[ad_1]
We must all learn to see the lapses of the concrete use of language, writes Gunilla Almström Persson, PhD in Swedish and Rhetoric.
Trump formulates policy in slogans. The strength of the motto is that you remember them when you’ve heard them a few times, writes Gunilla Almström Persson.
This is a discussion post. Writers are responsible for opinions.
Joe Biden won the US presidential election and Donald Trump lost. Trump will now leave the White House, but what remains is the legacy of a new political language. It is a language that is not open to testing different positions on issues. It is a way of communicating that has consequences for political conversation and for democracy. It is a language that we must all know in the future. Also in Sweden.
Many have miracles The past four years have reacted to President Trump’s way of speaking. Others have seen something new and liberating, seen a style that is direct, far from the expressive way of professional politicians with rhetorical education and trained in the media.
Trump formulates policy in slogans. Slogans or slogans are not unusual in politics and especially in an election campaign. Make America Great Again was the slogan of the 2016 election campaign. What makes slogans powerful is that they are short and rhythmic, often in groups of three with one-syllable words, as in Obama’s. If we can! The strength of the motto is that you remember them when you have heard them a few times.
Hos Trump political issues become slogans. Thus, the issue of the alleged electoral fraud in the presidential elections of November 3 has been reduced to Stop the count! Y Stop the robbery! as well as the question of US immigration policy was previously reformulated Build that wall! Like slogans, Trump’s political slogans are powerful and easy to remember. Many people probably remember Lock her up! when Hillary Clinton in 2016 used her private email account for work correspondence.
The problem with factual slogans is that they understand in part that there are two opposing values attached to the current problem. There is a “Yes, build the wall” or a “No, do not build the wall.” In other words, there seems to be no opening for different positions on how the United States should conduct its policies on various issues. In the example above, there is a lack of discussion about US immigration policy, but the same applies to all political slogans. They serve as empty words on issues that should be characterized by mutual respect and understanding of different arguments.
Another move In Trump’s parlance, it’s the many words of reinforcement. Everyone who has heard him speak recognizes nonspecific reinforcing expressions such as “many,” “all,” “very very important,” “huge,” and so on. He also uses emotion-enhancing words like “amazing,” “amazing,” “beautiful,” and economically, “billions of billions of dollars” is constantly repeated. Some of these reinforcement words are called indefinite in grammar, that is, undefined. Give a clue about what its linguistic function is. The seriousness of a rhetoric characterized precisely by the imprecise, general and indefinite, is that it is difficult to counteract with counterarguments. It just becomes difficult to argue with those who present their policies formulated with unclear language provisions.
The question is how in fact, it can be debated with a politician who claims to have done “an incredibly large amount of health care work” or claims to have “many climate programs.” Reinforcement words and formulations can be dismissed as mundane and almost childish. But more importantly, it is a way of speaking that is usually far from the way politicians usually express themselves. The style of indefinite, value-laden words is more like how you speak in normal conversation. In that sense, Trump speaks like most people. It’s not unlikely to be a style that will appeal to voters who are tired of pre-planned speeches and well-formulated statements from professional politicians.
Television electoral debates It clearly highlights how politicians have developed a style that voters may have had enough of. For decades, professional politicians have been trained on how to answer journalists’ questions by briefly confirming the content of the question and then moving on to the message, the talking points they want to convey. The answer does not necessarily have to do with the journalist’s question. Donald Trump has gone one step further. At the same time that he mocks Joe Biden for his response strategy, because he is a professional politician, Trump himself moves directly from the topic to his own message, which is usually about himself. “I’ve done a fantastic job”, “No one has done more for black people than Donald Trump” or “I know more about politicians than anyone else” are just a few examples.
The new politics The language that has emerged during Trump’s years as president hampers political conversation. The use of language acts in depth against the respect for democracy for different opinions and argumentation from different points of view. It’s a new kind of political language that continues even without Trump. It exists everywhere and already exists in Sweden. We must all learn to see the slippage of concrete language. By extension, it is about fueling open and reciprocal political debate. Simply about nurturing modern democracy.
Gunilla Almström Persson, Doctor in Swedish and Rhetoric.
