Persuasion and Poetics;

Rhetoric and resistance

To be a lie or not to be a lie.
That is the question.

Consider the novel Gulliver’s Travels by

Jonathan Swift.
Do you think that the tales of little people,
giants, the horses that surpass the human
race are true?
So, is it a lie?
Literature is not a lie.
We recognize that novels are fiction.
We enjoy it, lose ourselves in it, and
indirectly learn from it some truths about
he real world in which we do live- the one
which is not created as Gulliver’s islands
are, entirely by words.
Language in Literature

Language, in literature, is used to create

alternatives to the real world. In doing so,
the precise choice and ordering of words
is very important to create the effect
intended on readers.
Literature and Language
While translating these literary works, the
translator is faced with the choice of
translating the words exactly or to convey
the meaning. Either way, the literary work
would lose some of its effects and sole
after being translated.

Example
◦ To be or not to be. That is the question.
Try to translate the previous line.
Literature and Linguistics
What does literature have to do with applied
linguistics?
 Although, Literature doesn’t have the same kind of
direct social and economic consequence as other fields
like language education, or the spread of English as
Lingua Franca, however, to underestimate the impact
and importance of literature.

 Itreflects and constructs our individual and social

identities; it embodies or criticizes the values of the
society from which it comes; it has an essential role to
play in education.
Literary Stylistics
Inother words, Linguistic analysis can describe
and analyze the language of a literary text but is
not of itself an applied linguistics activity.

It begins to move into that direction when

linguistic choices are linked to their effect.

Itcan be an important resource for the analysis

of powerful and persuasive uses of language in
general.
Stylistic Analysis
 Stylistic analysis tend to highlight three related aspects
of literary language:
1. The frequent deviation from the norms of more
everyday language use

2. The pattering of linguistic units to create rhythms,

rhymes, and parallel constructions

3. The way in which the form of the words chosen seems

to augment or intensify the meaning
Example

I wander through each charter’d street

Near where the charter’d Thames does flow
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe
Why is it important to study these
literary works?
 It is noted that some language devices are not only used in
literature. It can occur in persuasive and emotive uses in
society at large (i.e. commercials, political, religious
discourse).

 As with literature, stylistic analysis can investigate the link

between these language uses and their social and
psychological power.

 Such analysis is then used to address and uncover

manipulation, and to empower those who are manipulated,
then it does indeed become part of an applied linguistic
process.
Language and Persuasion

Language can be used to tell the truth literally or

figuratively (i.e. poetry, prayer).

Language it can have a persuasive power. It can

be perceived as inspiring and uplifting.

Other uses of language are benign, seeking to

control and influence our ideas in the service of
some vested political or commercial interest.
Can lies be straightforward?

Iflies were straightforward we would reject

them immediately.

However, there are other more subtle ways

of using language to influence and mislead.

There is a necessity to study these ways and

study there uses to raise awareness among
the public.
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)

It is the study of the relationship between

linguistic choices and effects in
persuasive uses of language, of how these
indoctrinate or manipulate (i.e. in
marketing and politics), and the
counteracting of this through analysis.
Example

Which of these would a milk company

use in its ads for its milk:
10% fat
Or
90% fat free
Another more serious example

In media, the use of the terms like

“terrorist”, “murder”, “regime”
incorporate judgment. The problem here
is that there is no separation between facts
and opinion.
Another serious example
 The use of passivization, which is the favoring of the
use of the passive structure more than the active one.
“five children were killed in an air attack”

 The use of nominalization, which is when actions and

processes are referred to as nouns rather than people.

“Genetic modification is a powerful technique”

Rather than

“Researchers who modify genes have a great deal of power”

Problems with Critical Discourse Analysis
It may attribute too much intentionality to
the writer and too much passivity to the
reader.
Little red riding hood
It a simple story that tells us
 Beware of strangers
 Woods are dangerous
 You can survive even if a wolf eat you
 Communism cannot be defeated by capitalism
Summary
The study of language use in literature
can be an indication of the use of
language in persuasive settings. It is the
applied linguist job to study these
instances and decide how to raise
awareness if there is an intention of
manipulating people to achieve political
or commercial goals