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Zusatztext The book is very rich in detailed analyses of various aspects of language use...Wilson emphasizes that the aim of the book is to "provide insights into particular examples of presidential language from a pragmatic perspective," and not to present a coherent theory of presidential language nor to resolve theoretical disputes within pragmatics. This is also what makes the book exciting, informative, and valuable not least for the readers planning their own studies on the language of politics. Informationen zum Autor John Wilson is Professor of Communciation at the University of Ulster. Klappentext This book provides a Pragmatic analysis of presidential language! focusing on the language of six Presidents: John F. Kennedy! Richard M. Nixon! Ronald W. Reagan! William F. Clinton! George W. Bush! and Barack H. Obama. Zusammenfassung This book provides a pragmatic analysis of presidential language. Pragmatics is concerned with "meaning in context," or the relationship between what we say and what we mean. John Wilson explores the various ways in which U.S. Presidents have used language within specific social contexts to achieve specific objectives. This includes obfuscation, misdirection, the use of metaphor or ambiguity, or in some cases simply lying. He focuses on six presidents: John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald W. Reagan, William F. Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack H. Obama. These presidents cover most of the last half of the twentieth century, and the first decade of the twenty first century, and each has been associated with a specific linguistic quality. John F. Kennedy was famed for his quality of oratory, Nixon for his manipulative use of language, Reagan for his gift of telling stories, Clinton for his ability to engage the public and to linguistically turn arguments and descriptions in particular directions. Bush, on the other hand, was famed for his inability to use language appropriately, and Obama returns us to the rhetorical flourishes of early Kennedy. In the case of each president, a range of specific examples are explored in order to highlight the ways in which a pragmatic analysis may provide an insight into presidential language. In many cases, what the president says is not necessarily what the president means. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1. Hail to the Chief: Pragmatics and the President; 2. Talking Pragmatics with the Best and the Brightest: John F Kennedy; 3. Lies! Truth! and Somewhere in between: Richard M. Nixon; 4. The Narrative Presidency: Ronald Regan and Stories From The White House; 5. It's Language Jim! But Not As we know it: William J Clinton; 6. Bring em on! The Empire Strikes Back: George W Bush; 7. There and Back Again With Barack H Obama; Afterword; References ...
