The Use of Language in Political Rhetoric, Essay Example

In my future project, I would like to examine the language of political and diplomatic communication, in order to evaluate the most commonly used phrases, references, and quotes, as well as the rhetoric tools that serve the interest of political correctness.

The research will be qualitative, using the historical/archivical method, focusing on communication related to the Syrian conflict in the past two years. The main questions I would like to research through the analysis of speeches, press releases, interviews, and written communication are as follows:

• What are the main rhetoric tools used by government spokespersons and politicians to ensure political correctness is maintained?
• Is there a difference in the Western and Eastern type of communication?
• What are the hidden messages often discovered in speeches?
• Which common correlations are drawn up by politicians and spokespersons related to the Syrian conflict? Are they well-founded, logical arguments?
• What are the main sources of credibility in the texts examined?
• How do speakers use the rhetoric tool: pathos in speeches?
• Has the language and phrase selection changed over time during the three years examined related to the conflict in Syria?

I believe that the above questions will reveal several communication patterns that are not easy to discover without researching publications. I also believe that a change in the use of rhetoric tools will be clearly visible, as well as the difference between Eastern and Western countries’ communication methods.

A recent similar study (Arnotti et al.) could help me develop the research methodology and design, the linguistic intergroup bias  model, which could help me create a framework for analysis. Another study by Rozina and Karapetjana, focusing on linguistic manipulation within political language would provide me with a theoretical background.

Works Cited

Anolli, Luigi, Valentino Zurloni, and Giuseppe Riva. “Linguistic intergroup bias in political communication.” The Journal of general psychology133.3 (2006): 237-255.

Rozina, Gunta, and Indra Karapetjana. “The use of language in political rhetoric: Linguistic manipulation.” Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 2009.19 (2009).