Language and Diplomacy

What makes one set of words more convincing than another, and how can language best be put to work in the service of diplomacy and international relations?

This course promotes language awareness as a means of improving the skills of opinion shapers. Close attention is paid to case studies of treaties, presidential speeches, public announcements, government advertising and media materials in order to link theoretical discussion to practical examples. Since effective communication has much to do with reading intentions and contexts correctly, insights are provided into relevant cultural, social and psychological variables. 

By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

• Define and explain selected concepts in the field of linguistics, including Speech Act theory, semantics, speech communities, and politeness.
• Define and explain concepts and techniques related to politics and international relations, including soft power, persuasion, and spin.
• Explain and provide examples of common linguistic tools such as ambiguity, metaphor, analogy and inference.
• Analyse textual materials (treaties, speeches, governmental advertising, media) using the linguistic tools presented in the course.
• Analyse images in terms of their influence on our perception of the world.
• Construct effective textual and visual messages employing the tools presented in the course.

Excerpt from course materials

It is not so much what people say but what they mean by what they say – what they intend to convey – that needs to be understood. This is best done in context and involves a process of inference in which all relevant factors are brought to bear in the course of interpretation. As we shall see, because intended meaning is not always overtly stated (this is the case in metaphor, ambiguity, suggestion, implication and politeness, for instance), interpretation is largely context dependent. It is for this reason that this course does not provide lists of set expressions but focuses instead on the dynamics between intended and inferred meaning. We have also noted that there is a close relationship between speech acts, authority and integrity. Where a speaker fails to deliver, as in the case of broken promises, empty threats or false apologies, he is seen as lacking credibility and integrity. He will lose the good faith of his audience, much as the boy who cried wolf did. This may also happen at an institutional level, where the authority granted to the powers that be may become eroded though lack of follow-through. Perceived lack of integrity comes at a high political cost.

Course outline

1. Language as Action - Context and Inference: When we agree or disagree, promise, threaten, advise and apologise, we are performing actions through language. This introductory session looks at the importance of context and inference in understanding intended meaning, especially where that meaning is expressed indirectly.
2. Building Relationships - Culture, Politeness, Face and Humour: Sensitivity to cultural and individual differences can make or break relationships. We look at the relationship between directness and discourtesy, consider the notion of ‘face’ and analyse the various ways in which indirectness is expressed in English. We then consider how trust is secured and how humour helps or hinders relationships.
3. Securing Agreement - Disagreement, Divisiveness and Reframing: We start by looking at ways of disagreeing without being disagreeable, which leads us into a discussion of arguments ad hominem and how best to defuse them. We then consider what causes divisiveness and how we can recognise linguistic warning signs. We go on to look at strategies for defusing discord, from avoiding group-think by means of a personal address, to foregrounding common denominators and expanding the circle of inclusion. We conclude with an analysis of the various strategies for framing and reframing an argument.
4. Constructive Ambiguity: Ambiguity can both create disagreement and accommodate it. We analyse the workings of constructive ambiguity, which we define as the use of ambiguity in order to advance a mutually beneficial political purpose. We focus on four types of linguistic ambiguity: (1) broad ambiguity - intentionally vague expressions and underspecified reference; (2) narrow ambiguity - either-or readings; (3) scope ambiguity - the scope of negatives, adjectival or adverbial phrases; (4) metaphor and analogy. Since all of these allow for divergent interpretation, it is important to know both how to create ambiguity where advantageous, and how to recognise and challenge it where it works against our interests.
5. Persuading through Emotion: Music, Metaphor, and Aspiration: We consider the power of musical properties of language, from refrains and alliteration to the cadence of counterbalance. We then look at metaphors in shaping thought and influencing action, and consider the force of vision and aspiration in securing emotional appeal (pathos). We conclude with a review of the role of pathos in spin and propaganda.
6. Persuading through Argument: Suggestion and Rhetoric: Suggestion involves foregrounding certain connotations and backgrounding others (as in ‘security fence’ vs. ‘apartheid wall’). We first consider the role of connotations in spinning one’s position, and the difficulties they raise for translations. We then move on to practise the classical modes of persuasion: the personal impression one makes (ethos), the style and substance of one’s argument (logos) and the workings of spin and propaganda.
7. Standing Firm: There are times when negotiators have to be tough to achieve their objectives, and when interviewees have to resist aggressive questioning. We consider methods of framing and categorisation used in assertion, then go on to analyse hard talk techniques.
8. Understanding the Unsaid: Presuppositions, Implications and Signalling: Much of the power of communication resides in what is not said explicitly. We consider both what the listener brings to an exchange (mindsets, presuppositions), and how a speaker may direct understanding (through implication and the manipulation of inference). We go on to consider how actions communicate messages non-verbally in the case of signalling. We conclude with a look at the involuntary ways in which we express our states of mind through body language.