5.1 The Battle for Univocality/Clarity in Politics

Rhetoric with Latin Studies, Linguistics, Psychology and Legal Studies

In parliamentary controversies, political propaganda, and political scandals, partisan strategies of obfuscation and embellishment regularly contend with strategies of clarification and elucidation. Our model dissertation project is located between the poles of strategically produced ambiguity (PS⁺) and its antithesis, publicly negotiated disambiguation (RS⁺) which follows the demand for univocality or clarity. One of the possible aims of the project is to explore which linguistic, textual and interactional-communicative components are involved in the battle over univocality in politics. The analysis will also consider influencing factors in the field of non-strategic ambiguity (cf. matrix RS^– and PS^-). Thus, the project will contribute to the theory of univocality as a complementary concept to ambiguity.

Furthermore, the dissertation intends to examine how the goal of univocality and clarity is pursued in political discourse by the avoidance of ambiguity (PS⁺). This is especially the situation when contracts are drawn up, or judgments are passed. The complementary case in the reception of ambiguity – namely, strategic disambiguation (RS⁺) – is prevalent in the interpretation of texts and legal sentences, when all involved parties (have to) negotiate a valid interpretation or reading of a text.

The non-strategic perception/interpretation of ambiguity (RS^–) also plays a crucial role in the analysis of political discourses/scandals, since the focus rests on the decoding of information. That what is spoken (literal meaning) must be put in relation to what is meant (inferences; Grice 1975). The central assumption is that verbal strategies of obfuscation can be uncovered by a systematic linguistic and rhetorical analysis (cf. field RS^– in our matrix). A concrete example of this can be seen in the analysis of Adverbs relating to the speaker (e.g. “vorsätzlich” intentionally) and the usage of modal particles (e.g. “eben doch mal” just this once, “leider“ unfortunately, etc.) in the speeches and interviews of (former German Minister of Defense) zu Guttenberg (Guttenberg/di Lorenzo 2011).

Works Cited:

Grice, H. Paul (1975). “Logic and Conversation.” In: Speech Acts: Syntax and Semantics. Ed. Peter Cole and Jerry L. Morgan. New York: Academic Press, 43-58.

Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor zu; Giovanni di Lorenzo (2011). Vorerst gescheitert: Wie Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg seinen Fall und seine Zukunft sieht. Freiburg: Herder.

5.2 Strategic Production of Ambiguity in Dealing with Allegations

Psychology with Legal Studies and Rhetoric

Numerous examples show that both persons and institutions issue statements responding to allegations (e.g. suspicion of doping in athletes, dubious actions on the part of politicians, unfair commercial practices for businesses) in a manner that facilitates a favourable perception and judgement by individuals or ‘the public’ without expressly lying. Instead, knowing that the allegations are correct, the accused, in many cases, attempt to deliberately express themselves ambiguously (PS⁺; cf. our matrix). Psychological and communication research has barely concerned itself with the production of strategic ambiguity so far (i.e. the verbal, nonverbal and paraverbal aspects of communication). To this end, the analysis of suitable documentation of such cases (qualitative method), as well as an experimental approach in which participants are instructed to act accordingly under varying conditions (e.g. regarding motivation, expertise, etc.) would be suitable. For the analysis of strategic production of ambiguity in utterances, the field of rhetoric provides a classification of strategies and techniques. Legal Studies can significantly contribute to the understanding of factors that influence the recipients’ perception (RS^– and RS⁺). For instance, judicial proceedings in civil law suits offer a criterion in regard to how respective statements of parties in court are to be evaluated.

5.3 Ambiguity and Delegation: Legal Status and Scope of Delegation Laws

Legal Studies with Rhetoric and Linguistics (English)

In order not to encumber a legislative bill with unresolved or difficult questions of regulation, legislators occasionally resort to writing a law in such general terms that its concrete application is left to the individual legal authorities (delegation law). This phenomenon is akin to the comprehensive clause, since it also implements strategic ambiguity (PS⁺; cf. our matrix). For the most part, however, delegation laws are treated under the misleading and rather pejorative term “gap. However, the fact that a regulatory requirement has not been overlooked, but has been intentionally settled in an ambiguous way argues against this perspective. Accordingly, such a practice must not be reduced from the onset to the question if the concretization that is necessary to apply the law entails the danger of relaxing legal regulations on the part of the applier of the law. Instead, delegation law should be analyzed as a case of intentional ambiguity. Consequently, the suggested dissertation project will have to determine how delegating law is to be conceived in terms of legal theory, how it can be methodically comprehended, and, finally, how those who apply legal norms ought to deal with it.

5.4 Multimodal Forms of Ambiguity in Text

Literary Studies (German) with Linguistics (Romance) and Psychology; as well as the cooperating disciplines of Media Studies and Art History

This dissertation project revolves around ambiguity in literary texts that assume media-specific forms. These are not limited to verbal forms that can be analyzed in rhetorical and linguistic terms, since some kinds of ambiguity only appear in visual form. A text is to be understood as a ‘completed, thematically limited, meaningful linguistic unit, exceeding a sentence’ („eine über den Satz hinausgehende, abgeschlossene, thematisch gebundene, sinnvolle sprachliche Einheit“; Fix 2008: 17), but only if it is realized in oral or written form (cf. Koch/Oesterreicher 2008). Multimodal forms of ambiguity are generated when not only language, but also its “material-medial object-status” („materiell-mediale Objektstatus“ Kammer/Lüdecke 2005) come into play in the production and perception of a text (cf. Forceville/Urios-Aparisi 2009). A systematization of multimodal ambiguity can be developed within the genre of the didactic play. In an “experimental arrangement” (“Versuchs­anordnung”) for the examination of human behaviour (Benjamin 1966), didactic plays negotiate ambiguity on the level of content as a form of strategic, political communication on part of the Speaker (PS⁺ ; cf. our matrix) as well as the listener. In the case of the latter, this encompasses strategic perception (RS⁺), together with misunderstandings (RS^–). Frequently, didactic plays are multimodal because they integrate theatrical (speech), visual (images) and graphic (writing) media into their text. For instance, in Heiner Müller’s play, The Horatian (Der Horatier; 1968), ambiguity is created by the use of textual imagery (cf. Mitchell 1980).

Works Cited:

Benjamin, Walter (1966). Briefe. Ed. Gershom Scholem and Theodor W. Adorno. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp.

Fix, Ulla (2008). Texte und Textsorten – sprachliche, kommunikative und kulturelle Phänomene. Berlin: Frank und Timme.

Forceville, Charles J.; Eduardo Urios-Aparisi (2009). “Introduction.” In: Multimodal Metaphor. Ed. Charles J. Forceville and Eduardo Urios-Aparisi. Berlin: De Gruyter, 3-17.

Kammer, Stephan; Roger Lüdeke (Hg.) (2005). Texte zur Theorie des Textes. Stuttgart: Reclam.

Koch, Peter; Wulf Oesterreicher (2008). “Mündlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit von Texten.” In: Textlinguistik: 15 Einführungen. Ed. Nina Janich. Tübingen: Narr, 199-215.

Mitchell, William J. Thomas (1980). “Spatial Form in Literature: Toward a General Theory.” In: Critical Inquiry 6.6, 539-567.