Idiomas

LINGUISTIC TOOLS FOR THE STUDY OF THE LANGUAGE OF POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY
There’s a connection between politics diplomacy and language.
As regard the link between policy and language:
Politics can be viewed as a struggle for power or as cooperation, namely the practices and institutions that a society has for resolving clashes of interest over money, power, liberty.
We can say that politicalactivity doesn’t exist without language. The activity of a politician, which includes things such as seeking consensus, elaborating policy, negotiating and mediating in conflicts, are all linguistic activities.
As regard the link between diplomacy and language:
The process of diplomacy all depend on language, since language is not a simple tool for transmission of thoughts but very often thevery essence of the diplomatic vocation.
1.1 TEXTUALITY IN POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY: COHESION AND THEMATISATION
When a diplomat interprets his interlocutor’s language and even single words used in a dialogue, he always starts from the presumption that the choice of words and phrasing has been conscientious and deliberate.
The principle of TEXTUALITY- COHESION AND THEMATIC PROGRESSION are veryrelevant to the field of international relations.
The selection of words or phrases, their structure is sometimes a communication within a communication.
In some speeches (such as the one of Hilary Clinton and one by G.W. Bush)it is shown the use of cohesive devices typical of political speeches and the way thematic progression can be used for ideological reasons.
Two textual devices(cohesive lexical devices) which are used in political speeches are:
- LIST OF THREE: is a way to obtain approval (it’s like a list of the aims and goals)
-CONTRASTIVE PAIRS: contains two parts which are in some ways in opposition( this is not going to be easy vs. it’s going to be hard)
-REPETITION: they favor clarity in communication
-USE OF SYNONYMS (which in Hilary speech indicate positiveprogress, used to describe the future era which is being opened with the Obama administration)
-USE OF WORDS BELONGING TO THE SEMANTIC FIELD OF COLLABORATION: used to favor dialogue with the employees at the Department of State
As regard grammatical cohesive devices it’s common:
-THE USE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS : they are very common in talk because they give agency to actions( saying who is doing smth)and helping to provide cohesion to the overall speech. Politicians and their writers have problems to choose the pronouns that will appearing in their speeches.( ex. Margaret Thatcher used the first person I as a means of establishing rapport with the audience, supported by the use of mental verbs express sincerity).
If,on one hand, first person singular pronouns ( I,me, myself..) indicatespeaker involvement, on the other hand their use may have drawbacks: they show where the blame lies if smth goes wrong.and they also give the impression that speakers place themselves above the collective responsibility.
Another important consideration is whether we is:
-inclusive: includes the addressee(s)
-exclusive: it doesn’t includes the addressee.
In the speech of G:W:Bush addresses to Iraq,shows a clear use of THEMATIC PROGRESSION: Saddam Hussein’s possession of nuclear weapons is often placed in theme position and treated as a shared knowledge.
The choice of themes is very relevant in politics and diplomacy: what is seen as “Given” is the most potent part of communication, since it has the status of non.in.dispute knowledge which unites participant in the communication act.1.2 CONTEXTUAL FEATURES IN POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY
The features of context are sometimes thought of as determining or influencing certain elements in the linguistic structure of a text. The relationship between text and context is circular since texts contribute to the constitution of context.
Contextual features are central in the definition of political discourse. A text will be political...