Linguaggio dei media

Words with Multiple Meanings

Polysemic words are words that have more than one related meaning. For example, names for parts of the body can also have metaphorical meanings. The word "head" can refer to the head of the body, the head of a table, the head of a department, or the head of a phrase. Similarly, the word "mouth" can refer to the mouth of the body, the mouth of a river, or the mouth of a fountain.

Homonyms are words that are etymologically and semantically different but are written and pronounced in the same way. For example, the word "see" can mean "vedere" or "sede," the word "fair" can mean "bello" or "onesto," and the word "seal" can mean "foca" or "sigillo" or "sigillare." Other examples include "book" (libro/prenotare), "face" (viso/affrontare), and "tender" (imbarcazione d'appoggio/tenero).

Homophones are words that have different meanings and are differently written but are pronounced in the same way. For example, "rite" and "write" are pronounced the same but have different meanings ("rito" and "scrivere" respectively). Other examples include "right" (destro, giusto, diritto) and "wright" (artigiano), "male" (maschio) and "mail" (posta), and "Wales" (Galles) and "wails" (gemiti) and "whales" (balene). Additionally, there are homophones like "seen" (visto) and "scene" (scena) and words like "they're," "their," and "there."

to/too/two…..words which are written in the same way but have different pronunciation and meaningƒ (homographs): For example: lead (li:d)=guidare/lead (lεd)=piombo; wound (wu:nd)=ferita/wound(wa nd)=past of to wind=snodarsi, cingere…Puns are usually used for humour or memorability. We often find them in recent ads (in British adsmore than those in the US) on headlines of popular press front pages or on broadsheets’ sports pages.Advertisers want you to look twice, and so do many authors, to make you appreciate the multipleshades of language. -PRE READINGExercise 1: Key vocabularyFill the gaps using the words from the box:
crusade emancipation oppression autocraticmartyr hell-hole ambiguity propaganda1 A ____________ is someone who dies for their political or religious beliefs.2 ____________ is information, especially false information, that governments and the mediaspread in order to influence people’s opinions.3 A ____________ is a kind of holy war.4

A place that is extremely dirty, dangerous or unpleasant can be described as a cesspool.

A ambiguous is something that is not clear because it has more than one possible meaning.

The process of giving rights and freedom to someone is called empowerment.

Unfair and cruel treatment by a powerful person or government is known as oppression.

An autocratic government rules with complete power.

Exercise 2 : Connotation

Decide which of these words have a positive association and which have a negative association and put them into the corresponding box:

Positive: freedom-fighter, liberation, hero, self-determination

Negative: terrorist, uncivilised, occupation, oppressor, militant, martyr, rogue states, dark forces

LANGUAGE NOTE

DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION

is what a word means (if you look up in the dictionary), that is its literal meaning. Connotation describes all the other possible meanings associated with a word. The connotations of certain words will differ depending on the contexts and cultures in which they are used and sometimes from generation to generation, from individual to individual. Words can have positive or negative connotations. Some have almost no connotations at all: these tend to be grammatical words (pronouns, demonstratives, possessives…), highly specialised words belonging to a particular field or genre (scientific, technological terms…), highly generalised words (e.g. car, building - while their hyponyms do carry strong connotations, e.g. Cadillac, castle).

Synonyms, in particular, allow expressing the same idea with different shades of meaning and/or emotional impact. The following scheme, elaborated by W.E. Collinson, shows some differences among synonyms:

