On AlterNet: language

Stories, blog posts, and videos tagged as "language"

Sucker: How Cable Companies Make You Pay For Channels You'll Never Watch

Stephen Pizzo, Smirking Chimp. January 13, 2012.

Even though anti-trust laws say cable companies can't coordinate their business plans, they do.

"Illegal Immigrant" or "Undocumented Worker"? What Ethnic Media Says About The Implications of Language

Elena Shore, New America Media. September 26, 2011.

The AP Stylebook prefers "illegal immigrant," but the National Association of Hispanic Journalists advocates the term "undocumented immigrant."

How Conservatives Manipulate Language to Gain Power

Sam Uretsky, Progressive Populist. June 16, 2011.

Conservatives, the modern version anyway, aren’t good for much, but they retain a marvelous talent for manipulating language.

How Our Empire Crushes Opposition

Chris Hedges, Truthdig. February 7, 2011.

The corporate state does not have a Politburo. It does not dress its Homeland Security agents in jackboots. There is no raving dictator.

Immigration Debate: Press One For Culture War In English

Douglas Rivlin, NewsJunkiePost.com. March 26, 2010.

Anxiety about immigrants, immigration, and therefore immigration reform, tends to revolve around three broad categories of concern: economics, security, and culture.

The New York Times Embraces 'Douche' as the Television Dirty Word of the Moment

Don Hazen, AlterNet. November 16, 2009.

The NY Times has just discovered that "douche" is used as an insult in mainstream media. Why do they seem to see the spread of a term derogatory to women as progress?

7 Reasons Why Obama's Speeches Are So Powerful

George Lakoff, AlterNet. February 24, 2009.

The president is using his enormous skills as a communicator to express a moral framework.

Conservatives are Livid: Obama Printed Flyers for Speech in Germany IN GERMAN!

Gavin M, Sadly, No! AlterNet: PEEK. July 24, 2008.

How dare a presidential candidate have the audacity to use any other language than American? Ever?!

English Only: The Language Wars Flare Up Again

Ruben Navarrette, Washington Post Writers Group. July 9, 2008.

Debates over language reflect the anxiety that some people feel about America's changing cultural landscape.

He's a Stud, She's a Slut: The Sexual Double Standard

Jessica Valenti, Seal Press. May 30, 2008.

"Slut" is applied to women engaged in any activity besides knitting, praying, or sitting perfectly still lest any sudden movements be deemed whorish.

"Boy" Is An Insult In The South

Amanda Marcotte, Pandagon AlterNet: PEEK. April 16, 2008.

And don't let Southerners deceive you on this point.

Fighting Words: How to Humiliate -- and Convert -- a Right-Winger

John Dolan, AlterNet. March 25, 2008.

Drop the condescending "populist" talk and get mean.

The Rise and Fall of Immigration Reform: Language Had Everything to Do with It

Drew Westen, Huffington Post. July 10, 2007.

When we are figuring out how to talk about immigration, we should listen to what Lyndon Johnson said in 1965 that convinced Congress to enact civil rights legislation.

Take the Quiz on the Bush Administration's War of the Words

Tom Engelhardt, deleted, TomDispatch.com. June 18, 2007.

From "mission accomplished" through those endless "turning points" and "the precipice," American officials in Baghdad and Washington haven't been sparing with the use of images or analogies. Can you pass the War of the Words quiz?

Words to Die For: The Devil's Dictionary in Iraq

Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com. April 25, 2007.

The administration's language for the President's plan in Baghdad creates a "new" plan out of ancient, failed strategies, ignores some of Iraq's recent horrendous past, and strips us of our responsibility for it.