English as Lingua Franca: Double Talk in Global Persuasion

Karin Dovring

Jul 1997 · Greenwood Publishing Group

About this ebook

As an international language, English has facilitated the sharing of information. But when it comes to communication, specifically political communication, Dovring argues that the type of English that is used leads to misunderstandings, political double entendre, and the subtle manipulation of public opinion. President Kennedy was one of the first to face this problem when he negotiated with Khrushchev in the 1960s. He encountered an English where familiar words were used with new or dubious meanings in order to point toward certain political goals. This Bodysnatched English is the subject of Dovring's study. A communications analyst, Dovring examines the use, influence, and political environment where Bodysnatched English has appeared. She points out the often neglected fact that communication is an art, performed to perfection by politicians acting on the public stage. She analyzes recent political communications, including the words of Reagan, Clinton, Gorbachev, Khrushchev, and Qadafi.

About the author

KARIN DOVRING is a communications analyst. Born and raised in Sweden, she worked as a journalist in Europe and was for many years an associate of Harold Lasswell of Yale Law School. She has published several books, including Road of Propaganda. She is also a poet with three published collections and was recently elected into the International Poetry Hall of Fame by the National Library of Poetry.