Martha,

 

It's great to have a politician again who can use language and use it
well.  People are once again hearing great speech-making.  Why does this
level of mastery of oratory come along only once every two or three
decades?

 

Herb

 

From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Martha Kolln
Sent: 2008-02-14 16:13
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Grammarian's Valentine

 

Thanks, Herb, for the Valentine. 

 

What follows is an email I received from a friend today--some great
rhetorical flourishes from Barack:

 

Martha

 

Below are some examples from Barack Obama's recent
Virginia speech. It seems like most of these examples would
fall under the rhetorical schemes called--

 

1. Anaphora--repetition of the same word or group of
words at the beginning of successive clauses,
2. Antithesis--the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas,
often in parallel structures, and
3. Apposition--placing side by side two coordinate elements,
the second of which serves as an explanation or modification
of the first.

 

Here are the Obama examples:

 

I KNEW I wouldn't be Washington's favorite candidate.
 I KNEW we wouldn't get all the big donors or
endorsements right off the bat. I KNEW I'd be
the underdog in every contest from January to June.
I KNEW IT WOULDN'T BE EASY.


WE ARE TIRED of being disappointed by our politics.
 WE ARE TIRED of being let down. WE'RE TIRED of
hearing promises made and ten-point plans proposed in
the heat of a campaign ONLY TO HAVE NOTHING
CHANGE WHEN EVERYONE GOES BACK TO WASHINGTON.

 

BECAUSE the lobbyists just write another check.
Or BECAUSE politicians start worrying about how
they'll win the next election instead of why they should.
OR BECAUSE THEY FOCUS ON WHO'S UP AND WHO'S
DOWN INSTEAD OF WHO MATTERS..

 

And while Washington is consumed with the same drama
and division and distraction, ANOTHER FAMILY puts up
a For Sale sign in the front yard. ANOTHER FACTORY
shuts its doors forever. ANOTHER MOTHER declares
 bankruptcy because she cannot pay her child's medical bills.
AND ANOTHER SOLDIER waves goodby as he leaves on
another tour of duty in a war that should've never been
authorized and never been waged.

 

We owe the American people A REAL CHOICE.
It's A CHOICE between debating John McCain about who has
the most experience in Washington, or debating him about who's
most likely to change Washington. It's A CHOICE between
debating John McCain about lobbying reform with a nominee
who's taken more money from lobbyists than he has, or doing
it with a campaign that hasn't taken a dime of their money
because we've been funded by you - the American people.
And it's A CHOICE between taking on John McCain with
Republicans and Independents already united against us,
or running against him with a campaign that's united
Americans of all parties around a common purpose.

 

 THAT'S HOW Mark Warner won in this state. THAT'S
HOW Tim Kaine won in this state. THAT'S HOW how Jim
Webb won in this state. And if I am your nominee, THIS
IS ONE DEMOCRAT WHO PLANS TO CAMPAIGN IN
VIRGINIA AND WIN IN VIRGINIA THIS FALL.

 

We are here to make clear that this election is NOT
BETWEEN regions or religions or genders. It's NOT
ABOUT rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is
NOT ABOUT black versus white. IT IS ABOUT THE
PAST VERSUS THE FUTURE.

 

The Republicans in Washington are already running on
the politics of YESTERDAY, which is why our party
must be the party of TOMORROW.

 

And when I am President, we'll pass universal health
care NOT IN twenty years, NOT IN ten years, BUT
BY THE END OF MY FIRST TERM IN OFFICE.

 

 

 

 This is our time for change. Our party - the Democratic
 Party - has always been at its best when we've led NOT
BY POLLS, BUT BY PRINCIPLE; NOT BY CALCULATION,
BUT BY CONVICTION; when we've called all Americans

to a COMMON PURPOSE--A HIGHER PURPOSE

 

WE ARE THE PARTY OF Jefferson, who wrote the words
that we are still trying to heed - that all of us are created
equal - that all of us deserve the chance to pursue our
happiness. WE'RE THE PARTY OF Jackson, who took back
the White House for the people of this country. WE'RE THE
PARTY OF a man who overcame his own disability to tell us
that the only thing we had to fear was fear itself; who faced
down fascism and liberated a continent from tyranny.AND
WE'RE THE PARTY OF a young President who asked what we

could do for our country, and the challenged us to do it.
Because there is a moment IN THE LIFE OF EVERY GENERATION
if it is to MAKE ITS MARK ON HISTORY

 

This is our MESSAGE - the same MESSAGE we had when we
were up, and when we were down. THE SAME MESSAGE THAT
WE WILL CARRY ALL THE WAY TO THE CONVENTION.

 

 

	For a riff on the prescriptive take on Valentine card English
try this link.

	 

	http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004197.html

	 

	And a Happy Valentines Day to all grammarians.

	 

	Herb

	To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select
"Join or leave the list"

	Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/

 

To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select
"Join or leave the list" 

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/


To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/