Tag: communication

On “systemic racism”

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The purposes of language go far beyond communication; it can be used to affect or change how people think and behave.

When language comes from certain groups – notably politicians, clergy, or marketers – we should be aware of how often it does not refer to anything in the real world and be sensitive to attempts to tell us what’s true or otherwise manipulate us.

 The truth is what most people believe. And they believe that which is repeated most often

Josef Goebbels

Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

George Orwell

On “systemic racism” full post

(1853 words, 1 image, estimated 7:25 mins reading time)

“You have the right to remain silent”: Obstacles to understanding the Miranda warning, Part II — Workaround

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How often are individuals deprived of their rights because they didn’t really understand the Miranda warning?

 

In an earlier post, I offered some reasons why the Miranda warning, an 89-word text recited in less than a minute, is so often misunderstood, with the result that defendants give up rights they didn’t know they had.

A summary of the obstacles (many of which occur simultaneously):

  • Contains several complexities in vocabulary, grammatical structure
  • Calls upon analytic/synthetic, appropriate-response (as opposed to interactive) skills.
  • Confuses sequence of events – remain silent, have a lawyer present
“You have the right to remain silent”: Obstacles to understanding the Miranda warning, Part II — Workaround full post

(1143 words, 1 image, estimated 4:34 mins reading time)

On the futility of International Pronoun Day

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The goals of International Pronoun Day and the means by which they are to be achieved are vague, but it sure is fun to invent new pronouns!
Unfortunately, this is not feasible, given the role pronouns play in sentences.

Referring to people by the pronouns they determine for themselves is basic to human dignity. Being referred to by the wrong pronouns particularly affects transgender and gender nonconforming people. Together, we can transform society to celebrate people’s multiple, intersecting identities.

From the home page of International Pronoun Day

On the futility of International Pronoun Day full post

(737 words, 1 image, estimated 2:57 mins reading time)

“The goals migrated:” impersonal language and malicious obfuscation in political speech  

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It's all too rare that political speech comes off as anything but "blah." But it pays to observe how they use impersonal expressions to avoid responsibility.
It's all too rare that political speech comes off as anything but "blah." It doesn't have to be that way.

Political speech relies on verbal manipulation, one prominent example: impersonal language that  avoids assigning (or taking) responsibility.

“Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, a retired rear admiral, recently said that during the long U.S. undertaking in Afghanistan ‘the goals did migrate over time.’  Did the goals themselves have agency – minds of their own?”

George Will

When I listen to or read the speech of the people who represent the government and the military-industrial complex, I hear impersonal language and, typically, malicious obfuscation.   By that I mean that they speak, as bureaucrats and politicians always have, in terms that, because people on the receiving end rarely subject them to critical scrutiny, are accepted at face value, though a moment’s consideration reveals how devious and deceptive they are.

“The goals migrated:” impersonal language and malicious obfuscation in political speech   full post

(1032 words, 1 image, estimated 4:08 mins reading time)

“Alternate facts”: Latest language crime

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Politicians commit various language abuses considered “BS.” “Alternate facts” is the latest.

 

You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.  (Daniel Patrick Moynihan)

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. (attrib. James Madison)

Just the facts, ma’am.  (Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday, Dragnet)

“Alternate facts”: Latest language crime full post

(1222 words, 1 image, estimated 4:53 mins reading time)

Trump, Trump, Trump: desperately seeking synonyms

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Charles Dickens is famous for giving his characters whimsical names that often reflect their personalities.  “Scrooge” is probably the best-known, unmistakably conveying a grasping miserliness in almost tangible terms.

If Dickens had written about a vulgar, aggressive billionaire intent on seeking power, crushing his enemies, and emblazoning his name around the world, he could hardly have chosen a better name than “Trump.”

But we’re not talking about a literary character.  Trump is a real person who makes sure his name is repeated 24/7 in every possible mass-media outlet.

over-Trumpified

Trump, Trump, Trump: desperately seeking synonyms full post

(345 words, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)