“Let the word be the cutting sword, let the word behead,
Let the word be poisonous, honey and oil make a word.”
Yunus Emre draws attention to the power of language from ages past with these verses. Throughout different eras, many orators have used language as a tool to guide people.
When used effectively, language can direct and motivate people towards a goal, and shape their thoughts and emotions. However, when used with malicious intent, language can lead people to disasters.
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King, who advocated for racial equality worldwide, stood out with his nonviolent ideas and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was an influential orator who could deeply affect people. He made serious efforts to eliminate racism in the United States. On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people listened to his speech in Washington. King skillfully used the art of rhetoric in this speech, drawing attention to his repetition of the phrase “I have a dream.”
In his speeches, King included impactful expressions such as “Now is the time,” inviting his audience to take action to solve problems. He defined the right to life, freedom, and happiness as three fundamental concepts and successfully etched them into people’s memories through frequent use. He also referred to Abraham Lincoln’s expressions in his speeches, carefully selecting these references to support his eloquence.
King valued the use of repetition in his speeches. In one of his speeches, he used the word “freedom” 20 times and the word “justice” eight times. Moreover, he preferred to use words like “we” and “our” to foster a sense of unity.
Hitler
Directive speeches have not always been beneficial to society and peaceful, as demonstrated by Adolf Hitler, one of the most striking examples in recent history.
Having a strong understanding of the working class, which was his main supporter and target audience, Hitler used easily memorable, short, and simple sentences in his speeches. He managed to manipulate perceptions by creating biases in thoughts and emotions with statements like, “Either we will annihilate the Jews, or they will annihilate us.” As a ruthless dictator like Hitler, he effectively used language to attribute his disastrous actions to an entire nation and mobilize them into action.
The power of language is unparalleled, as long as it is used with good intentions and for noble purposes.
