ABSTRACT
Scholars working in sometimes very different academic traditions have investigated the details and particulars of the use of language in those situations which we, often informally and intuitively, call ‘political’. Both Critical Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis have changed the view of language as an essentially transparent and neutral medium by concentrating on topics that are thought to be of particular socio-political relevance. People are not just passive recipients of politics. Many people seem to have developed a general feeling of distrust in the ability of political institutions and the state to deal effectively with public problems, particularly in the current late modern climate. The organization of public life around lifestyle-oriented service and consumer activities has also shaped conceptions of political representation. Presupposition and implicature are of course not just used in political discourse; they are also common in everyday conversations. Metaphor has long been recognized as an important feature of political rhetoric.
