Language and Its Crisis in the Post-Truth Era

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.05.009

Abstract

Abstract:

The word“post-truth”has remained its popularity in fields of politics and communication since it became word of the year of Oxford Dictionary. Language constitutes an important dimension of post-truth research given its use as a medium for spreading truth and ideology. The article traces how “post-truth” came into being as a buzzword and evaluates the role language plays in presenting or misinterpreting “truth”. The overuse of rhetoric by public speakers and the powerful effect of media on our emotions lead to the spread of post-truth and the declining of confidence in language. Attributing to the crisis is the manipulation of language in communication, the abuse of it in mass media, and the generational language gap brought by new media. The author holds that the truth and aesthetic value of language can be maintained only with a genuine commitment to language itself and the proper use of it.

Key words: post-truth, truth, language, social media

CLC Number:

H0-0

LIN Yi. Language and Its Crisis in the Post-Truth Era[J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2022, 22(5): 80-87.

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