked outside her home Waitress attacked outside her home Politician attacked outside her home
10. ANALYSIS - Look at the news report from the BBC and the two extracts from The Guardian and The
Telegraph and compare them in terms of actors, transitivity and presupposition.
- in the BBC article the actor is named in the heading of the article (protesters), but not in the text, and the passive form is used without mentioning the agent. The extract gives the readers all the information they need to know in order to understand the situation.
- in The Guardian article the agent is clearly mentioned in the heading as well as in the rest of the text. It presupposes that the readers know what BLM stands for.
- in The Telegraph article the agent is named throughout the text and it gives more details about the context by mentioning the episode of George Floyd. The title of the article used the passive form, it is quite neutral. Xxx ACTORS AND TRANSITIVITY: In the three headlines of the articles, we noticed that both actors and agents are mentioned, whereas the subtitles of The Guardian and The Telegraph articles do not restate the agents because they want to focus on the importance of the Monument and on the violence of the action done by the protesters. At the end of the BBC article, the actor is unknown, so that the focus of the sentences is on the eight officers injured, those who undergone the action. PRESUPPOSITION: The Guardian article presupposes that the reader already knows about the Black Lives Matters movement. Moreover, it also takes for granted the “the action to the toppling of the Statue of Saddam Hussein in Iraq”. In the article published by The Telegraph it is reported that Priti Patel assumes that the action of the protesters is considered as “an act of vandalism”, presupposing that this is a general opinion.
11. ARGUMENT ANALYSIS
D: Emmanuel Macron è stato rieletto. C: Non poteva che essere rieletto, come ho detto e scritto più volte in questi giorni. W: Marine Le Pen è troppo divisiva. È sempre stata troppo connotata a destra e troppo poco preparata e competente mentre per vincere le elezioni in Francia si deve riuscire ad aggregare un ampio fronte elettorale. R: Eppure Madame Le Pen, questa volta, ha intercettato un malessere reale. D: Sono tante le famiglie che non ce la fanno ad arrivare alla fine del mese; molti coloro che temono un declassamento delle giovani generazioni rispetto a quelle dei loro genitori; ancora più numerosi coloro che hanno perso la speranza di poter approfittare di quell'ascensore sociale che, fino a qualche decennio fa, permetteva ai ragazzi e alle ragazze, attraverso lo studio, di accedere a posizioni lavorative ben più prestigiose di quelle occupate dai propri parenti. Macron non ha saputo ascoltare queste istanze, infatti molti lo hanno accusato di una scarsa attenzione nei confronti dei ceti più deboli e disagiati. D: Dato che la base di consenso di Macron è diminuita, la posizione del presidente francese è più scomoda rispetto a quella del 2017. L’astensionismo è aumentato, quasi un terzo dei francesi non ha votato (D). Inoltre molti elettori hanno votato per lui a malincuore, faute de mieux. ER: Certo Emmanuel Macron ce l'ha messa tutta per recuperare i voti della France In-Soumise di Melanchon. Ha strizzato gli occhi al comunitarismo, si è recato più volte nelle banlieu, cercando di assumere un atteggiamento più aperto e attento ai problemi delle minoranze. D: Ma molti elettori di Jean-Luc Mélenchon sono rimasti a casa. I giovani che apprezzano questo Presidente sono pochi.
shooting-a-day culture”, “broken mental health system”. In addition, the article presents numerous technical words related to the military and legal fields, for example: filibuster, AR-15 assault rifle, gun lobby dollars, gun violence prevention legislation, unregulated firearm industry, military-style assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines. Regarding rhetorical devices, an important anaphora/parallelism is used to show the inadequacies of the American legislative system in which there is no limit or laws that regulate the use of guns by citizens. Overall, the article uses a straightforward language that goes strict to the point without metaphors or mince words. To support their thesis, the authors provide facts and data, reporting dates and numbers of the victims (e.g. “more than 187,000 kids have experienced a school shooting”) and narrating recent relevant events. Another feature of the articles worth mentioning is the fact that the criticism is not addressed to one single political person or party, but to the entire American system. However, at the beginning, the Biden administration is mentioned as the one that can change the situation at the moment. Once again to prove their point, the journalists David Hogg and John Rosenthal show the benefits of a better public safety policy that includes regulations for gun violence prevention, taking the state of Massachusetts as an example.
