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  3. The Language Work of Speechwriters
  • Cited by 2
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    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      October 2025
      August 2025
      ISBN:
      9781009539845
      9781009539852
      9781009539876
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009539845
      Dimensions:
      (216 x 140 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.421kg, 232 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (216 x 140 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.31kg, 232 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics, English Language and Linguistics: General Interest, Language and Linguistics
      Series:
      Key Topics in Applied Linguistics
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    Subjects:
    Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics, English Language and Linguistics: General Interest, Language and Linguistics
    Series:
    Key Topics in Applied Linguistics
    Information

    Book description

    The work of speechwriters is prominent in political discourse, yet the writers themselves remain in the shadows of the powerful, public figures they work for. This book throws the spotlight on these invisible wordsmiths, illuminating not only what they do, but also why it matters. Based on ethnographic research in the US American speechwriting community, it investigates the ways in which speechwriters talk about their professional practices, and also the material procedures which guide the production of their deliverables. Relying on a robust collection of various genres of discursive data, Mapes focuses on the primary rhetorical strategies which characterize speechwriters' discourse, neatly exposing how they are beholden to a linguistic marketplace entrenched in ideological and socioeconomic struggle. Providing fascinating insights into an understudied and relatively misunderstood profession, this book is essential reading for academic researchers and students in applied linguistics, discourse studies, linguistic and cultural anthropology, and sociolinguistics.

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    Contents

    Contents
    • 1 - Introduction
      pp 1-35
    • Wordsmiths and the Business of Rhetoric
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