Othering is a language process which does not only occur in spoken language, but also in written. Nowadays, such a negative portrayal and creation of the perfect other is often happening in a rather hidden and indirect manner. This paper explores whether Donald J. Trump indulged in the act of Othering in his Tweets, and whether this happened in a direct or indirect way. The findings lead to an understanding whether Othering is being accepted in politics or not.
What comes as a blessing has also its downsides, as not only positive but also negative opinions are omnipresent on the internet. This is due to the possibility to upload almost everything, as not every website has a way to censor inappropriate content. Furthermore, having a filter for written or pictured hate crime does not prevent it from happening as it is not always straight forward, and hateful messages can come in disguise.
An uncountable number of these more or less hidden hate crimes are a sort of 'Othering' as people tend to put themselves in opposition to others to create a sense of solidarity with those who share sameness and to have some excuse to keep up power relationships. With this, it becomes clear that language itself, in the case of this paper explicitly the written one, is a powerful tool to exert authority and domination on others, especially when used by people in power, like politicians.
Therefore, the question this paper tries to answer is how written discourse in the Tweets of Trump creates the feeling of separation and dominance that underlies the act of 'Othering' and whether this reflects a direct or indirect, and with this more subtle and normalized, use of power discourse. In this thesis, only those people Trump constantly portrays as dangerous foreigners, intruders, therefore not 'Americans', are included in the analysis, by looking at how he structures his discourse around them. These include Mexicans and Muslims, both to be found under the umbrella term of (illegal) immigrants.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Power of Language
2.1 The Connection between Language and Society
2.2 Written Discourse as a Specific Type of Discourse
2.3 Social Media and Twitter
3. Donald Trump
3.1 Donald J. Trump
3.2 A Short Overview on Trump’s Presidential Career
3.3 Trump’s Immigration Policy
4. Ideologies and Fears Surrounding Othering
4.1 Patriotism
4.2 American Exceptionalism
4.3 Islamophobia
5. Othering
5.1 Historical Background and Definition
5.2 Mechanisms of Othering
5.3 Reasons onto which Othering is being justified
5.4 Repercussions of Othering
6. Analysis Process explained
6.1 CDA
6.2 Software used
6.3 Three Levels of Analysis
6.3.1 Description Level Explained
6.3.2 Interpretation Level Explained
6.3.3 Explanation Level Explained
7. Analysis
7.1 Description Level
1.1 Immigrant, Illegals, Refugee: How Are Others Portrayed Linguistically
1.2 Immigrant, Illegals, Refugee: How Are the Others Divided Linguistically
1.3 Immigrant, Illegals, Refugee: How Are Power Relations Sustained
2.1 Hispanic, Mexican: How Are Others Portrayed Linguistically
2.2 Hispanic, Mexican: How Are the Others Divided Linguistically
2.3 Hispanic, Mexican: How Are Power Relations Sustained
3.1 Islam, Muslim: How Are Others Portrayed Linguistically
3.2 Islam, Muslim: How Are the Others Divided Linguistically
3.3 Islam, Muslim: How Are Power Relations Sustained
7.2 Interpretation Level
7.2.1 How Are the Others Portrayed Linguistically
7.2.2 How Are the Others Divided Linguistically
7.2.3 How Are Power Relations Sustained
7.3 Explanation Level
8. Conclusion
Didactic Approach
Tweet-Appendix
‘immigrant’
‘illegals’
‘refugee’
‘Mexican’
‘Hispanic’
‘Muslim’
‘Islam’
Objectives & Core Topics
This thesis examines how Donald J. Trump uses written discourse on Twitter to construct and maintain 'Othering', investigating whether this discourse creates feelings of separation and dominance through direct or indirect power strategies.
- Analysis of linguistic strategies used to portray immigrants (Mexicans and Muslims) as threats.
- Application of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to evaluate political tweets.
- Examination of the interplay between language, ideology, and power relations.
- Investigation into how specific vocabulary and grammar reinforce exclusionary narratives.
- Development of a didactic approach to teach media literacy regarding discursive manipulation.
