Talking Right

Talking Right

infobox Book |
name = Talking Right


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Geoffrey Nunberg
country = USA
language = English
translator =
cover_artist = Tom Brown
genre =
publisher = Perseus Books Group
release_date = July 2006
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 264 p. (first edition, hardcover)
isbn = ISBN 1-58648-386-2
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Talking Right", subtitled "How Conservatives Turned Liberalism into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show", is a 2006 book by linguist Geoffrey Nunberg, who uses his expertise to explain the United States Democratic Party's failure to win elections.

Earlier commentators have attributed this failure to such matters as weak slogans. Nunberg argues that the problem runs much deeper, in that the entire political discourse in the U.S. today has been shaped heavily by conservatives. According to Nunberg, ordinary words like "values", "freedom", "patriotism", and indeed "liberal" itself have acquired connotations that conservatives favor and that even allegedly liberal newspapers like "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post" take for granted. Nunberg contends that conservatives have used these terms to paint a picture of elite liberals out of touch with the values of mainstream, middle-class Americans. This stereotype, which Nunberg considers inaccurate, is nonetheless so firmly entrenched in popular consciousness that Republicans need only mention a word like "elite" to conjure up the image of a stuffy, out-of-touch liberal.

Democratic politicians have tried to reclaim some of these terms, such as when presidential candidate John Kerry styled his 2004 campaign "a celebration of American values." But such efforts are ineffective, Nunberg argues, because they do little to unhinge the powerful quasi-populist narrative that conservatives have developed over several decades. Nunberg calls on Democrats to create an equally powerful (but, in their view, more truthful) narrative of their own through which they can weave together the many issues of advantage to them.

ee also

* George Lakoff, author of "Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate".
* framing (social sciences)

External links

* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5536444 'Talking Right': Why the Left Is Losing, Linguistically] . Fresh Air interview on NPR. July 6 2006.

* [http://www.oxonianreview.org/issues/6-1/6-1paradis.htm Linguists on George W. Bush, Michel Paradis] . Oxonian Review of Books 2006 6.1.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Talking Heads (series) — Talking Heads is a series of dramatic monologues written for BBC television by the acclaimed British playwright Alan Bennett. The two series were first broadcast in 1988 and 1998, respectively. The pieces have since been broadcast on BBC Radio,… …   Wikipedia

  • Right Honourable — Right .Honourable adj BrE used when formally announcing or talking about a British member of Parliament ▪ the Right Honourable Giles Williams MP …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Talking clock — A talking clock (also known as a speaking clock or auditory clock ) is a timekeeping device that presents the time as sounds. It may present the time solely as sounds, such as a phone based time service (see Speaking clock) or a clock for the… …   Wikipedia

  • Right at Your Door — Infobox Film name = Right At Your Door caption = Theatrical release poster imdb id = 0458367 director = Chris Gorak writer = Chris Gorak starring = Mary McCormack Rory Cochrane Scotty Noyd Jr. Max Kasch Will McCormack producer = Palmer West Jonah …   Wikipedia

  • Talking stick — The talking stick was used in Native North American tribes at council meetings. It was used as courtesy not to interrupt a chief when he was speaking. The talking stick was then passed to the next council member who wished to speak. The stick was …   Wikipedia

  • right — I [[t]ra͟ɪt[/t]] CORRECT, APPROPRIATE, OR ACCEPTABLE ♦ rights, righting, righted (Please look at category 17 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.) 1) ADJ If something is right, it is correct and agrees… …   English dictionary

  • Right of foreigners to vote — Suffrage, the right to vote in a particular country, generally derives from citizenship. In most countries, the right to vote is reserved to those who possess the citizenship of the country in question. Some countries, however, have extended… …   Wikipedia

  • Right Here (Departed) — Single infobox Name = Right Here (Departed) Artist = Brandy from Album = Human B side = Released = August 13,2008 (see release history) Format = digital download Recorded = 2008 Genre = R B, urban pop Length = 3:39 Label = Epic Writer = Evan Kidd …   Wikipedia

  • talking —    A sudden lull in the conversation is not random, some believe, but usually occurs at twenty minutes past or to the hour, and is occasioned by angels passing by. Opie and Tatem give several references to this idea, starting with one from Wales… …   A Dictionary of English folklore

  • Right in the Nuts — Infobox Album | Name = Right in the Nuts: A Tribute to Aerosmith Type = Tribute album Artist = Various Artists Released = July 10, 2000 Re Released = Recorded = Genre = Stoner metal Length = Disk 1: 1:01:51 Disk 2: 1:03:22 Label = Small Stone… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”