A study by “Le Soir” analyzing 162 interviews in French-language written press reveals the overuse of clichéd terms by party presidents. The most commonly used term is “we,” which appears repeatedly in interviews published by major French-language dailies and weeklies over a period of 14 months. The study shows that clichés die hard in political discourse. The full article is only available to subscribers.
Through 162 interviews in the French-language written press, “Le Soir” analyzed the terms that presidents use the most. Verdict: clichés die hard.
By Xavier Counasse and with G.Der, LK, AM (st.), C.Pt, S.VDV
Hervé Vilard could not have dreamed of a better tribute (Julien Doré either, for the modern version of this hook): “we” is the word that comes up most often in the mouths of party presidents when they are interviewed in the French-language print media. “At home”, “we want”, “we propose”, “we recommend”… Through the 162 interviews studied over a period of 14 months (from January 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023), it is this pronoun personal first person plural that appears most frequently in interviews published by major French-language dailies and weeklies.
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In conclusion, clichés may die hard, but as this study shows, they continue to thrive in the language of politics. The use of the first-person plural pronoun “we” by party presidents in their interviews with French-language print media is a testament to that. The results of this 14-month analysis conducted by “Le Soir” sheds light on the language of politics and urges us to be more critical of the words used by our leaders. While this article is reserved for subscribers only, the insights gained from this study should be available to all.