T2G: The Power of Language
Having studied English Language & Linguistics for 7 years, I have encountered many misconceptions about what the subject entails. These can be summarised eloquently by my Finnish friend’s grandmother exclaiming, upon discovering her chosen area of study, ‘but you already know English?’ Understanding and speaking the English language is one thing but learning about how it is used and understood in society is another (very exciting!) thing entirely.
The English Language is vast and complex, from the runic alphabet to the phonetics lab, no two-week course could exhaust its exploration. This particular elective, as part of the wonderful Transitions to Glasgow course, will focus on the power of language in society. One of the most fascinating things about language is that it involves choices; these choices can wield great power and have an enormous impact on the way we see the world.
During the Power of Language elective, students will learn about the influence of language in five key areas of society whilst simultaneously being introduced to some relevant theoretical concepts. Perhaps most topically for 2021, we will be considering the language used to discuss health phenomena such as disease. Most recently, COVID-19 has been described by Boris Johnson as an ‘invisible mugger’ and Sajid Javid has urged the public not to ‘cower’ from the virus. How do these choices of metaphor impact our view of the virus and its handling by the government?
Alongside health we will also consider the power of language in scientific fields, thinking specifically about genre. Scientists may agonise over objectivity, statistics and evidence, but ultimately the general public will encounter their findings through popularisations in the media. Our task is going to be to ‘spot the difference’ between scientific articles and their popular counterparts. How is information re-arranged and filtered for a popular audience?
Unlike health and science, which may not always be considered overtly rhetorical, most people associate rhetoric with politics. Rhetoric is often misconceived as the convoluted arguments and empty promises made by politicians, but the rich subject area has its roots in classical times. During the politics session students will learn about Aristotle’s classical rhetorical appeals and how they manifest in modern political speeches; for example, how do the rhetorical appeals in Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus briefings differ from those used in politicians’ speeches about the Iraq War?
Alongside politics, news media also involves powerful rhetorical choices. When the Daily Mail famously used the front-page headline ‘Never mind Brexit – who won Legs-it!’ to describe talks between two female leaders, they were reinforcing a sexist standpoint which judges female leaders based on their appearance. We will consider how different newspapers approach the same news stories from different ideological standpoints, encouraging students to take a critical approach to the news media they encounter in their everyday lives.
Finally, during our class on the power of language in the law, we will consider some lawsuits in which semantics, or the meaning of words, has been central. In the famous lawsuit against Jaffa Cakes, it was argued that they could not call their product a ‘cake’ but rather should more appropriately call it a ‘biscuit’. In this case, the power of language boils down to the definition of a single word – what is a ‘cake’? Why does this matter so much? We will be donning our imaginary legal attire to discuss some cases which have been dependent on word meaning, demonstrating to students that meaning can influence legal cases with huge sums of money at stake.
The power of language is pervasive in our everyday lives, from the way we talk about disease, to lawsuits about our favourite snacks – we will cover a lot of ground during this fast-paced and exciting elective. Students will also have the opportunity to take one of the five topics further, choosing their own real-world examples to discuss in the final assignment. Most importantly, the knowledge and skills gained from this elective will prepare students for a wide range of degree paths in the Arts and Social Sciences, from English Literature to Politics!
