Unspeak: Words are Weapons

Description

What do the phrases "pro-life," "intelligent design," and "the war on terror" have in common? Each of them is a name for something that smuggles in a highly charged political opinion. Words and phrases that function in this special way go by many names. Some writers call them "evaluative-descriptive terms." Others talk of "terministic screens" or discuss the way debates are "framed." Author Steven Poole calls them Unspeak. Unspeak represents an attempt by politicians, interest groups, and business corporations to say something without saying it, without getting into an argument and so having to justify itself. At the same time, it tries to unspeak -- in the sense of erasing or silencing -- any possible opposing point of view by laying a claim right at the start to only one way of looking at a problem. Recalling the vocabulary of George Orwell's 1984, as an Unspeak phrase becomes a widely used term of public debate, it saturates the mind with one viewpoint while simultaneously makes an opposing view ever more difficult to enunciate. In this fascinating book, Poole traces modern Unspeak and reveals how the evolution of language changes the way we think.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Other editions

• 

  Unspeak: How Words Become Weapons, How Weapons Become a Message,...

  • 2007-12-01
  • 292 pages
  • Ebook
  • Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

Similar books

• 

  Wallace Stevens: An Anatomy of Figuration

  By Eugene Paul Nassar

  This book presents for the first time a thorough study of the imagery in Wallace Stevens's poetry and the patterns which these images form.

• 

  Form, Cycle, Infinity: Landscape Imagery in the Poetry of Robert Frost and George Seferis

  By Rachel Hadas

  A study of selected landscape images in the work of two very different yet curiously related poets -- Robert Frost and George Seferis.

• 

  Butterflies in My Stomach and Other School Hazards

  By Serge Bloch

  On the first day of school, a student is confused by many of the phrases that are used, such as when the librarian says not to open a can of worms, or when the teacher says he expects the class to be busy bees doing their homework.

• 

  Go Figure: Puzzles, Games, and Funny Figures of Speech

  By Russell Ginns, P. C. Russell Ginns

  A collection of puzzles all about the funny things people say that will keep you laughing.

• 

  Rhetorical Figures in Science

  By Jeanne Fahnestock

  Rhetorical Figures in Science breaks new ground in the rhetorical study of scientific argument as the first book to demonstrate how figures of speech other than metaphor have been used to accomplish key conceptual moves in scientific texts.

• 

  Figures of Speech

  By Christina Alm-Arvius

  This book exemplifies, analyses and describes different types of figurative meanings, or tropes, and rhythmical schemes in natural verbal language.

• 

  Reach for the Stars and Other Advice for Life's Journey

  By Serge Bloch

  The young hero of Serge Bloch s delightful Butterflies in My Stomach is back, along with his loyal dog Roger. Having mastered the first day of school, the two are embarking further on the perilous journey of life.

• 

  You're Toast and Other Metaphors We Adore

  By Nancy Loewen

  Here's a BRIGHT IDEA: read this book. It's a PIECE OF CAKE. And trust us; no one will call you A TURKEY. For more metaphors, look inside.

• 

  Landmark Essays on Tropes and Figures

  By Roberto Franzosi

  Landmark Essays on Tropes and Figures offers a thorough overview of the most influential essays on rhetorical tropes and figures, providing a solid foundation for understanding this area of study. The book is divided into two parts.

• 

  Metaphors and More: Figures of Speech Activity Booklet

  By Cottonwood Press

  This handy booklet for Grades 8-12 can perk up a poetry unit or help students truly understand certain figures of speech: alliteration, cliché, euphemism, hyperbole, idiom, metaphor, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, pun, and simile.