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The Politics of Language

By David Beaver

The Politics of Language

By David Beaver

0 - Default Title
Description
A provocative case for the inherently political nature of language In The Politics of Language, David Beaver and Jason Stanley present a radical new approach to the theory of meaning, offering an account of communication in which political and social identity, affect, and shared practices play as important a role as information. This new view of language, they argue, has dramatic consequences for free speech, democracy, and a range of other areas in which speech plays a central role. Drawing on a wealth of disciplines, The Politics of Language argues that the function of speech—whether in dialogue, larger group interactions, or mass communication—is to attune people to something, be it a shared reality, emotion, or identity. Reconceptualizing the central ideas of pragmatics and semantics, Beaver and Stanley apply their account to a range of phenomena that defy standard frameworks in linguistics and philosophy of language—from dog whistles and covert persuasion to echo chambers and genocidal speech. The authors use their framework to show that speech is inevitably political because all communication is imbued with the resonances of particular ideologies and their normative perspectives on reality. At a time when democracy is under attack, authoritarianism is on the rise, and diversity and equality are being demanded, The Politics of Language offers a powerful new vision of the language of politics, ideology, and protest.
Product details
Binding:
Paperback
Number of Pages:
520
Release Date:
2025-10-28
Publication Date:
2025-10-28
Publisher:
Princeton University Press
Languages:
Original: English
ISBN10:
0691242755
ISBN13:
9780691242750
Weight:
768 g
Height:
153 cm
Width:
231 cm
Thickness:
33 cm
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