Xxx
Donald Trump’s Statement on the Mass Shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas on 3 and 4
August 2019
Our analysis will start by focusing on the way Donald Trump uses loaded words to make people understand the danger of the entire topic and to stress responses. We will carry on by lingering upon his usage of “we” or “we Americans” to make people feel involved in their uncertain faith if they would have carried on in this way but also to sensibilize many people not to buy unnecessary weapons. Trump mentions “America” several times to convey feelings as a sense of belonging and improving their own Country. Finally, we will focus on the use of modal verbs “will” and “must”. In his speech, Donald Trump uses many words and expressions which are catchy and loaded with emotion. Firstly, he uses derogatory words referring to murders and criminals who shot at the crowd. Trump defines them as “wicked”, “twisted monsters”, “barbaric slaughter”. There is no limitation in his use of strong words full of hatred and contempt; this is Trump’s goal: he wants to be seen as strongly concerned and interested in what happened, as every good president should do. Secondly, other emphatic expressions are “this morning our nation is overcome with shock, horror, and sorrow” and “We are outraged and sickened by this monstrous evil, the cruelty, the hatred, the malice, the bloodshed, and the terror” where the phatos and memorability of his words reach their peak. In contrast to this, Trump uses the term “American heroes” to emphasize the goodness of American people, unblemished and valiant. According to the use of Inclusive language, Trump uses the pronoun “we” to stress the American superiority and to make people feel a sense of belonging to a community. Especially in the conclusion of his speech, Trump wants to encourage Americans to build a better future fighting against murders and hatred. He also uses the term “America” in order to underline where his citizens belong to. Furthermore, he refers to himself with “I” to highlight his supremacy, and tell citizens that he will do something about the problem.
As for the use of modality we can find a great many of “will” as predictions, such as “America will rise to the challenge”, “We will never forget”, and again “we…will stop this evil contagion”. Another modality that is often used is “must” as obligation: “we must honor the sacred memory of those we have lost”, “We must seek real bipartisan solutions”, and another curious assertion “we must stop the glorification of violence in our society”, given the fact that he then charges this violence on the videogames and social networks instead of the Gun Laws that actually allow this kind of tragedies. At the end of the speech we also have some “May” as an epistemic possibility that invokes the so called “worlds’ creator”: “May God bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo, and may God protect them. May God protect all of those from Texas to Ohio. May God bless the victims and their families. May God bless America”, in order to make himself seem a religious person, so as to grab some more votes. Revised Donald Trump’s Statement on the Mass Shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas on 3 and 4 August 2019 Our analysis will start by focusing on the way Donald Trump uses loaded words to make people understand the danger of the entire topic and to stress responses. We will carry on by lingering upon his usage of “we” or “we Americans” to make people feel involved in their uncertain faith if they would have carried on in this way (this part os not so clear) but also to persuade many people not to buy unnecessary weapons. Trump mentions “America” several times to convey feelings such as a sense of belonging and improving their own country. Finally, we will focus on the use of modal verbs “will” and “must”. In his speech, Donald Trump uses many words and expressions which are catchy and loaded with emotion. Firstly, he uses derogatory words referring to murders and criminals who shot at the crowd. Trump defines them as “wicked”, “twisted monsters”, “barbaric slaughter”. There is no limitation to his use of strong words full of hatred and contempt; this is Trump’s goal: he wants to be seen as strongly concerned and interested in what happened, as every good president should do. Secondly, other emphatic expressions are “this morning our nation is overcome with shock, horror, and sorrow” and “We are outraged and sickened by this monstrous evil, the cruelty, the hatred, the malice, the bloodshed, and the terror” where the pathos and memorability of his words reach their peak. In contrast to this, Trump uses the term “American heroes” to emphasize the goodness of American people, unblemished and valiant. As regards the use of Inclusive language, Trump uses the pronoun “we” to stress the American superiority and to make people feel a sense of belonging to a community. Especially