Rhetoric Used in Discourse Analysis

                                Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to find how ‘Rhetoric used in Discourse’ and how it apply in different field of discourse. In this paper, readers can find what the use of discourse in different field is. This paper is an analysis of rhetorical devices. For this I have collected some information from different books and articles. In this paper I have mentioned about What is Rhetoric? Rhetorical devices, techniques of persuasion, Rhetorical used in politics, Rhetorical used in film industry, Rhetorical used in advertising, Rhetorical used in Terrorism,  and conclusion.

Rhetoric is an art of persuading. It is a device which we used in different context for persuading audiences. People use it because it makes our speech more logical and authentic. Generally, people are using rhetoric for making their statement believable.

                                                 TABLE OF CONTENTS…

—  What is rhetoric?

—  Rhetorical devices

—  Techniques of Persuasion.

—  Rhetoric used in politics.

—  Rhetoric used in film industry.

—  Rhetoric used in Terrorism.

—  Rhetoric used in Advertising

—  Conclusion

Introduction

—  Arjun said, “No I cannot kill them they are my brothers”

—  Krishna said, “Everyone who against you in the battlefield is your enemy. If you will not kill them they will kill you”.

                                                (Source-Bhagavad-Gita)

    Rhetoric is the art of discovering all the available means of persuasion in any given case   (Aristotle)

  Rhetoric as " the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." Of the modes of persuasion some belong strictly to the art of rhetoric and some do not. The rhetorician finds the latter kind (viz. witnesses, contracts, and the like) ready to his hand. The former kind he must provide himself; and it has three divisions -- (1) the speaker's power of evincing a personal character which will make his speech credible (ethos); (2) his power of stirring the emotions of his hearers (pathos); (3) his power of proving a truth, or an apparent truth, by means of persuasive arguments (logos)

Rhetoric = df. 1. (M&P) Language used primarily to persuade or influence beliefs or attitudes rather than to prove something logically. 2. The art of speaking or writing effectively

—  Rhetoric is a device by which a speaker or a writer can influence the beliefs or attitudes we have about something

For critical thinking, rhetoric is not a substitute for argument. Thus substituting rhetoric for argument is a mistake in critical thining.

—  Saying that someone ‘butchered’ a role is not an explanation of what made the performance a bad one, or calling abortion ‘baby murder’ is not in itself an argument against the morality of abortion

—  Rhetoric does not in itself have anything to do with the logical correctness of an argument.

—  People are using rhetoric for make their speech believable, logical and proof.

Rhetorical devices

—   A rhetorical device =. Something used to influence belief or attitude through the associations, connotations, or implications of words, sentences, or paragraphs.

—  A rhetorical device can make an argument more persuasive psychologically, but does nothing to add to or detract from the logical worth of an argument.

—  These are some rhetorical devices.

Euphemisms and Dysphemisms

—  A euphemism =. A word or expression which is neutral or positive and which is used in place of a negative word or expression. (‘Euphemism’ literally means ‘sounding good.’)

—  ‘Bathroom’ is a euphemism for ‘place containing a plumbing receptacle for urination,’ and ‘passed away’ is a euphemism for ‘died

—   play an important role in affecting our attitudes

—  Euphemism: “Used cars” become “pre-owned vehicles”

—  ‘Capital punishment’ sounds better than ‘killing by the state,’ and ‘voluntary termination of pregnancy’ sounds better than ‘baby murder,’ or perhaps even ‘abortion.’

—  A dysphemism =df. A word or expression which either produces a negative effect on the attitude of a reader or listener regarding something, or lessens positive associations concerning that thing. (‘Dysphemism’ literally means ‘sounding bad.’)

—  ‘Croaked’ is a dysphemism for ‘died,’ and ‘baby murder’ is a dysphemism for ‘abortion.’

—  Dysphemism: “Music” becomes “noise’’

TECHNIQUES OF PERSUASION

—             A persuasive comparison =  One which is used to express or influence attitudes or affect behavior. “John is as big as a barn” persuades the hearer that John is larger than normal by comparing him to a building.

—  A persuasive definition = One in which the defines contains a term or terms which are prejudicial, and so evokes an attitude about the definiendum.

—  Defining ‘abortion’ as ‘baby murder’ is an example of a persuasive definition.

—  Also, in the defines a fetus is assumed to be a human being.

—  Since this is something to be proved, not assumed, the definition also begs the question of the morality of abortion.

—  A persuasive explanation =df. An explanation intended to influence attitudes or affect behavior.

—  Saying that people are conservative politically when they have a lot of money is a persuasive explanation of the voting habits of some people

—  Innuendo = A form of suggestion in which something negative is insinuated about someone or something rather than actually said.

—  For instance, a professor says to his students: “You can be sure that, with me, there is at least one instructor at this university that always observes fair-grading practices.”

—  This is innuendo because it is suggested that some university instructors do not always grade fairly.

—  Even though the statement is logically consistent with its being the case that everyone grades fairly, the idea is suggested that unfair grading sometimes occurs on campus.

Four Elements of Rhetoric

—  Rhetoric

—   Pathos

—   Logos

—   Ethos

In academia, rhetoric means that you understand the means and modes of   persuasion within your own discipline.

