narrative; graphic

Jonathan Lighter wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
Thu Sep 22 13:06:45 UTC 2011 

Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi tells CNN that there needs to be "a
Palestinian narrative."

Ashrawi holds a doctorate in Medieval and Comparative Literature from the
University of Virginia.

 Clearly, it is cool for the highly educated to say "narrative."

JL

On Wed, Sep 21, 2011 at 11:27 AM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: narrative; graphic
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Sharif El-Gamal, developer of the Park51 Islamic Center (or "Ground-Zero
> Mosque" if you're into melodrama) appeared on CNN this morning saying that
> behind his decision to build the Center was a desire to "reclaim our
> narrative" from "criminals and murderers" who were distorting Islam.
>
> "Narrative" here seems to mean something like "tradition and publicly
> recognized identity," but it's pretty murky to me.
>
> Google reveals a few thousand "reclaim the narratives," usually in the
> sens=
> e
> of "regain control of the debate"  Ex.:
>
>
> http://desertbeacon.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/reclaim-the-narrative-social-s=
> ecurity-is-not-going-broke/
>
> "Reclaim the narrative: Social Security Is NOT Going Broke! The radical
> right has made some significant gains in setting the narrative for
> discussing =93entitlement=94 programs."
> Not quite the same sense of "narrative" to be "reclaimed" as El-Gamal's.
> Watch this space.
>
> JL
>
> On Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 3:36 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> >w=
> rote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: narrative; graphic
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> >
> > I
> >
> > An eyewitness to the crash of a WWII fighter plane into the stands at the
> > Reno Air Races tells CNN that the sight was terrible. In fact, "It was
> > graphic."
> >
> > II
> >
> > In reporting the incident, a CNN correspondent explains that "a narrative
> > is
> > emerging that the pilot" may have tried to bank the plane away from the
> > stands.  The semantic point here is that, right now, no one knows if
> that=
> 's
> > true or not, and they may never know. It's just a "narrative."
> >
> > Of course, the reporter may simply have been thinking of "story," but a
> > "news story" is supposedly factual, and an "unfounded rumor" not worth
> > reporting in this case.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 9:34 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com>
> wrote=
> :
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: narrative; graphic
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> > >
> > > I think you are overstating the cynicism in its current usage. I was
> > > watching TV yesterday, and heard it used on the program "Necessary
> > > Roughness" to mean something close to 'my story', as something one
> > > will tell others about an incident.
> > >
> > > DanG
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 10:33 AM, Jonathan Lighter
> > > <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > > Subject:      Re: narrative; graphic
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> > > >
> > > > And nobody says, "That's my narrative, and I'm sticking to it!"
> > > >
> > > > Yet. But it wouldn't be funny if they did, because it would be an
> > obvious
> > > > admission of craft, unlike the potentially ambiguous "story."  Any
> > guilty
> > > > moron might say, "That's my story...," but only an
> > > > unapologetic political operator with an advanced degree would say,
> > > "That's
> > > > my narrative...."
> > > >
> > > > JL
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 10:21 AM, Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu>
> > wrote:
> > > >
> > > >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > >> -----------------------
> > > >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > >> Poster:       Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> > > >> Subject:      Re: narrative; graphic
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> > > >>
> > > >> As when PR specialists or damage-control experts or criminal lawyers
> > and
> > > >> their clients meet to "decide on a narrative."
> > > >>
> > > >> --Charlie
> > > >>
> > > >> ________________________________________
> > > >> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf
> of
> > > >> Jonathan Lighter [wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM]
> > > >> Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2011 10:02 AM
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> Garson, my feeling is that that's a transitional case. In other
> word=
> s,
> > > in
> > > >> 1994 no one would have noticed it. That "great narrative" I take to
> > mean
> > > >> the
> > > >> "grand story," even if biased.  And it refers chiefly to the past.
> > > >>
> > > >> In current usage, "their narrative" or "the narrative" usually
> refer=
> s
> > to
> > > >> some cynical, partisan version of events, including events current
> a=
> nd
> > > >> hoped-for. It's more like, "the half-truths they're feeding the
> > > suckers."
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> JL
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 6:59 PM, Garson O'Toole <
> > > adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com
> > > >> >wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > >> > -----------------------
> > > >> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > >> > Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> > > >> > Subject:      Re: narrative; graphic
> > > >> >
> > > >> >
> > > >>
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> > > >> >
> > > >> > Jonathan Lighter wrote
> > > >> > > Tea Party theorist Dana Loesch on CNN today:
> > > >> > >
> > > >> > > "There are also three credit agencies that have already
> downgrad=
> ed
> > > our
> > > >> > > credit rating. But you never hear about it because it's not part
> > of
> > > the
> > > >> > > narrative. [The downgrades were] based on [Obama's] big
> spending=
> ."
> > > >> >
> > > >> > Here is a similar example, in my opinion, that uses the phrase
> "no=
> t
> > > >> > part of the great narrative" in 1994.
> > > >> >
> > > >> > New York Times
> > > >> > CHILDREN'S BOOKS; The New History: Showing Children the Dark Side
> > > >> > By Martha Saxton
> > > >> > Published: November 13, 1994
> > > >> >
> > > >> > http://goo.gl/4PahY
> > > >> >
> > > >> >
> > > >>
> > >
> >
> http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/13/books/children-s-books-the-new-history-=
> showing-children-the-dark-side.html
> > > >> >
> > > >> > As long as women and blacks, American Indians, Asian-Americans and
> > > >> > others were not part of history, then what white men did to them
> w=
> as
> > > >> > not part of the great narrative of the nation. Now that all of our
> > > >> > pasts figure in our history, however, tragedy is never too distant
> > and
> > > >> > celebration must share its place with reconciliation in the
> storie=
> s
> > we
> > > >> > teach.
> > > >> >
> > > >> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > >> >
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> --
> > > >> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > > truth."
> > > >>
> > > >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > >>
> > > >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > >>
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > > truth."
> > > >
> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > >
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth=
> ."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
> --=20
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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