Emotion and language

As is discussed in class, rhetoric makes language more than a tool of communication through the balance of logos, ethos and pathos. What connects audiences and the author is pathos, the emotion conveyed through the language and felt by the audiences. The pathos, however, is not irrational sentiment that can be separated from the logic of the language. Instead, it is produced by the logos of the text, appropriate judgment of situation and the satisfaction of the audiences’ expectation. Conversely, if the language cannot meet the audiences’ expectation, misjudge the situation and is full of confusing logic, the “pet peeves” may occur and lead to the antipathy of the audiences.

First, the pathos that the author tries to convey depends on the logical and well-reasoning language. It is the logic of the language that makes senses to the audiences and connects them with the author. Intuitively, I really cannot imagine how confusing and massy language will attract readers and convey emotion. A lot of “pet peeves” are caused by the confusing logic. For example, in Geoff Nunberg’s article, he said that the word, “equation”, annoys him when it does not have anything equated and “oversimplistic” is also his pet peeves because the correct expression should be “simplistic”. Nunberg mentioned that writers may be more perverse to the accuracy of language than others, but it is a fact that everyone has some pet peeves, of which those words and sentences with obviously incorrect grammar and messy logic are the most common. Therefore, if the language is logical and well organized, the author has already avoided most the pet peeves of the audiences.

Second, the author must consider the rhetorical situation of the language. The rhetorical situation, including the opportune moments, constrains and the audiences, plays a key role in determining whether the language is accepted by audiences. For example, when writing an academic paper, the opportune moment for the author is to address an issue in his field and explain it clearly. Considering the constraints and the audiences, the author should try to make his ideas easier for audiences to understand, so choosing a non academic word to explain an academic term may be a good idea. Also, since it is academic paper, a professional and serious tone of language instead of humorous and playful style should be employed. If not, the audiences may feel that the author does not take it seriously and may dislike it.

Third, the satisfaction of audiences’ expectation determines the influence of the language. Whenever audiences are exposed to the language, there is a certain kind of expectation with them and they want the language to fulfill their expectation. The reason why Martin Luther King’s speech is so powerful and touching is that he inspires all audiences by delivering a dream with deep humanism, which not only satisfies but exceeds the expectation of audiences who suffered in racism and were eager to gain strength and hope in the speech and therefore King’s speech is loved by all. As for the political campaign, the key factor of determining success is whether the candidate satisfies the voters. President Obama is a success because he understands the expectation of voters, who calls for changes in this country, and he delivers many speeches about transformations in the financial system and health care system. Therefore he builds a connection between him and voters and wins their hearts.

Overall, in order to build a connection between audiences and the author, the logos must be addressed to avoid the pet peeves of audiences; the situation must be emphasized or it would arouse the antipathy of audiences; the expectation of audiences should be fulfilled so that audiences can accept the language.