Ideology and the Language of Human Rights: Language, Text, and Ideology in Amnesty International Appeal Letters - Hardcover

Gerald Delahunty

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1009635611 ISBN 13: 9781009635615

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2026

Synopsis

It is crucial to apply robust analytic methods to the study of discourses deemed 'ideological'. This book applies the Guidelines and Procedures for ideological research, as presented in Verschueren's Ideology in Language Use, to an exciting new area of study; discourses intended to improve humanity. It analyses the discourse of Amnesty International appeal letters, to show (contrary to what the field of critical discourse analysis often assumes) that ideological discourse can sometimes have a positive, rather than a negative, agenda. It explores how Amnesty's choice of words, sentence structures, speech acts, and other discourse elements, enact its ideological meanings, functions, frames of reference and interpretation, as well as the social, interactional, and ideological positioning of discourse participants in its reports, communications, and appeals. These findings have wider implications not only for the field of discourse analysis, but also for theories within pragmatics, such as speech act theory and (im)politeness.

About this title

About the Author

Gerald Delahunty is Professor of Linguistics at Colorado State University. He teaches a broad array of linguistics and applied linguistics topics, and on language, law, and justice. He has published his research on syntax, semantics, discourse analysis, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, ideology, and Irish landscapes and archaeology.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009635611
• ISBN 13: 9781009635615
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240