Emotive Language
It is very difficult to convey information, ideas, and especially opinions, without„coloring‟ them with some personal feeling or emotion. We usually betray our own
opinions or attitudes by our choice of words. It is not wrong to do this, but it may evoke
an unfavorable reaction in other people and thus affect their acceptance or rejection of
our communication. Consider the following statement, which highlights a typical lack of
objectivity by the average human:
I am determined, you are obstinate, he is pig-headed.
Politicians are natural users of emotive language; it is in their speeches that we so often
find fact and reason clouded or lost in rhetoric. For example, the use of biblical imagery,
the journey through the wilderness, the pilgrimage to their vision of the New Jerusalem,
can lend an aura of sanctity, rightness, or inevitability to their policies and ideals.
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