The New Peace Linguistics and the Role of Language in Conflict

By:
Andy Curtis, Anaheim University

A volume in the series: Peace Education. Editor(s): Laura L. Finley, Barry University.

Published 2022

The idea of Peace Linguistics (PL) has been around for decades. However, the practice of PL has only occurred much more recently, only within the last few years, since the first creditbearing, university-level PL course was taught at Brigham Young University-Hawaii in 2017. Since then, the field of NPL has grown beyond its original goals, of using peaceful language and language that avoids or de-escalates conflict. The New Peace Linguistics (NPL) focuses on in-depth, systematic analyses of the spoken and written language of some of the most powerful people in the world, such as presidents of the USA, as it is they who have the power to start wars or to bring peace. As the first book to be published on PL and on NPL, this work represents a ground-breaking study of the power of language to hurt and harm or to help and give hope.

The first four chapters of the book, which provide the foundation on which the rest of the book is built, introduce the concept of Peace Linguistics and the New Peace Linguistics, starting with the origins of PL and coming to the present day. The remaining Part Two and Part Three chapters present in-depth, systematic NPL analyses of George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell, Barack H. Obama, Donald J. Trump and Joseph R. Biden. The concluding chapter reiterates the most important distinguishing and recurring features of NPL, and looks at where the field may be headed in the future.

CONTENTS
Abbreviations. Acknowledgments. PART I: INTRODUCING PEACE LINGUISTICS AND THE NEW PEACE LINGUISTICS CHAPTER 1: Introduction and Overview. CHAPTER 2: Language and Conflict: The Heart of the Matter. CHAPTER 3: Peace Linguistics: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and Why It Matters. CHAPTER 4: The “New” Peace Linguistics: How New or New How? PART II: NEW PEACE LINGUISTICS ANALYSES OF THE LANGUAGE OF GEORGE W. BUSH, COLIN L. POWELL, AND BARACK H. OBAMA CHAPTER 5: Othering, Justifying, and Denying. CHAPTER 6: Compacting Meaning, Audience Relations, Using Narrative and Strategic Substitution. CHAPTER 7: Uses of Echoing, Medical and Military Metaphors, Warist Discourse, and Re-Presentations of History. PART III: NEW PEACE LINGUISTICS ANALYSES OF THE LANGUAGE OF DONALD J. TRUMP AND JOSEPH R. BIDEN CHAPTER 8: Manipulating Not Communicating: Bending and Breaking the Rules. CHAPTER 9: Using Language to Manipulate, Misrepresent, and Misinform. CHAPTER 10: “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword”: Warring Words in Writing. CHAPTER 11: Fear-Mongering and Feeding Off the Fear. CHAPTER 12: Calling for Unity, Recognizing Wrongs, and Promising Positive Change. CHAPTER 13: The New Peace Linguistics: Looking Back, Looking Forward. A: Books on Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Peace Studies, and Peace Education. B: Official Transcripts. References. About the Author.