Persuasión lingüística, terrorismo y prensa escrita

• Main Author: Luis Veres
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Temps, Espaces, Langages, Europe Méridionale-Méditerranée (TELEMME) 2004-01-01
• Series: El Argonauta Español
• Subjects: terrorism; ETA; political vocabulary; Present Time
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/argonauta/1151

Terrorism, originated in the 20th century, is one of the major issues developed societies have to cope with. The different terrorist groups, which appeared in the world, question the main society model without offering any real alternative. In democratic societies, terrorism is unacceptable. For this reason, mass media have to use all their resources to fight against terrorism, in order to defend democratic values. Ethically, this situation generates questions about the role of the informant and his working tool: language. In many cases, words and phrases such as « truce », « violence », « the use of force », « the armed fight », « operation » or « to execute » have a meaning which does not express the values that they are supposed to transmit. This article analyzes the linguistic use of these terms, taking into acount its ethical implication.