Language of Persuasion in Politics and the Media

Alan Partington has been Professor of English Linguistics at the Universities of Camerino and Bologna, Italy, at the School of Political Science and the Department for Interpreters and Translators. He is the author of The Linguistics of Political Argument and The Linguistics of Laughter, both published by Routledge, and was the founding editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Corpora and Discourse.

• List of figures and tablesPrefaceAcknowledgementsUnit 1: Politics, the media and us: The language of persuasionUnit 2: But then along came social media …Unit 3: Evaluation: What’s good and what’s badUnit 4: Evaluation by language choice: Selection and omissionUnit 5: Sounding good: Rhetorical effects in action: ‘Liberté! Egalité! Fraternité!’ (But not for all …)Unit 6: Strategies of persuasionUnit 7: High-risk tactics. Fooling and insulting your audience. The Garden Path techniqueUnit 8: ‘Joined-up’ thinking: Propositional and evaluative cohesionUnit 9: Dirty tricks: Really? Caveat emptor!Unit 10: Dirty tricks? Perhaps: Dis/information wars, collusion with tyrants and conspiracy (theories)Unit 11: The importance of importance marking in persuasionUnit 12: Metaphors and company: The subtle persuadersUnit 13: Questions and responses. Softball questions, hardball questions and how to handle themUnit 14: Humour, irony and satire in politicsUnit 15: The language of referendum campaignsUnit 16: The year of the six electionsConclusionGlossary ReferencesIndex

Praise for the previous edition:'The Language of Persuasion in Politics is a much-needed update on the linguistic arena where political battles are fought and won. Drawing on a wealth of sources the authors give an insight into the tools, rhetorical devices and persuasion techniques used by politicians worldwide, in a style both clear and accurate, unraveling the ultimate meaning of political jargon. This text-book is a must-have not only for students of a variety of courses on language and politics, media language and related areas of study, but also for all those who do not intend to be passive recipients of political communication.'Franca Piergallini, Università Cattolica del Sacre Cuore, Milan, Italy'This user-friendly, critical, contemporary introduction to political language addresses current affairs from a range of contexts and draws on a wealth of engaging examples. The book will be of interest to students as well as seasoned experts, reminding us all how language permeates, informs, and shapes the everyday world.'Rachelle Vessey, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada