Joe Spencer-Bennett is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the University of Birmingham. He has published articles in the journals Discourse & Society, Journal of Sociolinguistics, Language & Communication and Social Semiotics. His research concerns the ethical and political life of communication.

• Acknowledgements Introduction Moral talk: forms, functions and value Emotivism Moral philosophy and moral talk Post-crisis Britain, the moral economy and moral panic Outline of the book The social, ethical and political lives of language Introduction Social life of language Michael Meacher’s speech Ethical life of language Political life of language Conclusion Form: what counts as moral talk? Introduction Stance, evaluation and moral talk Quotability Specificity Determinacy Checklist Conclusion Function: what does moral talk do? Introduction Evaluative language, stance, fact and value Hobart and the multifunctionality of moral talk Cotext Situations and ideologies Cameron’s speech Eric’s call Conclusion Moral systems and ethical life Introduction Moral systems and ethical life The linguistic distinction Moral systems, ethical life and radio phone-ins Modest moralising Conclusion Critiquing moral talk IntroductionWhat is critique?BiasPowerIllegitimate powerImmanent critiqueMoral realismVeracityExplanatory critiqueLay normativityConclusion7.? Critiquing interpretationIntroductionInterpretative agencyLanguage ideologiesHymes’ ethical sociolinguisticsEmotivism as a corporate technologyEmotivism in political communicationsLinguistic expertise and arguments for emotivismConclusion8. ConclusionIntroductionWhat is moral talk?What does moral talk do?What is moral talk good for?Methodology: the field, the meta-field, and the armchairTheory: linguistic interpretivism and moral realism ReferencesIndex