If language is important - as it surely is - then the motives and attitudes and intentions of the person choosing and using the language must also be significant. Context is crucial. The psychology of the speaker is as much part of the context as the setting and has to be considered along with other factors, such as the occasion, the venue and the audience.
Malcolm Rifkind (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Whether or not Jack Straw and Malcolm Rifkind have been guilty of wrongdoing according to the evidently rather lax standards which British politicians require of themselves is a matter to be decided by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. But the very fact that they so much as met with what they … Continue reading Crumbling feet of clay
Peter A Bell 