In a new era of global conflict involving non-state actors At War with Words offers a
provocative perspective on the role of language in the genesis conduct and consequence of mass
violence. Sociolinguistics meets political science and communication studies in order to
examine interdependence between armed conflict and language. As phenomena attributed only to
humans both armed conflict and language are visible on two axes: language as war discourse
and language as a social policy subject to change by the victorious. In this unique volume
internationally known contributors provide original data and new insights that illuminate roles
of text and talk in creating identities of enemies justifications for violence and
accompanying propaganda. Incorporating contexts from around the world this collection's topics
range from a radio talk show hosts' inflammatory rhetoric to the semantic poverty of the
lexicon of mass destruction. The first eight chapters discuss war texts. How does language
serve as a vehicle to incite justify and resolve an armed conflict? Case studies from the US
to China and from Austria to Ghana detail such a progression to through and from war. The
book's second part reflects the understanding of language as a symbol of power achieved by a
victorious side in war. Five chapters discuss cases from Okinawa Croatia Cyprus Palau and
Northern Ireland. Edited by a sociolinguist and a political scientist At War with Words
includes chapters by Michael Billig Paul Chilton Ruth Wodak and a dozen other prominent
linguists and communications scholars. This book will be of interest to linguists media
scholars and political scientists but is also accessible to any reader interested in language
and war. Teachers will find particular chapters useful as course material in discourse analysis
language policy war and peace studies conflict resolution mass communication and other
related disciplines.
