Nunberg – Going Nucular

Book page: nunberg-going-nucular

From: Quotes batch 16

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Concept

“Language is a political battlefield where the ‘mispronunciation’ of a word can be used to signal class and ideology.” (p. 8)

Behavior

“The way we use slang is a social behavior intended to mark the boundaries of our ‘in-group’ and exclude the ‘out-group’.” (p. 56)

Game Theory

“Political rhetoric is a game of framing; whoever defines the terms of the debate has already won the argument.” (p. 114)

Cognition

“The words we use to describe a problem often limit our cognitive ability to envision a solution.” (p. 182)

Memory

“Collective memory is shaped by the phrases that stick—the linguistic ‘sound bites’ that survive the news cycle.” (p. 240)