Linguists explain why Sarah Palin has such an emotional connection with her audience
The former Alaska governor reemerged last week with a one-of-a-kind speech endorsing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, drawing renewed attention to her curious rhetorical style.
But researchers have identified one aspect of Palin's speech that is particularly distinctive. And though it probably goes unnoticed by most listeners, it may be the most powerful speaking technique in her arsenal.
Take these quotes from Palin's speech endorsing Trump:
And this one from a campaign rally the next day, when Palin addressed her son's arrest:
In each of these quotes, Palin is using a particular set of words: "this," "that," "these," and "those." Linguists call these demonstratives, or "pointing words."
Take, for example, when Palin said 2008 GOP nominee John McCain "sounded that warning bell" in 2008. It was as if she were pointing to something both she and her audience were familiar with.
"We all know the warning bell she's talking about, right?" wrote linguist Mark Liberman on the blog Language Log. "That one over there, always in the back of our shared experience."
Linguists Eric Acton and Christopher Potts also argued in their 2014 study that Palin was using demonstratives as a way to establish common ground with her audience, as if the two parties have some sort of "private shared knowledge" to draw upon.
In an analysis of dozens of Palin's interviews and TV appearances, Acton and Potts also found that Palin used demonstratives at nearly double the clip of her political peers.
And Liberman found that in Palin's most high-profile speaking event, the 2008 vice presidential debate, Palin used as many as 15 times the demonstratives as her opponent, Joe Biden.
They included gems like these:
By using demonstratives, whether intentionally or not, Palin evokes a powerful mutuality between the audience and herself - that is, if the audience already likes her.
"I think of it like giving a hug," Acton told Business Insider. "If you hug someone who shares a sense of fellow feeling with you, it can strengthen your bond. But if you hug someone who is not interested in being close to you, you'll be lucky if you merely annoy that person."
Assuming too much common ground can backfire, Acton added. While demonstratives can help a speaker strengthen a bond with the audience, using them could come off as "phony and presumptuous" to people who disagree with the speaker.
The strong emotional appeal in Palin's language is part of the reason she is such a provocative figure, Acton said.
It's no surprise that she's found her way into the spotlight again.