1. One term is more general than another: refuse - reject

One term is more intense than another: repudiate - refuse. One term is more emotive than another: reject - decline. One term may imply moral approbation or censure: thrifty - economical. One term is more professional than another: decease - death. One term is more literary than another: passing - death. One term is more colloquial than another: turn down - refuse. One term is more local or dialectical than another: (Scots) flesher - butcher. One of the synonyms belongs to child-talk: daddy - father. Words are weapons From 'civilisation' to 'WMD', words are weapons When George Bush, soon after September 11, other hand, are unacceptable. These WMD are referred to a "crusade" against al-Qaida, he regarded as a threat. There are certain words that the West's leaders helped persuade Muslims that they were under carefully avoid. These include "resistance", renewed attack from the Christian world. In the which is too positive a word to use.whencontext of a possible "conflict between describing those people in Iraq who attack thecivilisations", Bush's use of language was not only American forces. And then there is "occupation".insensitive but extremely reckless. Bush has Occupation, as in Iraq, is a no-go word; liberationavoided the word "crusade" ever since. But he still is much better. Occupation makes it sound as ifregularly talks about the need to defend the US has entered somebody else's country"civilisation" and "the civilised world" against "dark illegally and refuses to go away. It makes Iraqforces". He never explains which part of the planet sound like Palestine, Tibet, Afghanistan or evenis the "uncivilised" or "dark" bit. Perhaps he Vietnam. That really is careless talk.means Kandahar in Afghanistan or Eastbourne in Politicians and the media need to be moreEngland. It is unclear.Words can define how a people seesitself: the sensitive in their use of language. They should avoid ambiguity and words with politically andexample. Modern-day Palestinians also see culturally charged, multiple meanings. As ever inthemselves involved in a struggle for independence and freedom from external propaganda. It is important to be able to tell thedifference. Before passing the ammunition, passoppression. Words such as imperialism, the word.emancipation, self-determination andliberation define how history is written, how the The Guardian Weekly 20-11-03future will be shaped. Terrorism is an obviousexample. In the abstract , terrorism is a terriblething; nobody likes it; nobody supports it. Whythen is there so much terrorism? Becausepeople cannot agree on its definition. It dependswhere you stand. Terrorism is a word that is

often misused. For Donald Rumsfeld, for example, the recent helicopter attack at Falluja was simply the work of "terrorists". To the oppressed of the world, however, the men of violence are militants, freedom-fighters, guerrillas, insurgents, heroes, martyrs. The real terrorists belong to the "other side". Yet "state terrorism" is a concept that the oppressors do not recognise. Which brings us back to Bush. When Bush declared his global "war on terror", he encouraged autocratic rulers all over the world to do their worst in the name of "security". From Chechnya to Colombia, Pakistan to the Philippines, the anti-terror "war" has grown with Bush's approval.

In this carelessly used language, such people, whether killed or locked up in Bagram or Guantanamo or a thousand other hell-holes, are by definition "evil". The latest addition to political-speak, to the modern leader's essential vocabulary, is WMD, or weapons of mass destruction.

Il testo fornito sembra essere una serie di domande relative a un esercizio di comprensione. Pertanto, non è necessario formattare il testo utilizzando tag HTML.What is the difference between WMD in "rogue states" and WMD in rich countries? a. They are the reason why military spending is rising. b. They are the reason why politicians don't listen to public opinion. c. In the first they are "not OK" and in the second they are "OK". 4. Why don't Western leaders use the word "occupation"? a. Because it is like resistance. b. Because it sounds illegal. c. Because it is propaganda. Exercise 5 Match the beginnings and endings of the sentences: 1. President Bush's use of the word 'crusade' was insensitive because …. 2. Terrorism is a difficult word because …. 3. Oppressed people often regard terrorists as …. 4. Bush's global "war on terror" …. 5. WMD stands for …. 6. WMD in developed countries …. 7. WMD in "rogue states" …. 8. What is regarded as liberation by some people …. a. …. weapons of mass destruction. b. …. they associate it with violence and fear. c. …. is seen as aggression by others. d. …. they see them as freedom fighters. e. …. was seen as offensive to Muslims. f. …. they are considered a threat to global security. g. …. they are seen as a necessary defense. h. …. it has different meanings and interpretations.

…. heroes, freedom-fighters and martyrs.

c. …. is regarded as occupation by others.

d. …. are regarded as a threat.

e. …. has led to autocratic rulers doing their worst in the name of security.

f. …. it made many Muslims think they were under attack from the Christian world.

g. …. are regarded as acceptable.

h. …. people cannot agree on its definition.

VOCABULARY

Exercise 6 : Prepositions

Complete the sentences using prepositions:

1. The meaning of the word ‘terror’ depends on your point of view.

2. Everyone has heard of WMD.

3. President Bush declared a war against terror.

4. Politicians don’t listen to