Nils Aardahl
FWIS Word Magic
Dr. Belik
16 November, 2015
Political Language The language used in politics features many linguistic devices that deliberately confuse the audience. George Orwell describes these devices and their use by politicians in his essay “Politics and the English Language.” In this work, Orwell shows how the power of language can be used to convince people of the value of ideas even if there is little actual truth or value to them. While to most the importance of communication is honestly reported factual information, politicians often use intentional devices to confuse and mislead their audience. The task of being successful in an election brings many politicians to present exaggerated positive claims about themselves …show more content…
The frequency of the occurrence of political language was analyzed by dividing the number of specific device words by the total number of words analyzed. These calculations show that the percentage amount of language devices used by President Obama is at 2.11 percent while Bernie Sanders is at the higher 2.38 percent. Differences in this type of calculation show that not only are these language devices more effectively used by candidates, but that they are in fact used more …show more content…
These linguistic devices include glittering generalities, and the Orwellian devices such as pretentious diction. Each device has its own usage and politicians use them in different circumstances to make their communication with audiences more successful at the expense of the audience’s understanding. The use of these language techniques most often leads to confusion and loss of understanding of specific information by the politician’s targeted audience. The amount that a politician will use these devices is greatly dependent on their stage in the political process. A political candidate campaigning for office will use far more of these linguistic devices than will an office holding
FWIS Word Magic
Dr. Belik
16 November, 2015
Political Language The language used in politics features many linguistic devices that deliberately confuse the audience. George Orwell describes these devices and their use by politicians in his essay “Politics and the English Language.” In this work, Orwell shows how the power of language can be used to convince people of the value of ideas even if there is little actual truth or value to them. While to most the importance of communication is honestly reported factual information, politicians often use intentional devices to confuse and mislead their audience. The task of being successful in an election brings many politicians to present exaggerated positive claims about themselves …show more content…
The frequency of the occurrence of political language was analyzed by dividing the number of specific device words by the total number of words analyzed. These calculations show that the percentage amount of language devices used by President Obama is at 2.11 percent while Bernie Sanders is at the higher 2.38 percent. Differences in this type of calculation show that not only are these language devices more effectively used by candidates, but that they are in fact used more …show more content…
These linguistic devices include glittering generalities, and the Orwellian devices such as pretentious diction. Each device has its own usage and politicians use them in different circumstances to make their communication with audiences more successful at the expense of the audience’s understanding. The use of these language techniques most often leads to confusion and loss of understanding of specific information by the politician’s targeted audience. The amount that a politician will use these devices is greatly dependent on their stage in the political process. A political candidate campaigning for office will use far more of these linguistic devices than will an office holding