Politically Speaking

This book brings the techniques of linguistic analysis to bear on the language of political life. Political language, the author argues, is no different from any other. It simply presents in an extreme form many of the linguistic devices common to our everyday lives. Political talk often hinges on the relation between what is explicit and what is implied, between the direct and the indirect. Focusing on speeches, interviews and press conferences, and drawing many examples from the United States, Britain and elsewhere, this account of political language effect the concepts and techniques aims to employ to full linguistic pragmatics. The author provides examples of the use of implicature and presupposition in parliamentary debates; a telling analysis of how pronouns are used to present political positions; an account of the role of metaphor in establishing political arguments; and he explores particular insights into language and structure of interviews and press conferences.