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7.7: Deceiving with Loaded Language

  • Page ID
    36189
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    Early one morning many years ago, the Libyans were yawning when United States bombers streaked out of the clouds and bombed the President’s palace. The next day, Russian newspapers objected to this attack by the United States. In reporting that fact, one U.S. news story said, "As expected, the Russian Bear kicked up a fuss about Libya." The use of the phrase "kicked up a fuss" is a propagandistic slap at the Russians; it is an example of loaded language. So is the phrase "as expected," which tends to discount or dismiss the complaint. An unloaded way to present the information would have been for the newspaper to say, "The Russians strongly objected to the Libyan incident." Saying it that way is sticking to the facts.

    Loaded language is a major way of persuading you without giving you good reasons. Look for loaded language in the following headline:

    Big Oil Asks Senator Roberts
    for a "No" Vote

    Calling the major oil companies "Big Oil" evokes negative images for most people. Can't you just see the fat-cat oil executive in the smoke-filled room with his cigar and pinky ring? Most people root for the little guy and against the big guy. If you were the newspaper editor, you could have written an unloaded headline this way:

    Major Oil Companies Ask Senator
    Roberts for a "No" Vote

    The term major oil companies is associated with more neutral images in people's minds. The mental images and evaluations that people associate with a word or phrase are called connotations. The negative connotation of "Big Oil" slants the headline against the major oil companies.

    The news story complaining about the Russian response to the American bombing of Libya exploited the connotations of the phrase "Russian Bear." A bear is an aggressive animal, so labeling the Russians as "bears" connotes aggressiveness rather than fairness. Slanting a description by using loaded words is not giving an objective description. Using loaded language is a way for writers and speakers to slip their opinions into what would otherwise be an objective description. With slanting, they do not give just the factual description; instead, they add their values.

    For example, if I tell you that I like La Toya Jackson, I've given her a positive evaluation. I've not stated a single descriptive fact about her. But if I say that she is a great singer, then I've described her by calling her a "singer," and I've evaluated her singing. On the other hand, if I tell you that La Toya Jackson is short and has a high-paying job, then I've stated two descriptive facts about her but have not offered any evaluation of her. Some readers might read this description and respond with a negative evaluation because they dislike short persons, but my original statement did not express this evaluation. It’s their evaluation, not mine.


    This page titled 7.7: Deceiving with Loaded Language is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Bradley H. Dowden.

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