in the conclusion of his speech, Trump wants to encourage Americans to build a better future fighting against murders and hatred. He also uses the term “America” in order to underline where his citizens belong to. Furthermore, he refers to himself with “I” to highlight his supremacy, and tell citizens that he will do something about the problem. As for the use of modality we can find a great many examples of “will” as predictions, such as “America will rise to the challenge”, “We will never forget”, and again “we…will stop this evil contagion”. Another modality that is often used is “must” as obligation: “we must honor the sacred memory of those we have lost”, “We must seek real bipartisan solutions”, and another curious assertion “we must stop the glorification of violence in our society”, given the fact that he then blames this violence on the videogames and social networks instead of the Gun Laws that actually allow this kind of tragedy. At the end of the speech we also have some instances of “May” as an epistemic possibility that invokes the so called “worlds’ creator”: “May God bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo, and may God protect them. May God protect all of those from Texas to Ohio. May God bless the victims and their families. May God bless America”, in order to make himself seem a religious person, so as to grab some more votes.
Stylesheet for format
1. General information At the top of the page you should write: - your name and surname; - your student number; - your assignment title e.g. Analysis of a speech given by Kamala Harris. When writing your assignment, you should: - use 1.5 line spacing; - leave one blank line between paragraphs; - not start a new line unless you are starting a new paragraph; - follow quoting/citing conventions (see below); - include your references at the end. Quotations and citations (APA style – no footnotes)
- Just include short quotations placed in the text between double quotation marks as follows: Linguists may look at “how the semiotic choices we make promote a particular view” (English and Marr, 2015: 171). According to Partington and Taylor (2018: 129), “a metaphor is really an opinion dressed in fine clothing”.
- Even if you are using your own words, you must say where your information comes from, unless it is original. You do this, as with quotations, by indicating the surname of the author, the year of publication of the work and if possible the page: Charteris-Black (2013: 197) argues that exploring the language of political speeches can help us to understand the power of metaphor in discourse. Reference section Only put the texts you have actually referred to in your text in your references section. Bibliographical references should be listed alphabetically at the end of your essay. You should include: the surname and initials the author, followed by the year of publication of the text and other data, as shown in the following examples (the names of books and of journals are written in italics): Books Partington, A. & Taylor, C. (2018). The Language of Persuasion in Politics: an Introduction. London: Routledge. Articles in periodicals Bas, M. & Gezegin, B. B. (2017). Metaphors of English As a Foreign Language. Global Journal of Foreign Language Teaching 7 (1), 2 - 8. Chapters in books Bondi, M. (2007). Key-words and Emotions: A Case Study of the Bloody Sunday Enquiry. In N. Fairclough, G. Cortese and P. Ardizzone (eds) Discourse and Contemporary Social Change , 407 – 32. Bern: Peter Lang. Articles online Boroditsky, L. (2009). How does our language shape the way we think? Edge. Retrieved from: https://www.edge.org/conversation/lera_boroditsky-how-does-our-language-shape-the-way-we- think
References Bas, M. & Gezegin, B. B. (2017). Metaphors of English As a Foreign Language. Global Journal of Foreign Language Teaching 7 (1), 2 - 8. Bondi, M. (2007). Key-words and Emotions: A Case Study of the Bloody Sunday Enquiry. In N. Fairclough, G. Cortese and P. Ardizzone (eds) Discourse and Contemporary Social Change , 407 – 32. Bern: Peter Lang. Boroditsky, L. (2009). How does our language shape the way we think? Edge. Retrievd from: https://www.edge.org/conversation/lera_boroditsky-how-does-our-language-shape-the-way-we- think Partington, A. & Taylor, C. (2018). The Language of Persuasion in Politics: an Introduction. London: Routledge.
with the modal verb “will” with both its intrinsic (volition) and extrinsic (prediction) meanings:
“We will succeed […] we will meet again”. The last of these parallelisms would have been
immediately recognised by the audience as it repeats the words of the iconic wartime song,
sung by Vera Lynn “We’ll meet again”. Yet we are in the 21st^ century, and this can be seen in
the Queen’s mention of faith: not only does she refer to people of “all faiths”, in order to
address all members of Britain’s multicultural society, but she also add “and of none”, so that
non-believers are also included.
