Rhetoric Research Articles

THE EVOLUTION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF GERMAN PRESS LANGUAGE: AN ANALYSIS WITH EXAMPLES

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the evolution and characteristics of the German press language, shedding light on its historical development, linguisticfeatures, and its role in shaping public discourse. By examining the language used in German newspapers, magazines, and online news portals, this study aims to uncover the unique linguistic traits and stylistic conventions that distinguish the German press language from other written and spoken German forms.Drawing on a wide range of examples from prominent German media outlets, the analysis explores the lexical, syntactic, and rhetorical strategies employed in the German press language to convey information, express opinions, and engage readers. Furthermore, the study investigates the impact of technological advancements and globalization on the language of the German press, considering how these factors have influenced its evolution over time.The findings of this research contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between language, media, and society in the German-speaking world, offering valuable insights into the role of the press language in shaping public perceptions and attitudes.Ultimately, this study seeks to enrich our knowledge of the linguistic and communicative practices employed in German journalism, providing a comprehensive overview of the evolution and characteristics of the German press language.

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Issue 58, January 2024 is thematically situated in the areas of rhetoric, argumentation and philosophy. There are eight scholarly articles, divided into two sections: Rhetoric and Argumentation and Philosophy, Communication and Society. The two authors (Ulrike Nespital and Christian Heiliger) of the article “Efficacy Study for Co-Teaching in Practices in Rhetoric and Natural Sciences” are from Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany. They present the results of a study on rhetoric and more specifically on the formation of presentation skills in students studying technical subjects and science. Hilda Narch is from the Modern University for Business and Science, Lebanon and in her article “Crisis Management Communications System” she presents a theoretical overview of basic concepts related to crisis communication management. This continues a steady tradition of the journal publishing articles by authors from universities in other countries; these are scholars who are established in a particular academic field and who share their expertise as teachers and researchers. Six authors are from Bulgarian educational institutions and research units: Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, University of National and World Economy, NATFA “Krastio Sarafov”, the American University in Bulgaria – Academic Library, etc. Argumentation as part of the rhetorical heritage is presented in the context of judicial rhetoric; the author Metin Ibriyamov focuses on abductive reasoning and abductive schemes in criminal proceedings; he provides a theoretical overview, presents examples and reaches reasonable conclusions on their use. Two of the articles include the results of an analysis of political rhetoric, in particular presidential and presidential candidate rhetoric, exhibited during debates. Maglena Gurkova provides a rhetorical analysis of the pre-election debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen held on 3 May 2017; she examines the history, organisation, media context, participants' behaviour, argumentation and non-linguistic means. Maryana Mihaylova analyses presidential candidate debates in Bulgaria in 2016, in particular a televised debate between Rumen Radev and Tsetska Tsacheva, and focuses on the non-verbal communication of presidential contenders in the country. The verbal part of both articles is illustrated with visual elements from the debates, which contributes to a quick and accurate decoding of the presented conclusions. Nora Goleshevska is the author of the scientific publication “Giorgio Agamben’s The language of philosophy and the language of poetry: The world in crisis”. The text is an interesting syncretic version, namely a translational commentary, which is an in-depth analysis and translation of Agamben's text entitled “Quando la casa brucia” (“When the house burns”). In this way, the reader has the opportunity to validate the scholarly analysis with the original text of Giorgio Agamben, one of Italy's most renowned contemporary philosophers, translated into Bulgarian. Stoyanka Delibeeva studies scientific publications and normative documents that refer to a topical issue and studies the influence of language learning and multilingual practices on positive identifications with the European Union at the secondary school stage in Bulgaria. The novelty of the article is to establish the affordances of Q-methodology for the implementation of research in this area. Radina Damyanova presents the results of a content analysis of social networks used by academic libraries in Bulgaria and summarizes the results in tables and charts, presenting an up-to-date picture and recommendations for improving the work of these institutions in understanding the opportunities of reaching different audiences in a fast, effective and contemporary way. The issue is interesting and useful in that it brings together both theoretical overviews and methodological statements; both interpretations from a scientific perspective and results from analyses implemented with contemporary methods.

