Tag: tricolon

Rhetoric and the confusio linguarum

I recently gave a TEDx Talk all about rhetoric at the University of Cambridge and a member of the audience approached me with a very interesting question. He said, ‘I am Turkish. Are all of these rhetorical devices you talk about applicable in Turkish as they are in English?’.

Whilst I must admit that I am not too well versed in the intricacies of the Turkish language, I told him that I am sure that most of the rhetorical devices I spoke of in my speech are transferable – for example, the rule of three (tricolon) tends to be universally applicable across most languages. Continue reading “Rhetoric and the confusio linguarum” →

Netanyahu’s Speech to the United Nations 2017

The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu had some strong words for Iran at his recent speech at the United Nations. Mirroring Churchill’s famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech Netanyahu spoke about the ‘Iranian curtain’ which is spreading terror across the Middle East. “Iran spreads this curtain of tyranny and terror over Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere, and it pledges to extinguish the light of Israel. Today, I have a simple message for Ayatollah Khamenei, the dictator of Iran: The light of Israel will never be extinguished”. Continue reading “Netanyahu’s Speech to the United Nations 2017” →

I hereby declare, today, for the world to hear, that this blogpost is published

Some people are saying that President Donald Trump’s speech in Poland last week was actually quite good. Even Donald Trump himself sent out a photo (of himself) with an excerpt from the speech reading: “I declare today for the world to hear that the West will never, ever be broken. Our values will prevail. Our people will thrive. And our civilization will triumph”. It is quite the rhetorical bubble. It sounds a lot more dramatic than simply saying ‘the West will never be broken’. But why? Continue reading “I hereby declare, today, for the world to hear, that this blogpost is published” →