Excerpt from the Book
7.2.1 How Are the Others Portrayed Linguistically
The first question the analysis tried to answer was ‘How are the others portrayed linguistically?’. During the first steps of the analysis in the MAXQDA software, it became visible that in almost every Tweet all three groups were portrayed in a negative light or with negative associations. Not only was the overall tone negative, but Trump also often portrayed them in connection to the criminal world or even to terrorists, which justified the addition of the code called ‘other=criminal/terrorist’.
Other=Criminal/Terrorist
In this code, a number of Tweets which contained the word ‘drugs’ were located, as well as the words ‘criminal’ (immigrant 10, 29, 62; Mexican 11, 25, 26) and ‘human traffickers’ (immigrant 10; Mexican 1, 5). These words were used to mark the group members of ‘immigrant’, ‘illegals’ and ‘Mexican’ as dangerous, but were not used in connection to the other groups. Trump did not necessarily state that immigrants are the ones selling drugs as he often mentioned the drug cartels and ‘Mexican Drug Lords’ as being the main cause for that problem. Nevertheless, by constantly putting illegals and drugs in the same sentence and portraying them as two things which should be kept out of the USA, he created a narrative which establishes a connection in people’s minds, especially when done on the scale Trump did, as to be seen in this Tweet: : “I campaigned on Border Security which you cannot have without a strong and powerful Wall. Our Southern Border has long been an ‘Open Wound’ where drugs criminals (including human traffickers) and illegals would pour into our Country. Dems should get back here an[d] fix now!” (illegals 18).
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Provides the context of the study, detailing the role of the Internet and social media in modern discourse and establishing the research focus on Trump's Twitter usage.
The Power of Language: Explores the theoretical relationship between language, society, and power, utilizing concepts from Norman Fairclough to define discourse.
Donald Trump: Offers an overview of Trump’s presidential career and immigration policy to provide background for the linguistic analysis.
Ideologies and Fears Surrounding Othering: Analyzes the foundational ideologies of patriotism, American exceptionalism, and Islamophobia that inform exclusionary rhetoric.
Othering: Defines the sociological concept of 'Othering' and examines its historical background, mechanisms, and societal repercussions.
Analysis Process explained: Outlines the methodological framework, including Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and the software tools (MAXQDA) used for data processing.
Analysis: Presents the primary findings of the linguistic investigation, categorized by the groups analyzed and the levels of discourse analysis performed.
Conclusion: Synthesizes the results, confirming the prevalence of indirect 'Othering' tactics in Trump's discourse and answering the central research question.
Keywords
Othering, Donald Trump, Critical Discourse Analysis, Twitter, Immigrants, Islamophobia, Power Relations, Linguistic Strategies, Ideology, Discourse, Social Media, Rhetoric, Nationalism, Discursive Discrimination.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The research explores how Donald Trump utilizes language in his tweets to construct and reinforce the social exclusion of specific groups, a process known as 'Othering'.
Which groups are the subjects of this linguistic study?
The study specifically focuses on discourse surrounding immigrants, Mexicans, and Muslims, often grouped under the umbrella of 'illegal immigrants' in Trump's rhetoric.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to determine whether 'Othering' occurs through direct or indirect linguistic means and to identify the specific discursive strategies used to sustain these power dynamics.
What scientific methodology is applied?
The work employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), combined with qualitative and quantitative software analysis (MAXQDA), to identify repeating linguistic patterns.
What does the main body of the work cover?
It covers the theoretical foundations of language and power, the sociological concept of 'Othering', the specific political context of Donald Trump, and a detailed empirical analysis of his tweets.
Which keywords define this academic work?
Key terms include Othering, Critical Discourse Analysis, Discursive Discrimination, Power Relations, and Political Discourse.
How does Trump use conceptual metaphors in his tweets?
Trump frequently employs metaphors—such as comparing immigrants to natural disasters or diseases—to evoke fear and frame groups as an unstoppable threat to the nation.
How does the research interpret the role of 'informal language' in Trump's tweets?
Informal language is seen as a strategic tool to feign authenticity and personal connection, allowing Trump to manipulate discourse while maintaining an image of being 'down to earth'.
- Quote paper
- Stefanie Dalvai (Author), 2020, About Imaginary Borders, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/962803