Individual drivers of toxicity in radical right-wing populist legislative campaigns

Most studies of political rhetoric examine only political leadership or treat parties as unified actors. However, what happens where electoral systems incentivise candidates to diverge from stated party messaging during campaigns? This article uses novel data on political experience and candidate backgrounds from the 2022 French parliamentary elections to explore the individual drivers of campaigning behaviour. The choice of France, with its multiple and prominent radical right-wing parties, allows for the consideration of both within- and between-party differences in individual campaigning. Using the salient example of toxic rhetoric, findings demonstrate that even when party leaders publicly urge moderation, individual candidates do not necessarily follow along. This implies the need for additional focus on the individual-level drivers of political semantics, especially where candidates are apt to campaign independently, using social media platforms to communicate directly with citizens.

Xi Jinping and the Citation of Historical Writings of Antiquity: From Rhetoric to Politics

The article examines a number of quotations from Chinese historical writings from the ancient period (up to and including the Han era) used by President Xi Jinping in his speeches during his first term in office (2012–2017). The paper is a study of the phenomenon called Xi Jinping yong dian (习近平用典 “Xi Jinping uses classics”) in terms of the intersection of historical process experience in ancient and modern periods within the rhetorical constructions of the bearer of supreme power in modern PRC. The quotations from Chinese historical monuments of the ancient period used by Xi Jinping are considered in the context of the periodization of modern Chinese history and the key stages of the domestic and foreign policies conducted in 2012–2017. Xi Jinping’s political rhetoric at these stages concerns, above all, the areas of interaction with the bureaucratic structures — the CCP and the international organizations. The author has made an attempt to find out what could be the purpose of such citations and what is behind them — a rhetorical device or something more.

‘A different species’: the British Labour Party and the Militant ‘other’, 1979-1983

ABSTRACT This article assesses the efforts that were made within the British Labour Party to isolate and exclude the Militant Tendency, a Trotskyite entryist group, during the period 1979 to 1983. It argues that the battle over whether or not Militant should be expelled from Labour was, primarily, a battle of metaphor and semantics. More specifically, it suggests that these years witnessed the successful construction of Militant as Labour’s unwanted and malignant ‘other’. Five central discursive motifs (medical, subhumanal, emotional, ideological, and historical) for ‘othering’ are identified. These motifs were operationalised in a systematic and sustained manner by individuals and groups who were hostile to Militant, such as the Labour Solidarity Campaign. Over time, Labour leader Michael Foot, who had, initially, been reluctant to take action against Militant, also adopted the language of this active and purposive rhetorical strategy. In response, Militant’s main counter-discursive strategy, the ‘witch hunt’ narrative, failed to shape party opinion decisively and prevent the initiation of exclusionary processes. By 1983, the pattern of interrelated discursive motifs for ‘othering’ that would be applied to Militant throughout the decade had been established: a hegemonic narrative, concerning the tendency’s imminent ‘threat’ to Labour, had permeated all levels of the party.

Threaten, Distract, and Discredit: Cannabis Industry Rhetoric to Defeat Regulation of High-THC Cannabis Products in Washington State.

Washington State legislators have attempted to regulate high delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cannabis to reduce cannabis-related harms. Historically, industry actors of other health-compromising products have influenced governments' adoption of evidence-based regulation policies. A better understanding of the industry rhetoric can be used by public health advocates to develop counterarguments and disseminate alternative narratives that protect the public's health. We analyzed the arguments used by cannabis industry actors opposing regulations to de-incentivize the availability and use of high-THC products in Washington State. We analyzed 41 testimonies transcribed from 33 cannabis industry actors in 3 public bill hearings and one legislative work session that occurred between 2020 and 2023. Using a deductive thematic analysis, informed by industry actors' arguments opposing regulation of alcohol, tobacco, and high-sugar beverages, we developed a codebook to analyze and identify themes within cannabis industry rhetorical strategies. We identified three main rhetorical strategies used by cannabis industry actors to oppose THC content regulation: threaten, distract, discredit. The most frequently used rhetorical strategy was threats to economic benefits, public health, and the will of the people. The other two most apparent strategies were distracting from the bill's focus by introducing a tangential topic and discrediting the science that supported regulation of cannabis products with high THC concentration or its advocates. Cannabis industry actors have leveraged several arguments used by industry actors of other health-compromising products to undermine initiatives to advance public health. They have also adapted rhetoric from other industries to the unique conditions of the cannabis regulatory landscape.

