Manipulation, Influence and Deception: The Changing Landscape of Persuasive Language

In an era characterised by information saturation and the rapid evolution of digital communication platforms, the study of persuasive language is undergoing profound developments. Bringing together cutting-edge research from a team of internationally acclaimed experts, this timely book examines the transformations occurring in the domain of persuasive language in contemporary society. It dissects the intricate web of manipulation, influence and deception, providing in-depth analyses of the potent mechanisms governing communication. Each chapter offers empirical insights from a range of different scholarly perspectives, including corpus linguistics, conversation analysis, forensic linguistics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, phonetics and human-robot interactions. It opens with a comprehensive introductory chapter, making the research accessible to readers without extensive background knowledge. Equipping readers with the tools to critically engage with the multifaceted dynamics of language and persuasion, this is an indispensable resource for anyone striving to fathom the evolving realm of persuasive language.

Sofia Rüdiger is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. Notable publications include Morpho-Syntactic Patterns in Spoken Korean English (Benjamins, 2019) and The Language of Pick-Up Artists (co-authored with Dayter, Routledge, 2022).

Daria Dayter is Associate Professor in English Linguistics at Tampere University, Finland. She co-founded the coPRe (communicative practices on Reddit) research network. Her notable publications include Discursive Self in Microblogging (Benjamins, 2016).