HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In
rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate partic ...
, emotive or emotional conjugation (also known as Russell's conjugation) mimics the form of a
grammatical conjugation In linguistics, conjugation () is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection (alteration of form according to rules of grammar). For instance, the verb ''break'' can be conjugated to form the words ''break'', ...
of an
irregular verb A regular verb is any verb whose conjugation follows the typical pattern, or one of the typical patterns, of the language to which it belongs. A verb whose conjugation follows a different pattern is called an irregular verb. This is one instanc ...
to illustrate humans' tendency to describe their own behavior more charitably than the behavior of others. Used seriously, such
loaded language Loaded language (also known as loaded terms, emotive language, high-inference language and language-persuasive techniques) is rhetoric used to influence an audience by using words and phrases with strong connotations. This type of language is ver ...
can lend false support to an argument by obscuring a
fallacy A fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning, or "wrong moves," in the construction of an argument which may appear stronger than it really is if the fallacy is not spotted. The term in the Western intellectual tradition was intr ...
of meaning.


Examples

It is often called ''Russell's conjugation'' in honour of philosopher
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ar ...
, who expounded the concept in 1948 on the
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
programme ''
The Brains Trust ''The Brains Trust'' was an informational BBC radio and later television programme popular in the United Kingdom during the 1940s and 1950s, on which a panel of experts tried to answer questions sent in by the audience. History The series was ...
'', citing the examples:
I am firm, you are obstinate, he is a pig-headed fool. I am righteously indignant, you are annoyed, he is making a fuss over nothing. I have reconsidered the matter, you have changed your mind, he has gone back on his word.
The inherent incongruity also lends itself to
humor Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in t ...
, as employed by
Bernard Woolley Sir Bernard Woolley, GCB, MA (Oxon) is one of the three main fictional characters of the 1980s British sitcom '' Yes Minister'' and its sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister''. He was portrayed originally by Derek Fowlds, with Chris Larkin taking o ...
in the
BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced t ...
series ''Yes, Minister'' and ''Yes, Prime Minister'':
It's one of those irregular verbs, isn't it?
I have an independent mind, You are eccentric, He is round the twist.
That's another of those irregular verbs, isn't it?
I give confidential press briefings; you leak; he's being charged under section 2A of the
Official Secrets Act An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security but in unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secrets Act 1911) can include all info ...
.


References


External links


''New Statesman'' examples listed in Richard Nordquist's Grammar & Composition Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emotive Conjugation Rhetorical techniques