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Language is
one of our most basic instincts. From birth humans
communicate, at first in order to survive - to ensure
that needs are met. But at an amazing rate communication
becomes refined into language, one of the defining
characteristics of human beings. In The Language
Instinct Stephen Pinker writes:
In
any natural history of the human species, language would
stand out as the pre-eminent trait… A common language
connects the members of a community into an
information-sharing network with formidable collective
powers. Anyone can benefit from the strokes of genius,
lucky accidents, and trial-and-error wisdom accumulated
by everyone else, present or past. And people can work
in teams, their efforts coordinated by negotiated
agreements. (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1994, 16)
As Pinker
points out, language is what allows us to build on the
work of others, benefiting from their knowledge and
collaborating to achieve more than one person can alone.
The processes of diplomacy -- communicating,
negotiating, reaching and formulating agreements,
collecting, creating, transmitting and recording
knowledge -- all depend on language.
Studies of diplomacy usually concentrate on the message
rather than the means. However, examination of language
use in diplomacy can lead to a better understanding of
the way diplomacy functions and why some diplomatic
processes are more successful than others. Through
careful and critical attention to various aspects of
diplomatic language we can improve our understanding of
both the explicit and implicit messages world leaders
and other political figures send out, and improve our
own ability to communicate in the most effective and
appropriate ways.
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Language and
Diplomacy Resources
Developed in 2002-2003 to support conferences and courses on the topic,
Language
and Diplomacy portal offers an introduction to language and diplomacy related topics and a database of examples and resources about the use of language in diplomacy. We welcome contributions from readers to our database.
Our online publication Language
and Diplomacy
is a collection of papers presented at the February 2000
Second International Conference on Knowledge and
Diplomacy and the January 2001 Conference on Language
and Diplomacy. The papers examine traditional aspects of
language in diplomacy: diplomatic signalling, rhetorical
patterns and ambiguities; as well as new issues raised
by information technology. Access to the publication is
free but visitors must register for a username and
password.
A set of articles
and papers on language and diplomacy are available
in our hypertext system. The hypertext document
management system can be used for the analysis of any
type of document. It can also be used to manage
discussion around a selected document. The document is
posted on the Internet, visitors select the relevant
text and type their comment or make a link to another
website. Alternately, they can read comments made by
others and respond.
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