ABSTRACT
It is likely to be the case that any attempt to communicate clearly, effectively, impressively, will always be dogged by the spectre of polysemy. Perhaps all texts are polysemic, perhaps all texts are ambiguous. But there is, even with the most inept attempt at communication, a sense in which we can discern whether or not someone is telling the truth, or is putting us on. Or can we? And what exactly is the status of a text if it’s written by one person and delivered by another (as is the case with most politicians). Whilst we would commend Alan Bryman’s advice to you (Extract 52 below) we also feel duty bound to point out that trying to intoxicate an audience with rhetoric always ends in disappointment – or fascism. Two cars in every garage, three eyes on every fish.
