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2 - Terrorism and Language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2021

Paul Baker ,
Rachelle Vessey  and
Tony McEnery
Paul Baker
Affiliation:
Lancaster University
Rachelle Vessey
Affiliation:
Carleton University, Ottawa
Tony McEnery
Affiliation:
Lancaster University
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Summary

This chapter functions as a literature review, beginning with a summary of some of the terminological issues surrounding the study of terrorism. This is followed by an overview of theorisations of terrorism as communication, that is, the theory that violent acts are communicative. We then discuss not the practices and (verbal) expressions related to clandestine violence undertaken by terrorist individuals or groups. We explore some of the findings from previous research relating to the patterns in terrorists’ words and communicative strategies. We then turn to violent jihadist discourse specifically considering issues around polarised language and its relation to grievance-based discourse, the creation of shared identity, intertextual use of historical and theoretical texts and evocation of authority. We conclude by suggesting why the dearth of research on terrorist discourse poses problems for the creation of viable counter-terrorism measures.

Keywords

violencejihadextremismlanguagecorpus linguisticsrhetoricterrorismIslam
Type
Chapter
Information
The Language of Violent Jihad , pp. 14 - 36
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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