The politicization of PISA in evidence-based policy discourses

Education reform efforts stemming from the Programme in International Student Achievement have strengthened in recent years, particularly in response to the growth of global references societies – high achieving educational jurisdictions such as Finland, Hong Kong-China, and more recently Estonia and Singapore. Despite political rhetoric, evidence-based policy development associated with this international benchmark measure is rarely, if ever, a neutral enterprise that is guided by the best available evidence. Indeed, political discourse and policy framing surrounding PISA often results in the selective use of results to justify contested policy reforms. Brief cases from Japan, Sweden, and Canada illustrate how national policies have been adopted that are not grounded, and may even run counter, to research findings. The discussion examines the politicization of PISA and its symbolic role in adding legitimacy to education reform agendas. Collectively, the analysis offers an alternative perspective to the popular notion that PISA guides evidence-based decision-making.

The Myth of Vilnius and Its Revision in the Diaries of Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas

One of the key figures of the Lithuanian-speaking intellectual elite, Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas (1893–1967) formulated the programme of cultural nationalism, and he himself was inspired by the interwar political rhetoric. The “question of Vilnius”, which was instigated by the mobilised patriotic forces, was identified as crucial problem for the existance of the state. In his diaries of the 1938–1945, the writer and academician responded enthusiastically to the fulfilment of the political vision of the “eternal capital” in September of 1939. He cared for the reinforcement of ethnic Lithuanian cultural positions during the struggle of totalitarian regimes in 1940–1944. Some connotations of geopolitical imperialism can be seen in the diary, when the diarist insists on the urgent “re-Lithuanisation” of the public sphere. When in 1940 Mykolaitis-Putinas a well-acknowledged professor of literary studies, finally moved to the city, which has been so clearly visualised in the collective imagination for several decades, he familiarised himself extensively with the topography and cultural heritage of Vilnius. On the one hand, he never felt a stranger in the heterotopic territory; on the other hand, he seldom expressed tolerance towards the native inhabitants of the city. In the newly gained capital, Mykolaitis-Putinas tried to save the ethnocentric institutions of cultural memory (Institute of Lithuanian Studies, museums and archives preserving Lithuanian heritage). He supported the main Lithuanian-dominated cultural and educational institutions, such as the reformed Vilnius University, the Philharmonic, and the Academy of Sciences.

Subverting or preserving the institution: Competing IT firm and foundation discourses about open source

The data economy depends on digital infrastructure produced in self-managed projects and communities. To understand how information technology (IT) firms communicate to a volunteer workforce, we examine IT firm and foundation employee discourses about open source. We posit that organizations employ rhetorical strategies to advocate for or resist changing the meaning of this institution. Our analysis of discourses collected at three open source professional conferences in 2019 is complemented by computational methods, which generate semantic clusters from presentation summaries. In terms of defining digital infrastructure, business models, and the firm-community relationship, we find a clear division between the discourses of large firm and consortia foundation employees, on one hand, and small firm and non-profit foundation employees, on the other. These divisions reflect these entities’ roles in the data economy and levels of concern about predatory “Big Tech” practices, which transform common goods to be shared into proprietary assets to be sold.

Rhetorical Data Studies

This article by Laurie Gries extends a keynote talk given at the 2022 Nordic Conference on Research in Rhetoric. In this piece, Gries describes a data advocacy project called The Swastika Counter Project that she has been working on for five years to help account for the swastika’s contemporary circulation and consequentiality in the United States. In addition to discussing the digital research method called iconographic tracking that she adapted for this research, Gries introduces a methodology she calls rhetorical data studies, which, she suggests, can be useful for negotiating the rhetorical politics of accountability that are always involved in doing data advocacy work in ethical and just ways. Gries ultimately challenges rhetoricians across both sides of the Atlantic to take up rhetorical data studies to confront the intensification of discrimination, harassment, and intimidation currently being felt within and across local, national, and transnational borders.

