the magic of language

These articles served as just another reminder of the ways that we use rhetoric in our everyday lives-both public and private. Public discourse is a topic of never ending debate, but it was really interesting to me to be able to look at it from a linguistic standpoint. Politics in general annoy me, but, especially in consideration of the Word Lab article, I almost find it fascinating to look at it as a big game. Words and phrases are all just strategy in the hopes of gaining support of the public, but to look at it in almost scientific terms the way that Luntz does? It seemed a little ridiculous at first, but in the end, I thought it was kind of cool.

To take it a step further, I think we can apply those same strategies to our private lives. When we deal with employers, professors, coworkers, even family members and friends, we choose our words according to the situation, the audience, and the message we are trying to convey. When asking for a raise, we use certain words which makes us seem favorable, unlike when we talk about ourselves to other people. For example, I might tell a boss that I am responsible, hardworking, and reliable, but to my friend 20 minutes later, I'd be saying how fat I look in whatever. Politicians do the same thing in the public sphere.

I don't know if I really answered the questions asked in the assignment or not, but these were my initial reactions to the readings (which I liked much better than that Ramage guy...)

~Amber B~