New Labour, New Language?

by Norman Fairclough

Overview

This is a book about the politics of New Labour that focuses on language. Fairclough gets behind the rhetoric to uncover the real meaning. He examines a wide range of political speeches and texts, from Tony Blair's speech following the death of Diana to the 1997 Labour Party Manifesto and Bill Clinton's book Between Hope and History. New Labour, New Language? blows open the whole debate on the nature of the political discourse of New Labour and the 'Third Way'.
Written in a clear, non-technical style and including a glossary, New Labour, New Language? will appeal to anyone interested in language and politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134601615
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/04/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	338 KB

About the Author

Norman Fairclough is Professor of Language in Social Life at Lancaster University and author of many books, including Language and Power (Longman, 1989).

Table of Contents

Preface: bin the spin!, Acknowledgements, New Labour, new language? An introduction, 1 The ‘Third Way’: the political discourse of New Labour, 2 The language of ‘social exclusion’, 3 The making of the language of New Labour, 4 The rhetorical style of Tony Blair, 5 The language of government, 6 Rhetoric and reality: Kosovo, Glossary, Notes, Sources, References, Index

Editorial Reviews

'The book is an interesting contribution to the study of contemporary politics.' - Politcal Studies

‘Fairclough's book, New Labour New Language? is probably unlikely to form part of the staple reading of the speechwriting team within No 10 - but that seems a pity since they could almost certainly learn from it." - Anthony Howard, The Times

'an excellent example of how to make academic expertise accessible and informative' - Times Higher

‘A skilled analysis of the art of Blairite rhetoric." - The Telegraph

'This is a real book. Not written by a spin doctor. Read it and worry. Read it and hope.' - Ted Honderich, The Guardian

'The terrifying thing for New Labour is not that clever people can decode its language, but that the louder it shouts, the less we all listen. In a world in love with the new, 'new' fast becomes old.' - Andrew Marr, The Observer

'Cut through this spin, unravel the rhetoric and dismantle the semantic heart of New Labour...Hapless Tory leader could do worse than invest in a copy of Fairclough's book.' - Big Issue

From the Publisher