Stance in TED talks: Strategic use of subjective adjectives in online popularisation

Abstract

This paper analyses “stance” in TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talks,\nwhich are popularising speeches aiming at knowledge dissemination. Based on a\ncorpus of the TED talks presented between 2006 and 2012, this study focuses on\nhow the speakers express judgments and take up positions through subjective\nadjectives. Drawing upon Kerbat-Orecchioni (1980) and Felices Lago’s (1997)\nadjective classifications, the quantitative and qualitative study attempts to analyse\nthe use of axiological evaluative adjectives, which are fully subjective, as they imply\na qualitative evaluation adding a judgement to the modified noun. It has been\nnoticed that TEDsters use vivid, descriptive subjective adjectives to establish a\nconnection with the audience, which perceives a sense of similarity with the\nspeaker. Like traditional scientific presentations, TED talks use adjectives\nconveying the relevance of their findings, while they distinguish themselves for the\nrole given to aesthetic and emotional adjectives, practicality and veracity, also\nincluding the moral, political, and economic aspects involved in science. The work\nsuggests that maybe TEDsters’ approach to science might possibly contribute to\nbreach the expert/non expert barrier, considering science not as something\ndistant, but as a human experience for both laypersons and professionals