In
rhetoric, emotive or emotional conjugation (also known as Russell's conjugation)
mimics the form of a
grammatical conjugation 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 ve ...
can lend false support to an argument by obscuring a
fallacy 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, ...
, 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,
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 on t ...
in the
BBC television 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.
References
External links
''New Statesman'' examples listed in Richard Nordquist's Grammar & Composition Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emotive Conjugation
Rhetorical techniques