Argumentative strategies in the epideictic discourse of Elie Wiesel

The article presents the various rhetorical strategies used by Elie Wiesel in arguing his own position in a double dialogue: first with the audience, and indirectly with decision-making forces worldwide, secondly, with history. With discretion, but at the same time with argumentative force, he brings before the public the image of the suffering he experienced directly in the concentration camps and, constantly returning to the theme of people’s indifference towards it, he expresses his hope that the said experience will not be repeated in the future. He succeeds in persuading the audience and at the same time impressing them deeply both through various types of discernible arguments and through rhetorical strategies conducted with sophistication, discretion and detachment. His inclusion in Simon Sebag Montefiore’s anthology to which I have constantly referred to (Speeches that changed the world) is fully justified: the well-articulated, balanced argumentation, through the visible exploitation of ethical and affective resources, cannot, and it should not be left without echo in front of the two types of public to which it was addressed (contemporary and timeless).

The Principle of Accountability in Human Rights-Based Approaches to Development: Towards a New Understanding

Abstract Human rights-based approaches to development (HRBADs) have been pointed out as the most accomplished form of integration of human rights in development. Despite the growing talks among development practitioners on the need for human rights-based approaches to development policies and practices, it remains unclear what exactly the human right principle of accountability at the heart of these approaches consists of. This article seeks to unravel some of the difficulties. What does the principle of accountability mean? Who is accountable and to whom? What does it mean for current development practice? Reflecting on these questions, this article critically delves into policy, guidance, operational documents, evaluations, and other analyses by a selected number of bilateral development agencies. This desk-based research is in some cases backed by semi-structured interviews designed to provide a review of the current approaches to applying the principle of accountability. The article sheds light on how the principle of accountability is understood and applied by those agencies, and notes challenges and inconsistencies. It argues that the principle of accountability should be made fit for purpose so as not to become mere political rhetoric without practical meaning in development practice. It is thus contended that development agencies and state donors should move beyond understanding the principle of accountability as one that is grounded in internal accountability mechanisms and systems of evaluation and aim for holding all stakeholders, including themselves, accountable to the rights-holders of their development programmes and projects.

The rhetorical strategies to create incremental innovation in applied linguistics research articles

Rhetorical studies within research articles have received a growing concern among linguists worldwide. However, studies on this significant area to create incremental innovation are rarely found. Understanding this need has attracted the authors to conduct the present study by investigating rhetorical strategies authors use to create incremental innovation in their research articles and analyzing linguistic features used to create innovation for their current research. In an attempt to address these purposes, the present study analyzed 37 research article introductions (RAIs) from the disciplines of Applied Linguistics published in four reputable international journals (Q1) with the Scimago Journal Ranks (SJR) higher than 0,61. This study employed a newly designed framework and linguistic feature approaches from previous studies for the analysis. The results showed three rhetorical strategies to create incremental innovation in research articles. However, of these three, most authors tend to employ Strategy 2, Presenting the existing knowledge – and then – improving it in the present study, more than the other two strategies. Then, to realize incremental innovation, they employed six linguistic features, but of these six, two features (connective adverbs and phrases denoting examining a particular issue) appeared to be the most dominant in the present data.

Discourse on family values in public policy (content-analysis of the statements of Giorgia Meloni)

The paper represents a content analysis of statements by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, about family and family values. Interest in this topic is conditioned by the growing opposition of arguments manifested in the political field, expressed by opponents and supporters of G. Meloni and the Brothers of Italy party. The conceptual reflection of the idea of a “traditional” family in the these public statements conflicts with the European left-liberal ideal of gender neutrality. Within the analysis the author study the semantics of: (1) Giorgia Meloni’s political statements regarding family values; (2) assessments of Giorgia Meloni’s political rhetoric in the media and in the modern political discourse of the European Union. The study is based on publicly available media materials. Methods used: content and sentiment analysis. The results of the study have shown a large-scale value split starting from the level of Italian society up to the level of communities within the EU. Thus, in the discourse of family policy, opposing positions are indicated. The emotionality of the arguments used in the political struggle regarding the discussion of family policy indicates the urgency of the research questions arising in connection with the practical steps and consequences of the implementation of the “new” Italian policy.