In conclusion, this brief analysis has investigated how Queen Elizabeth’s speech strives to
comfort and inspire the nation in times of trouble. In particular, an exploration of loaded
language has pointed to the Queen’s attempt to stir up patriotic feelings, praising Britons for
their “heart-warming” actions and “instinctive compassion”, fighting the pandemic as it did
the enemy in wartime. Further analysis could compare this speech to the four speeches
delivered by the Queen on similar occasions, so as to detect possible linguistic differences
from a diachronic perspective; alternatively, one could compile and analyse a larger corpus
of inspirational speeches given by a range of speakers.
References
Clark, C. (2006). Views in the News, A textbook. Milano: LED Edizioni.
Mooney, A. & Evans, B. (2019). Language, Society and Power: an Introduction. London:
Routledge.
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS EXAM - Dalziel
(A type- Speech analysis)
Nome Numero matricola Analysis on the speech delivered by Ursula von der Leyen This analysis will explore some of the linguistic features of the speech delivered by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, at the European Parliament Plenary on the EU coordinated action to combat the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences. To do so, I will look at a number of rhetorical features such as loaded language, metaphor and pronoun use. I will suggest that some further directions for research into speeches delivered in times of socio-economic global crises. On 16 April 2020, in midst of lockdown, Ursula von der Leyen had a speech in the occasion of the presentation of EU coordinated action to combat the pandemic. The aim of the 2195 word-speech was to remember coronavirus victims, to express solidarity to those who mourns those victims and to all those whose lives had been completely changed by the pandemic outbreak and to pay tribute to the health workers. In this analysis I will attempt to investigate the rhetorical features of the speech by focusing on loaded language, since “our version of reality is produced by the words we choose” (Fiona & Marr, Tim- 2015). I will go on to explore the metaphorical representations present in the speech, which according to Lakoff and Johnson (1980) is “pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action.” The analysis will continue with some reflections on pronoun use, modality, language of persuasion, metaphoric representation and rhetorical figures. I will start my analysis of the President of the European Commission’s speech by reflecting on some of the speaker’s lexical choices. As to be expected, the speech is filled with loaded lexical items with a negative connotation referring to the coronavirus and its effects on the population: the epidemic has meted out “pain” leaving people “suffering” and “mourning”. However, these words are juxtaposed with loaded language expressing positive connotations, with the clear aim of expressing gratitude to the medics, nurses and careworkers called “our heroes” and those who helped during these trying times and encouraging everybody. The expressive speech acts performed appeal to the emotions of the audience: to create a sense of comradery and pathos, Ursula von der Leyen exalts the qualities of the European Union described as “strong”, “world’s beating heart of solidarity” and its citizens that are “standing together – with empathy, humility and humanity”. It is no coincidence that at throughout the speech there is an abundance of rethoric as we can highlight reading the anaphora of the pronoun combined with the modal verb will with both its intrinsic (volition) and extrinsic (prediction) meanings: “we will remember”. Having touched upon the issue of lexical choices, my analysis will now move on the metaphorical representations present in the speech and the themes of courage, gratitude, strength and hope reinforced by the pronoun use. In order to give a sense of solidarity and unity, Von der Leyen engages in the repetitive use of the inclusive “we” juxtaposed to “others” as a means to lead to an evaluation where European strategies are more valuable than others. Moreover, one may immediately notice how the quote of Ventotene Manifesto is employed as metaphor to compare its authors who were imprisoned during its writing without hope for Europe to the people living through the coronavirus breakout. The speech culminates with a powerful use of this quote and the parallelism expressed through another anaphora
CITAZIONI & REFERENCES – Materiale per fare copia e incolla