                                    Aristotle’sRhetoricalTriangle

                                                                        Writer/Ethos

Audience/PathosContext/Logos

                                    Pathos

—  Appeals to the emotions and feelings of   the audience.  it Arouses feelings of pity, compassionate  sympathy, tenderness, or sorrow. Is the ability to evoke compassion in an   audience?

     Logos

—  It Appeals to logic, reasoning, and evidence. In the structure or organization of a writing sample or style. It Implies numbers, polls, and other mathematical  or scientific data Makes the assumption that the audience and the writer hold a foundation of shared beliefs .                          Ethos

—  It Appeals based on the trustworthiness of the  speaker or writer and Establishes credibility through the character or  values peculiar to a specific person, culture, or  movement. it is a component of argument that establishes a  person’s expertise or knowledge by what that   person says and not by what people know about  that person – Aristotle.

Rhetoric used in politics

According to Luke2, the notion ideology refers to the systems of ideas, beliefs and practices, and representations, which operate in the interests of an identifiable social class or cultural group. It could be asserted that politicians are and have to be concerned about using the language in order to communicate with the prospect audience: they make speeches, address the electorate in the newspapers. In other words, regimes being either democratic or totalitarian have to communicate in order to inform, persuade, advertise, issue their rules and regulations, legislate and alike.

                                    Politicians impose laws, taxes and bureaucratic systems, i.e. they use

Instrumental power. However, they seek to influence us to endorse their policies, or they call for the eventual voters’ political loyalty, thus imposing their influential power. They may wish to influence us to use our collective power to return them to governmental institutions, where they will use their executive power to direct or influence some important aspects of our lives. In other words, politicians aim at having the power to tell people what to do and how to live.

—  Rhetoric used in politics for these purpose

1.      to persuade voters to be a party member and turn up to vote .

—  2.to make people adopt general political or social attitude in order to attract support for a presant policy.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”(It was the given on the night Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States of America on November 4th, 2008 in Chicago.)

3.To  make political action or persuades them to support a party or an individual.

4. When answering the question of journalist.

   Rhetoric used in film industry.

Rhetoric used in film industry to persuade the audience, show identity and make a positive impact on movies.

“The director used to keep Hindi name like “Kal Ho Na Ho” instead of “if time never comes”

“Although a Hindi movie is about “gay” and they keep the name of that movie is “Dostana” because it shows the positive morality to audience.”

India has the largest film industry in the world releasing approximately 1000 films a year to an international audience of 3.6 billion (Ghosh, 2007: 419). Love and romance are the most persistent themes which extol traditional Indian values. Though there are not a large number of queer films being produced in India, the surge towards this genre has raised serious questions and anxiety about the corroding cultural values and a shift towards this "deviancy." Most recently Karan Razdan's film Girlfriend (2006) opened up to widespread protest and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata party), the Hindu right-wing party disrupting screenings and causing violence. This is an echo of the earlier disruption that was caused by Deepa Mehta's Fire . However this anxiety is not just a religious concern, the strict strictures of the Indian society have

made any mention of queer culpable. The film witnessed a public dispute on the concerns about homosexuality and raised questions on the vulnerability and attack on masculinity.

Rhetoric used in Terrorism

Terrorist used rhetorical expression to their army or fighters. For example- “All Indians are against of Islam and they are our enemy. It is order of Allah to kill them” ‘Allah ne kaha hai mujhe ki jitna hinduo ko maroge utna me khus hunga aur isme jo sahadat prapt karte hai wahi log jannat jane ka haqdar hota hai’(Ajmal Kasab-a terrorist caught in 26/11 mumbai attack)

Rhetoric used in Advertising

Advertising serves a variety of purposes:

1. The majority of advertising is aimed at getting people to buy things, such as soap, cars, or coffee.

2. Other ads try to get us to use something, e.g., a credit card.

3. Still others try to get us to do something, like vote for a candidate or join an organization or give to a charity

Rhetorical devices are frequently used in advertising

The advertiser suggests that the product will put the consumer ahead of the crowd by having the product first.

—  e.g. a toy manufacturer encourages kids to be the first on their block to have a new toy . When a consumer is persuaded by specially chosen words that can have many different positive meanings. The advertiser implies that using their fabulous product will make the consumer’s life wonderful.

“This cosmetic will make you look younger, this car will give you status, this magazine will make you a leader .”

—   When an advertiser implies that the product will help the consumer to avoid complex problems, or the one product will fix several problems.

e.g. Buy this makeup and you will be attractive, popular, and happy

Conclusion

All in All, rhetoric used to communicate. It is a art of persuading someone in different field like politics, business, religion, terrorism to make their statement logical, truth and believable. It is related with English language teaching because the main objective of ELT is to make able to communicate in English language and we should have the knowledge of rhetoric for making our communication authentic.

Reference.

—  Burke, Richard.(2001).Politics and Rhetoric. The University of Chicago press, Chicago.

—  Booth, R.(1988).The Rhetoric of Rhetoric. Blackwell publishing.

         Chicago Journals