How to Talk Democrat

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published October 6, 2008 at 6:43 AM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

George Lakoff is a professor of cognitive linguistics from UC Berkeley who studies how metaphor is central to human thinking and politics. He has argued that liberals have had difficulties winning el

Tom Fudge : Both major political parties work hard to determine what message will win votes in November. And if you look at the past forty years of presidential elections, it's clear that the Republicans have done better at offering an appealing message.

That's why Democrat, and prominent linguist , George Lakoff, has gotten deeply involved in politics during the past ten years. Lakoff says that since the days of Ronald Reagan, the GOP has managed to take charge of the political debate through the canny use of language. Lakoff says the Republican use of metaphor has been especially effective. For one thing, they've managed to make taxes sound like a affliction that needs to be cured.

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Guest

Dr. George Lakoff , professor of cognitive linguistics at UC Berkeley and author of "Whose Freedom?: The Battle over America's Most Important Idea and The Political Mind. Why You Can't Understand 21st-Century American Politics with an 18th-Century Brain."