Today Conclude discussion on

Language and power Doublespeak Propaganda

Course evaluations

Language and power Language can also be used as a tool

by those in power (e.g., politicians, media, advertising) to achieve various ends Doublespeak Propaganda

Doublespeak Language deliberately constructed to

disguise or distort actual meaning 4 kinds:

Euphemism Jargon Gobbledygook Inflated language

Doublespeak Euphemism

Words used/designed to avoid unpleasantness Substitutes for taboo words “dearly departed” (dead)

Euphemism only becomes ‘doublespeak’ when used to downplay, distract, or deceive

Euphemism Politicians

‘economically disadvantaged’ (poor) ‘physical persuasion’ (torture) ‘preemptive counterattack’ (first strike) ‘eliminate w/ extreme prejudice’

(assassinate) Advertising

‘preowned’ (used) ‘genuine imitation leather’ (fake)

Doublespeak Jargon

Specialized language of a profession or group

Becomes doublespeak when it is used to confuse, to make complex, or to impress

Jargon Politics:

Airline lawyers’ use of legal term “involuntary conversion” to refer to fatal crash

Advertising: “Hypo-allergenic, noncomedogenic exfoliating microbeads replenish your skin’s natural peptides and amino acids…”

Doublespeak Gobbledygook (or

‘bureaucratese’) Overwhelm the audience with words

Politics“The message is that there are known knowns; there are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns; that is to say there things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don’t know. And each year we discover a few more of those unknown unknowns.” -- Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq5mQLArjmo

Doublespeak Inflated language

Designed to make the ordinary extraordinary ‘hexiform rotatable surface compression

units’(steel nuts)

Automotive internists (mechanics), administrative assistants (secretaries)

Watch ‘The Persuaders: Give us what we want’

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/view/

Propaganda A means of persuasion, often

designed to influence rather than inform

Often presented in a way to evoke a strong emotion

Common techniques of propaganda

Argumentum ad nauseam: use of repetition to assert fact/truth “See, in my line of work you got to keep

repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.” -- George W. Bush, N.Y., 5/24/2005

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushism-propaganda.htm

e.g., talking pointshttp://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=115760&title=talking-points

Transfer: guilt/glory by association e.g., Bill O’Reilly, associates Paul

Krugman (NYTimes columnist) w/ Fidel Castro, compares Media Matters (liberal website) to Ku Klux Klan http://mediamatters.org/items/200408080001 

Bandwagon: “everyone else is doing it” Advertising: “Duracell: Trusted

everywhere”; “Sony. Ask anyone.”

False analogy: use of faulty logic to make unfair comparison

“Being lectured by the president on fiscal responsibility is a little bit like Tony Soprano talking to me about law and order in this country.” – John Kerry, 10/13/2004

False dilemma: either/or, black/white“Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” – G.W. Bush, 9/20/2001

Beg the question: assuming the point you’re trying to prove “No one is going to question my

commitment to the defense of our nation.” -- John Kerry

FOX news: “Fair and balanced”Name-calling: negative labeling

“The most crooked, lying group I've ever seen.‘” -- John F. Kerry on Republicans

Republicans on Kerry: ‘flip-flopper’

Glittering generalities: ‘virtue words’ e.g., Freedom, justice, democracy, honor “You can't put democracy and freedom back

into a box.” – G. W. Bush “The world today has a strong democratic core

shaped by American ingenuity, sacrifice, and spirit.” – John Kerry

Plain Folks appeal: ‘I’m just like you’ “This president has created an economy that

feeds the special interests, the powerful and the corporate power, and he has not helped the average American worker advance their cause. I will.” – John Kerry

Language is a powerful tool that can be used ……to communicate or confuse…to inform or deceive…to highlight or downplay…to include or alienate…to persuade or deter