Language | AAN.org

Obama Needs to Talk Tougher on Abortionnew

It's not that Obama doesn’t have sound bites. It's that he's got to lead with the right ones before he delves into the complexity of framing an issue -- and he needs better ones on abortion.

San Diego CityBeat | D.A. Kolodenko | 08-27-2008 | Commentary

Tags: 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama, John McCain, media, Abortion, language

How to Talk to a Tranny (Yes, Even This Headline Would be Considered Offensive)new

Terms commonly used to describe transgender men and women fall into a gray area. Is it okay to call someone a transvestite? How do you determine a transgender person's preferred pronoun -- he or she -- without being offensive?

The Memphis Flyer | Bianca Phillips | 07-25-2008 | Sex

Tags: transgender, language, sex & reproductive issues

George Carlin Showed Us the Importance of Being Offensivenew

Shit. Piss. Fuck. Cunt. Cocksucker. Motherfucker. Tits. I can think of hundreds of words more offensive than these in the English language: Lie. Murder. War. Politics. Fundamentalism. Apathy. O'Reilly.

Boulder Weekly | Dale Bridges | 06-30-2008 | Commentary

Tags: censorship, language, George Carlin, seven dirty words

Too Many Journalists are Just Genetically Modified Mouthpiecesnew

In 2003, when I was working as an anchor for a San Francisco TV station, newscasters and reporters across the country were asked by the White House to refer to the Iraqi invasion as Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). We were asked to call the war in Afghanistan Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). With press releases in hand, journalists repeated genetically modified words as if their DNA depended upon it.

San Francisco Bay Guardian | Leslie Griffith | 06-11-2008 | Media

Tags: Iraq, War on terror, journalism, media, Afghanistan, language, war & peace, rhetoric, public relations

Choice Words: How We Talk When We Talk About Politicsnew

We asked 2,500 Texas Democratic primary voters participants two open-ended questions about their preferences. By analyzing the words people used to answer the questions, we were able to see how supporters of the different candidates are psychologically different. We also see the similiarities between the rhetoric of the campaigns and the language of their supporters.

The Texas Observer | James W. Pennebaker | 05-30-2008 | Politics

Tags: 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, language, rhetoric

Lesbians vs. Lesbians: Who Owns the 'L' Word?new

Lesbians, the only reason you just got a capital "L" is because you started the sentence, but henceforth you are lesbians with a lower case "l." When I write Lesbians with a capital "L," I am referring to the good citizens of the Aegean island of Lesbos, a few of whom are suing your asses for stealing their name.

San Diego CityBeat | D.A. Kolodenko | 05-08-2008 | Commentary

Tags: lesbians, language, Lesbos