A Word About Words

Recently in class, we learned about the power of language and how words can so easily affect our decisions. Now, I'm sitting here staring at my computer and scrounging the internet for articles that use these sneaky powers of language. I found an article immediately.

Clashes in Philadelphia as Freddie Gray Protest Neared Highway

This article briefly discusses the escalating protest in Philadelphia due to the death of Freddie Gray. The author of this article, like most authors these days, uses the power of language to give different emotions throughout his article.

We start off this article with a somewhat positive connotation through the word "skirmishes." Rather than using words such as battles or fights, which both give negative connotations, the authors used the word skirmishes, which makes the event seem less tense than it already is. The word skirmishes is the first word in the article, so we feel the immediate affect of its positive connotation.

The "skirmishes" occurring

The next word that caught my attention was the word "snarled." What do you feel or see when you hear this word? Personally, I receive a harsh and violent feeling, making me feel at unease. The word snarled was used to describe the traffic that was brought on by the demonstrators. By the author's use of this word snarled, we are given a negative view of the demonstrators. The authors also describe the demonstrators as "hurling plastic water bottles" and "shouting" at the police officers. The demonstrators are seen as very harsh and disrespectful in this article. Rather than the word hurling, the authors could have used thrown, which has a very less harsh and violent connotation.

After searching for all of the negative and positive connotations, I found a weasel word. In the article, it states, "At least one mounted police officer charged protestors in an attempt to get them to disperse." The "at least" in the very beginning of the sentence makes the amount of police men using violence seem much lower that what actually happened. When reading this, we think that only one officer charged the protestors, but after spotting the "at least," that number of charging officers could have been much more higher. This was most likely intended by the authors to give the police officers a more positive image and feeling.

The use of the power of language is used so often throughout our world of news and media. But, in respect to George Orwell's article of Politics in the English Language, the authors of this article follow it rather well. The article was short and to the point, which is a main point that Orwell argues for. The article is also very informative and doesn't use any figurative language or long complicated words, which is yet again, another point that Orwell stresses.

The power of language is a power that we all have and use on a daily bases. It is a strong power that can make millions of people love or hate you, based off of one or two words you have said. When using this power, we must use it wisely, with caution and according to Orwell, with a straightforward tone.