An investigation of weasel words in selected political speeches

Abstract

Weasel words are used to connect weak data in order to justify the opinion. So the speaker tries to affect the hearer. It is obvious that weasel words can influence the receiver's thinking spontaneously. Since the writers/ speakers produce vague words with double meaning so that they can cause ambiguity to the receivers. This study aims at showing the weasel words that used by political speeches and classifications of weasel words. It also aims at showing the difference between hedging and weasel words. The current study hypothesizes that the politicians tend to employ weasel words to a wide extent in their speechesThe study is limited to deal with some selected political speeches for some famous politicians . The procedure of this study is: firstly, giving an account about political speeches, secondly, explaining the meaning of weasel words and its classification, thirdly, identifying the difference between weasel words and hedging.