The Language Work of Speechwriters

Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-1-009-53987-6
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 238 Seiten

Reihe: Key Topics in Applied Linguistics

The work of speechwriters is prominent in political discourse, yet the writers themselves remain in the shadows of the powerful, public figures they work for. This book throws the spotlight on these invisible wordsmiths, illuminating not only what they do, but also why it matters. Based on ethnographic research in the US American speechwriting community, it investigates the ways in which speechwriters talk about their professional practices, and also the material procedures which guide the production of their deliverables. Relying on a robust collection of various genres of discursive data, Mapes focuses on the primary rhetorical strategies which characterize speechwriters' discourse, neatly exposing how they are beholden to a linguistic marketplace entrenched in ideological and socioeconomic struggle. Providing fascinating insights into an understudied and relatively misunderstood profession, this book is essential reading for academic researchers and students in applied linguistics, discourse studies, linguistic and cultural anthropology, and sociolinguistics.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mapes, Gwynne

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction: wordsmiths and the business of rhetoric; 2. Parameters of professionalism: invisibility, craft, virtue; 3. Invisibility, materiality, and erasure; 4. Craft, creativity, and distinction; 5. Virtue, transgression, and value; 6. Reappraising language work: status competition and elite precarity; Glossary; Appendices.

Über Autor(innen)

Mapes, Gwynne
Gwynne Mapes is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of English at the University of Bern, Switzerland. She is a critical scholar who has published widely on the topic of food and language. Her recent publications include Elite Authenticity (Oxford University Press, 2021).