37.2482, Books: Ideology and the Language of Human Rights: Delahunty (2026)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-2482. Fri Jul 24 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.2482, Books: Ideology and the Language of Human Rights: Delahunty (2026)

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Date: 21-Jul-2026
From: Ellena Moriarty [rfsupport at cambridge.org]
Subject: Ideology and the Language of Human Rights: Delahunty (2026)


Title: Ideology and the Language of Human Rights
Subtitle: Language, Text, and Ideology in Amnesty International Appeal
Letters
Publication Year: 2026

Publisher: Cambridge University Press
           http://www.cambridge.org/linguistics

Author(s): Gerald Delahunty

Hardback ISBN:  9781009635615 Pages:  318 Price: U.K. £ 105.00
Hardback ISBN:  9781009635615 Pages:  318 Price: Europe EURO 122.55
Hardback ISBN:  9781009635615 Pages:  318 Price: U.S. $ 140.00

Abstract:

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.

Written In: English (eng, stan1293)



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