Exam 4: Language: the Code of Persuasion

George Lakoff stated that language reframes a situation, and the "war on terror," which President Bush adopted after the "regime change" rhetoric used earlier, changed the policy to define Iraq as the front in the war on terror.

The cognitive function of words deals with thought or comprehension.

Light is a common metaphor for thought or grasping an idea.

Weller Emler said, "Anyone who has the temerity to speak of 'truth' usually finds that he is performing verbal dances around the word truth, rather than letting truth perform for itself." He added that the solution is to let which of these speak for itself?

Terrorism is a devil term.

Discuss the findings of the U.S. Census on co-cultures in the United States and include in your answer the consequences or blessings of having a multilingual country. Use specific examples and references.

Clyde Haberman said that language touches the psychology of conflict. Which example did he use to illustrate martyrs and terrorists?

Explain the content of Dr. M. L. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." What persuasive appeals did he use? Who was his intended audience?

A pejorative term that prejudges a person and negatively objectifies them as a group member or the "other" represents:

The number of non-English speaking residents in the United States reflects a growing co-cultural influence, with Chinese being the first language after English.

Connotative meaning of words is the dictionary meaning that is commonly accepted.

A paradigm is a model or perspective for viewing the world.

Who said that the world is independent of our will regardless of what we call it?

Dr. M. L. King Jr. wrote "Letter from a Montgomery, Alabama, Jail."

Explain George Lakoff's work on metaphors and how they influence our worldview. Begin by defining what a metaphor is and then explain what all of this has to do with persuasion.

George Lakoff has examined speech forms such as "My mind was racing" or "I saw the light." These examples are:

Hillary Clinton uses the feminine style of speech that is soft spoken, self-effacing, and compliant, and this has enabled her to gain national and international stature.

Our linguistic world has the characteristics of a melting pot, yet some countries prefer the salad-bowl attitude where their languages are free from foreign influences.

Editors Keith Walters and Michael Brody wrote a book, What's Language Got to Do with It? (2005) and their answer was:

Connotative meanings are idiosyncratic responses we have to specific words.