Sold on Language (PDF)

As citizens of capitalist, free-market societies, we tend to
celebrate choice and competition. However, in the 21st
century, as we have gained more and more choices, we have also
become greater targets for persuasive messages from advertisers who
want to make those choices for us.

In Sold on Language, noted language scientists Julie
Sedivy and Greg Carlson examine how rampant competition shapes the
ways in which commercial and political advertisers speak to us. In
an environment saturated with information, advertising messages
attempt to compress as much persuasive power into as small a
linguistic space as possible. These messages, the authors reveal,
might take the form of a brand name whose sound evokes a certain
impression, a turn of phrase that gently applies peer pressure, or
a subtle accent that zeroes in on a target audience. As more and
more techniques of persuasion are aimed squarely at the corner of
our mind which automatically takes in information without conscious
thought or deliberation, does 'endless choice' actually mean the
end of true choice?

Sold on Language offers thought-provoking insights into
the choices we make as consumers and citizens - and the
choices that are increasingly being made for us.

Click here for more discussion and debate on the authors'
blog:

href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sold-language">http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sold-language

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