Emotive conjugation

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.[1] 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,[2] citing the examples:[3]

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[3] can lend false support to an argument by obscuring a fallacy of meaning. The inherent incongruity also lends itself to humor,[4] as employed by Bernard Woolley in the BBC television series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister:[5][6]

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 Act.

References

  1. ^ Ralph Henry Johnson, J. Anthony Blair (2006). Logical self-defense. p. 160 "The Freeloading Term". ISBN 9781932716184. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ojNbr4vYooQC&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160. 
  2. ^ Robert Audi, ed (1999). Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 223. ISBN 9780521631365. 
  3. ^ a b Douglas N. Walton (2006). Fundamentals of critical argumentation. Cambridge University Press. p. 220. ISBN 9780521823197. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BpRUGM8nOdwC&pg=PA220&lpg=PA220. 
  4. ^ Antony J. Chapman, Hugh C. Foot (1996). Humor and laughter: theory, research, and applications. p. 86. ISBN 9781560008378. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FSgteXd9HJUC&pg=PA86&lpg=PA86. 
  5. ^ Jonathan Lynn, Antony Jay (1984). The Complete Yes Minister. BBC Books. ISBN 0563206659. 
  6. ^ Jonathan Lynn, Antony Jay (1989). The Complete Yes Prime Minister. BBC Books. ISBN 0563207736. 

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