LANGUAGE – TEXTUAL CHOICES “language is a system that enables people to tell jokes, write poetry, make an arrest, sell you washing powder, pay a compliment and wish you good night […] It’s important to study language because language matters. For example, the choice of words to describe a person or event reveals the attitude of the person speaking or writing” (Mooney and Evans 2019: 2) “through observing and analysing textual choices and communicative interactions, we can gain insights into things like social relations, identities and attitudes” (English and Marr 2015: 24) English, Fiona & Marr, Tim (2015). Why do linguistics? London: Bloomsbury. Our “version of reality” is produced by the words we choose English and Marr – Why do linguistics? LIBRO “how we consciously, and sometimes very carefully, choose our words (or tone of voice, gesture, colour, etc.) to promote a particular ‘version of reality’” “category choice is one of the most argued-over territories when it comes to how we present our world view” METAPHOR “metaphor is an everyday part of language and an important way of how we grasp reality. But metaphors can be of ideological significance. Which metaphors become accepted can have implications not only for how we think about and understand the world, but also for how we act” (Machin and Mayr 2012: 164) Lakoff and Johnson 1980 – Metaphors we live by
_- Metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but thought and action
- The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another
- Metaphors as linguistic expressions are possible precisely because there are metaphors in a person’s conceptual system_ Metaphors can be used to persuade people by means of comparison By encoding beliefs, metaphors represent one’s ideological stance and world view (Mooney and Evans 2019: 59) “a metaphor is really an opinion dressed in fine clothing” (Partington & Taylor, 2018: 129) Lakoff and Johnson 1980 – Metaphors we live by LIBRO “Metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action.” “metaphors structure how we perceive, how we think, and what we do” “The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another” “Metaphor is not just a matter of language, that is mere words. We shall argue that, on the contrary, human thought processes are largely metaphorical. “Metaphors partially structure our everyday concepts and this structure is reflected in our literal language” ?????
- Metaphors as linguistic expressions are possible precisely because there are metaphors in a person’s conceptual system
- Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature
- Our conceptual system is largely metaphorical, then the way we think, what we experience, and what we do every day is very much a matter of metaphor SPEECH ACT
When we read or hear pieces of language, we normally try to understand not only what the words mean, but what the writer or speaker of those words intended to convey. The study of ‘intended speaker meaning’ is called pragmatics. ( Yule, 1996: 127) It has come to be commonly held that many utterances which look like statements are either not intended at all, or only intended in part, to record or impart straightforward information about the facts. How to do things with words” - Austin (1962:2) CONNOTATION – EVALUATION Choosing to name someone with a lexical item expressing positive/negative connotation may depend on that person being seen as an insider or outsider (Partington &Taylor 2018: 26) Our “version of reality” is produced by the words we choose English, Fiona & Marr, Tim (2015). Why do linguistics? London: Bloomsbury Alan Partington and Charlotte Taylor – The language of persuasion in politics…. LIBRO “There are, of course, many ways of saying the ‘same’ thing and speakers and writers can, indeed must in practice, choose one among these many potential ways. The choice of vocabulary that a speaker/writer makes can tell us a great deal about how they evaluate the topic in question, and so a great deal about their opinions and/or intentions.” “the connotations of an item are the associations it has for us, especially the evaluative ones.” ???? “speakers and writers, then, very frequently can make a choice of which word or expressions to describe a person, an event, an entity, etc.” INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE MODALITY Partington and Taylor 2018 LIBRO PERSUASION US VS THEM > In this model of persuasion, the persuader invites us to compare and contrast an argument, policy, product, etc., with one or more others. Evaluation plays a role when this model is used since there is usually the assumption or implication that one is better than others (Partington & Taylor, 2018: 51 RHETORIC “The study of all the means that could be used for effective persuasion” (Charteris-Black, 2013: 294) IN POLITICAL DISCOURSE
