Language, Ideology and Political Discourse

ABSTRACT: The system of signs that we use every day and that we call language is what defines our existence and our ability to think about this very existence (Bignell, 2002, p. 07). This idea simply means that though reality exists, independently from human beings, it (reality) and the human awareness of it are shaped by language. This also means that regardless of what reality is, humans can only see what their linguistic system allows them to see. Consequently, the total power that language has over the human consciousness can be used either positively to achieve a better understanding of reality, or negatively to achieve mutilated awareness that may facilitate its use by politicians to shape public opinion. In this sense, “Aristotle makes a connection between man‟s political nature and the power of speech” as he “characterizes speech as „serving to indicate what is useful and what is harmful, and so also what is just and what is unjust‟” (Fairclough & Fairclough, 2012, p. 19). Hence, for Aristotle, the human ability to use language is related to his being a political creature that is capable of shaping reality using political discourse.
KEYWORDS: Language, Ideology, Politics, Political discourse