Political communication

Politolinguistik is a relatively new sub-discipline of linguistics that deals with the scientific study and criticism of political communication. It is largely empirically oriented and mainly attributable to the field of applied linguistics. Politolinguistische studies may relate to important aspects of the language, and in particular those which are attributable to the semantics and pragmatics.

History

The term Politolinguistik 1996, introduced by Armin Burkhardt in an essay that leads him at the same time as the main title as the name of the " previously nameless " sub-discipline of linguistics that deals with the critical analysis of political language. The term has become widely established. The Politolinguistik is located in the border area between linguistics and political science ( political science ) and in two sciences " less the theoretical ' than that applied ' and within, used to assign ' the critical ' part of the field. "

Object of linguistic analysis, the political language in Germany by about 1900., Where she was initially part of the then current keyword research. Just in 1900 appeared Richard M. Meyers " Four hundred buzzwords" and soon after petrol shop village " Historical Impact Dictionary " (1906 ), in which, however, in addition to important political vocabulary of the late 19th century, " buzzwords " and neologisms of that time ( such as " mob "or" caterwauling " ) are treated. And as early as 1898 had acknowledged in an essay the 50th anniversary of the Constituent German National Assembly in Frankfurt's St. Paul's Church linguistically the lexicographer Hermann Wunderlich.

However, the actual historical starting point for the development of linguistics of political language in German-speaking countries were studies on the language of National Socialism and divergences in the political vocabulary of the two German states. This work emerged since the 1950s or 1960s, and initially remained largely on the aforementioned subject areas is limited. It was only as a result of domestic political turning point of the 1968/ 69 became increasingly the subject of linguistic and political science studies, the public communication on policy issues since the early 1970s.

After a slight decline in interest towards the end of the social-liberal era, the number of publications on political language adopted since 1982/83, the years of the retrofit discussions and the liberal-conservative " turn", again noticeably. The initial concentration on the military-political parlance, was gradually abandoned in favor of a more general study topics such as parliamentary communication ',' semantic battles ' or ' political language in the media '. In addition, numerous individual studies were undertaken for political text types and linguistic processing domestic and foreign political individual events.

Since 1989, especially the language of the " turn" in the GDR and the language of the " post-reunification period " in the enlarged by the State Association Federal Republic the dominant theme are initially become. Parliamentary communication, the election campaign speech and the political media communication via the analysis of the discourses on migration and the use of nuclear power also has received but also examines increased. In addition, an increasing orientation towards historiography of political language such as Diekmann Henkes study of the catchwords of the time of the Peasants' War (1994 ) or by Stötzel / Wengeler (1995 ) or Böke / Liedtke / Wengeler (1996 ) published by the discourse analytical studies can be seen to the Leitvokabeln the Federal Republic testify. Even though more and more pragmatic approaches play a role, but the description and (critical ) analysis of political lexicon has always been in the forefront of efforts.

In Austria, politolinguistische activity limited so far mainly on the discourse analysis based primarily work at the University of Vienna, where the work of the linguist Ruth Wodak had school -forming. Approaches to politolinguistischer research and some publications were also in Salzburg in the 1990s and 2000s under the leadership of Oswald Panagl.

Areas of study

According to Klein ( 1998, pp. 194 ff ) find politolinguistische studies mainly take place in three specific areas. These areas of study are partly not distinguish from each other, because the transitions can be smooth. It is an established in political science categorization of political action.

Language and political system (polity )

The aspect of the polity refers to the Politolinguistik on the relationship between the language and the prevailing political system in which they will be used. The influence of this system is large enough ( or is deemed to be large enough ) to justify it, that linguistic findings declared indicators of such a system or their forms are justified by reference to this system.

In the context of political systems, the " language, especially the vocabulary, as an expression or condition constitution of ideology " (Klein 1998, p 195 ) considered. In this regard, especially in various political currents usual "opinion " or " ideology languages ​​" studied. Often these studies are characterized by a special closeness to the early 20th century resulting from keyword research. Examples of polity -related linguistic studies form as research on language / National socialism and parliamentary communication.

Language and political process (politics)

However, the specific features of political language does not stop with their ideological terms. You also a strategic aspect is attributed beyond. Both the classic rhetorical devices as well as the strategies of the " terms - Besetzens " ( for example, in election campaigns ), the use of vagueness and ambiguity or gesprächsrhetorische strategies in television talk shows in this sense for the politolinguistische language research of interest. Political processes are seen in the context of such studies, especially as linguistically constituted political communication processes.

Some political speeches were so significant or controversial that they were as individual phenomena object of linguistic studies because of their context or their linguistic and rhetorical characteristics in terms of their effect. This applies to the much acclaimed speech of the then Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker on the 40th anniversary of the war's end, or the failed commemorative speech by former Bundestag President Philipp Jenninger on 10 November 1988 on the 50th anniversary of the pogroms of November 1938. A prominent example of a studied speech also applies the so-called " Sports Palace speech " of the Nazi Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels on 18 February 1943.

Of particular importance in the context of political processes has always been of the (political) speech criticism, which can be determined as the form, " in the action can be taken on the basis of linguistic competence in the political communication process. " (Ibid.) concentrated here, the politolinguistischen efforts since the 1960s, mainly due to the Federal Republic. After the critique of language has been abused often in the 1970s by representatives of other scientific disciplines as linguistics to discredit their political opponents, is placed in its present practice, mainly due to the independence of the analysis of one's political belief value.

Language and policies ( policies )

Politolinguistische studies may relate to the different policy areas. Not all topics have been observed but so far alike. Often the choice was more or less from the public interest as well as to their own convictions dependent. Genuin politolinguistische contributions are in principle neutral and " primarily [ of ] analytical interest " (ibid. ) so that the recipient should come himself to a political judgment or can. Since the late 1970s, initially created numerous contributions to the language of arms and disarmament policy; the other hand, particularly the linguistic aspects of asylum and migration as well as the economic and social policy are discussed since the 1990s or " women discriminatory tendencies, first in the German language and secondly in certain linguistic patterns of communication, " criticized (p. 198).

Theory

Especially in the context of the investigation of ideological vocabulary set " meaning competition " and " designation competition " two important technical terms dar. sub meaning competition is meant when the same word - without making it explicitly clear - is used in different meanings, such as the high value word "socialism" is used in a socialist context with the features and class struggle and in a non-socialist context without these features. From designation competition is when the same political matter of different political groups with different expressions are referred to, such as when proponents refer to a particular measure with tag and this but it means loss for the opponent (, restructuring of the welfare system ' versus, welfare cuts ').

Meaning and name competition are the two main forms of semantic struggle.

Trade associations

In order to analyze and critique of political speech in the presence and history of taking care of the working community language in the policy ' Association, which was founded from a early 1990s in Paderborn, initiative linguist / in for peace ' has emerged since 1994. It is an association of linguists who have a research focus in the field of political language, and have stepped through the organization of numerous conferences on topics politolinguistischen and the publication of their results. Current chairman is Thomas Niehr (RWTH Aachen ).

Moreover, there is in the German Political Science Association a working group, politics and culture ', whose spokesman Wolfgang currently Bergem ( University of Wuppertal ) and Reinhard Wesel ( Otto -von- Guericke University Magdeburg ) are.