GROUP 5

Lê Khánh Hà

Vũ Minh Hải

Mai Thị Hà Anh

Nguyễn Thanh Vi

Nguyễn Thuỳ Dương

Nguyễn Vương Nam

Tạ Linh Chi

Trần Lan Nhi

Hoàng Đàm Hạnh Dương

Trần Bảo Lâm

Lê Thị Trang Nhung

TASKS:

1. Define the devices+explain how they slant listeners’/readers’ opinion, feeling…

2. Analyse examples to illustrate (take examples from real-life communication or
from public media, both in Vietnamese and English language)

1. Innuendo - bóng gió (Also called insinuation.) (Hà Anh - Thanh Vi)
- Innuendo is a form of expression used to make a specific claim without actually
stating that claim. Used to imply or suggest something without being explicit
- Innuendo uses the power of suggestion to disparage (say something bad about)
someone or something.

Example:

- “I’ve found a way to get some “extra help” on the test”: Indicates that the speaker is
preparing to cheat on a test. The use of quotation marks to emphasize the phrase
“extra help” is a common way to use innuendo. This implies that the phrase is being
used in a special way here and allows your friend to boast about cheating without
admitting that he is cheating; it’s a safe way to talk about doing something that is not
allowed.
-
- “Hmm. It seems strange that Scott has missed work on yet another Friday, of all
days”: This implies that Scott’s reason for missing work is not sickness but wanting to
enjoy a three-day weekend. Perhaps he is not really sick, but taking a nice trip, going
to a concert, or watching TV.
-
- Vắng mợ thì chợ vẫn đông: To imply that there are individuals who evaluate
themselves as very important, nevertheless the absence of them actually does not
affect the community substantially.
-
 - “I wish I were as confident as you to wear something so revealing.” : This is a
backhanded compliment, and can also sometimes be examples of innuendo. The
innuendo in this sentence is that the person in question actually is showing too much
skin.

2. Weasler
- Weaslers are an expression used to protect a claim from criticism by weakening it.
They are rhetorical devices that you add to a claim to weaken it such that you seem
to be making a strong claim, but you are not.  This allows you to exaggerate the
qualities of something (a truck, for example), without actually lying. It would appear, if
you think about it in the right way, that the party was not a success. 
- Using phrases like "perhaps" or "it is impossible" in front of a claim to allow the
possibility it may not be true, therefore, allows the speaker a way out if the claim is
called into question.

Example: “Up to 50% of our regular price”: That could mean that the discounts range
anywhere from 0% to 50% but they’ve got you in the store looking for all those 50%
discounts. This is used to imply an ideal situation but actually qualified it.

● “Virtually never needs service”: really means that it actually needs service, “virtually”
is interpreted by most people as meaning “almost or the same as…” but it means
“not in actual fact”
● “ It’s like getting another one free” : This is a qualifier that has a comparative element
to it. It is used to stop people from looking at the actual product being sold and
instead start thinking about something that is bigger, better and different.

This advertisement claims that it is a "natural bliss". The company doesn't detail what they
mean by "natural bliss". This claim could mean multiple things, and the product may not
even be made from natural substances.
"Fight" is a common weasel word used in advertisements for cleaning and health and beauty
supplies, similar to "act" or "work." This ad claims that Colgate is proven to "fight" germs for
12 hours, but the consumer is given no context as to what it means to "fight" germs.
Sometimes people lose fights; this toothpaste could be losing the fight to your germs.

3. Stereotype: -H
- A stereotype is a cultural belief or idea about a social group’s attributes, usually
simplified or exaggerated. In other words, stereotype is an oversimplified
generalization about the members of a class or culture. it can be positive or negative
- Stereotype is to associate something with a popular sometimes negatively held
image of a group.
- Simply, we can understand that stereotype is a set idea that people have about what
someone or something is like or an idea that is used to describe a particular type of
person or thing.

Example of stereotype:There are also some common stereotypes’ of men and

women, such as:

Men and women both contribute to the family economy in different ways, but many people
still think that "Men build houses, women build homes".
The old concept often holds that a man can achieve success on his own, but a woman can
only do it with the help of a man.
 Stereotypical ads for home appliances.
Home-appliance ads like those of refrigerators, washing machines, mixture grinders, exhibit
only females to be the consumers.. They are mostly seen standing with their wives, who are
the ones using those appliances. This gives a stereotypical message to the audience that,
yes females are made for this and males are meant for that.

Stereotypes also exist about cultures an countries :

● All Blacks outside of the United States are poor.

● “ This guy has tattoos all over his body, Gangster for sure.”
4. Downplayers (Hà Anh)
- Downplayers attempt to make someone or something look less important or less
significant
- Stereotypes, rhetorical comparisons, rhetorical explanations, and innuendo (all
discussed later) can all be used to downplay something.

Example: ( Thùy Dương )

- Although he has such a huge fortune, he never does charity.

This statement downplays the wealthiness of the man.

- He is the so-called leader of the company.

- Wifi costs mere 100$ per month.
- Trump downplayed the Coronavirus Pandemic:

"We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China, and
we have it under control. It's going to be just fine"

"It's going to disappear. One day — it's like a miracle — it will disappear,"

5. Loaded question (Khanh Ha)

- A loaded question is a question that carries an inappropriate assumption(s), that is
doubtful and unsupported.
- A loaded question rests on one or more unwarranted (unjustified) assumptions. This
type of fallacious question puts the person who is being questioned in a
disadvantageous and defensive position, since the assumption in the question could
 reflect badly on them or pressure them to answer in a way that they wouldn’t
otherwise.

Example:

“Do you actually support this terrible politician?”

This loaded question presupposes the fact that the politician being discussed is terrible.
Accordingly, if the respondent replies “yes”, because they do support that politician, then
their answer will inadvertently suggest that they think that politician is terrible.

“Do you think that we should convict this criminal?”

This loaded question presupposes the fact that the person being discussed is a criminal.
Accordingly, if the respondent believes that that person is innocent and replies “no”, in order
to show that they don’t think a conviction is necessary, then their answer will inadvertently
suggest that they believe that person is in fact a criminal.

“Are you one of those hateful people that doesn’t have any religious beliefs?”

This loaded question is framed so that if the respondent replies “yes”, because they don’t
have any religious beliefs, then their answer will inadvertently suggest that they believe
themself to be hateful.

“Have you accepted the fact that most scientific studies don’t support this theory?”

This loaded question presupposes the fact that most scientific studies don’t support the
theory in question. If the respondent says “no”, because they believe that this is wrong, then
their answer will inadvertently suggest that they agree with this presupposition, and that they
simply refuse to accept it.