Language and politics

Each politician has a particular ideology, through their use of language they encourage voters to identify with their own particular ideology (or sometimes people who aim to garner attention from people with the same ideologies) The term “chemicals” has undergone pejoration to mean something bad and harmful to health, and often artificial or man-made, when its denotation is a term used to describe any substance with two or more atoms. With the increase in consumer awareness regarding the additives and preservatives that has been added to store-bought food, the specialist lexis in the field of food science which are the scientific names of additives have all been termed “chemicals”. This includes terms such as Lecithin, an emulsifier extracted from soybeans, and Riboflavin, another name for vitamin B2. While these are technically chemicals, most chemicals are not directly harmful to humans such as the hydrogen and nitrogen that are in our air. However, the term chemicals has been used meaninglessly in advertisements that say “chemical-free” and in fear-mongering on online platforms from views when the title often says “Did you know these common foods are full of chemicals” for the post to gain online traction. (Chilton and Schaffner, 1997) Functions of political discourse: 1) Coercion / Manufacture of consent (Fairclough, 2014) - Emotive coercion using attitudinal, emotionally charged lexis Inducement of public fear “urgency” “national danger” “evils” 2) Resistance, opposition and protest 3) Legitimation and delegitimation 4) Representation and misrepresentation “Alternative facts” a phrase used by US counsellor Kellyanne Conway during a Meet The Press interview in 2017, where she defended white house press secretary Sean Spicer’s false statement about false numbers of Donald Trump’s inauguration. Features of political discourse: - Traditionally formal with formulaic utterances and a reserved, ritualistic and ceremonial tone, but shirting towards greater degree of informality – may be adopted to suggest a more personalised relationship between politicians and the public (intending to garner a greater buy-in of policies) - Usually contains genres that are scripted or semi-scripted Media interviews and debates: - Characterised by specific discourse strategies - Questions constructed to place politicians “on the spot” - “Wh-” words require a more focused answer - Questions starting