Discourse and language of war: A comparison of the linguistic and rhetorical strategies employed in Russian, United States, and Ukrainian presidential speeches

In the context of war, political speeches employ emotionally charged language in the form of linguistic devices, in an attempt to persuade the audience and appeal to their emotions. This study examines how the Russia-Ukraine War was presented by Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This study identifies the linguistic features as well as the rhetorical strategies employed in the three presidential speeches which reflect the power and dominance of the conflicting parties in the Russia-Ukraine war. Therefore, a critical discourse analysis of three presidential speeches on the Russia-Ukraine War was conducted. The study analyzed and compared the use of vocabulary, semantic structure, grammatical devices, and rhetorical strategies used by the three presidents to reveal the extent of language manipulation and ideologies in the context war. The study revealed the power of language in political speeches in three different narratives of the war. The findings of this study indicate that word choice, grammatical structures, and rhetorical devices were employed to evoke public emotions, to reflect power and influence beliefs, attitudes, and ideologies. The study revealed that language manipulation is clearly evident through the use of linguistic strategies such as powerful word choices, pronouns, modals, tenses etc., as well as emotional and logical appeals in the form of rhetorical strategies.

Metalinguistic Strategies in Early Modern Language Controversies

All over early modern Europe, philologists and grammarians expressed patriotic pride in their native vernaculars and traced impressive derivations from prestigious ancient languages. While Hebrew generally held pride of place, claims of the greatest antiquity and prestige were also made for the Celtic and Germanic languages, and elaborate theories constructed to justify them. In all of this, rhetorical strategies were employed: heavily loaded language was used when writing about languages themselves, to weaponise them as instruments of national prestige and sneer at inferior rivals. After discussing the sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century theorists, this article focuses on the claims made for the unique, unchangeable superiority of French, before concluding with an extended consideration of the work of Gilles Ménage, the most distinguished linguistic scholar of the age, who is unique in eschewing such emotive terms.

Undocumented immigrants at work: invisibility, hypervisibility, and the making of the modern slave

The undocumented immigrant represents a socio-legal category, referring to a subject who does not have legal standing to be in the country in which they are located. Extending from their lack of legal standing, undocumented immigrant workers in the United States occupy spaces marked by extreme conditions of vulnerability, which were exacerbated by the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016. The aim of this ethnographic study is to make sense of the experiences of undocumented immigrants under a particularly vicious political rhetoric. Studying the lives of Latinx undocumented immigrant workers in the U.S., our findings capture how the dynamic interplay between the types of labor that they undertake and the socio-legal identity they are attributed function together to systematically disenfranchise them. Specifically, we explicate how doing invisible labor while, at the same time, occupying a hypervisible identity culminates in extreme conditions of vulnerability. In addition to developing the concept of hypervisible identity, we also inform theory on the idea of modern slavery. We contend that without the existence of invisible labor and hypervisible identity performing as interlocking, constitutive precursors, some forms of modern slavery would be negated.

(Re)productive Dissent: Reproductive Justice in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

The overturn of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in June 2022 solidified the patchwork nature of abortion access in the United States and clarified, for some, the need to move beyond a framework of reproductive rights toward an approach to reproductive justice that would guarantee medical autonomy for individuals in the pursuit of (not) becoming parents. We present the dissent in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization as an attempt to create a legally intelligible reproductive justice. We analyze the excesses of the dissent—the violations of generic and institutional norms concerning, specifically, the inclusion of the lived experiences of pregnant people. We conclude, however, that the capacity for rhetorical invention in the dissent is muted by the uncritical (re)circulation of neoliberal tropes endemic to the Supreme Court and the broader abortion debate in the United States. We conclude with the implications for this (imperfect) articulation of reproductive justice in an institutional context.

Endings and beginnings: Dobbs and the urgency of rhetorical invention

Endings and beginnings: Dobbs and the urgency of rhetorical invention

A Text-Centred Rhetorical Analysis of 1 Thessalonians 2:17–20

This article analyses 1 Thessalonians 2:17–20 from a rhetorical perspective. Instead of the typical approach used to analyse the letter in terms of ancient rhetorical theory, this article explains that Paul’s rhetorical strategy is best observed by a close reading of the text itself; it is called a text‑centred rhetorical analysis that follows a minimum theoretical approach. Accordingly, the overall rhetorical strategy is identified, followed by an outline of the dominant and supportive arguments, including the supportive strategies, and completed by identifying the rhetorical techniques. Moreover, this article highlights how Paul effectively adapts the ancient letter style to achieve his rhetorical objectives. It remains critical to understand the urgency of the missionaries not only to convey their loving concern but to exhort them to endure faithfully to the immanent parousia.