ABSTRACT
Two issues are explored related to ethics and language. First, this chapter will survey scholarship related to language and ethics in public speaking, and how figurative language such as metaphor, vivid language, and hyperbole are used by speakers to enhance presentations by helping audiences understand complicated concepts and evoke emotion. Second, as the public increasingly encounters inflammatory rhetoric in the public sphere, a gap exists in what is covered in areas of teaching/learning and what is currently occurring in public spaces. This chapter argues how linguistic devices can contribute to uncivil discourse and create ethical questions, which are well-suited to exploration, and offers suggestions for future research in these areas.
