Emotive conjugation
Encyclopedia
In rhetoric
, emotive or emotional conjugation mimics the form of a grammatical conjugation
of an irregular verb
to illustrate humans' tendency to describe their own behavior more charitably than the behavior of others. It is often called the Russell conjugation in honour of philosopher Bertrand Russell
who expounded the concept in 1948 on the BBC Radio
programme The Brains Trust
, citing the examples:
Used seriously, such loaded language
can lend false support to an argument by obscuring a fallacy
of meaning. The inherent incongruity also lends itself to humor, as employed by Bernard Woolley
in the BBC television
series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister
:
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
, emotive or emotional conjugation mimics the form of a grammatical conjugation
Grammatical conjugation
In linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection . Conjugation may be affected by person, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, voice, or other grammatical categories...
of an irregular verb
Irregular verb
In contrast to regular verbs, irregular verbs are those verbs that fall outside the standard patterns of conjugation in the languages in which they occur. The idea of an irregular verb is important in second language acquisition, where the verb paradigms of a foreign language are learned...
to illustrate humans' tendency to describe their own behavior more charitably than the behavior of others. It is often called the Russell conjugation in honour of philosopher Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
who expounded the concept in 1948 on the BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
programme The Brains Trust
The Brains Trust
The Brains Trust was a popular informational BBC radio and later television programme in the United Kingdom during the 1940s and 50s.- History :...
, citing the examples:
I am firm, You are obstinate, He is a pig-headed fool.
I am righteously indignant, you are annoyed, he is making a fuss over nothing.
I have reconsidered the matter, you have changed your mind, he has gone back on his word.
Used seriously, such loaded language
Loaded language
In rhetoric, loaded language is wording that attempts to influence the certain audience by using to emotion....
can lend false support to an argument by obscuring a fallacy
Fallacy
In logic and rhetoric, a fallacy is usually an incorrect argumentation in reasoning resulting in a misconception or presumption. By accident or design, fallacies may exploit emotional triggers in the listener or interlocutor , or take advantage of social relationships between people...
of meaning. The inherent incongruity also lends itself to humor, as employed by Bernard Woolley
Bernard Woolley
Sir Bernard Woolley GCB is one of the three main fictional characters of the 1980s British sitcom Yes Minister and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. He was portrayed by Derek Fowlds.-Character:...
in the BBC television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister
Yes Minister
Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
:
It's one of those irregular verbs, isn't it?
I have an independent mind, You are eccentric, He is round the twist.
That's another of those irregular verbs, isn't it?
I give confidential briefings, You leak, He's been charged under section 2a of the Official Secrets ActOfficial Secrets ActThe Official Secrets Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Malaysia and formerly in New Zealand for legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security.-United Kingdom:*The Official Secrets...
.