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RR 2012/301 Shocked and Awed: A Dictionary of the War on Terror Fred Halliday University of California Press Berkeley, CA 2010 360pp. ISBN 978 0 520 26870 8 $25.95
Keywords Dictionaries, Electronic media, Terrorism, War
Review DOI 10.1108/09504121211270942
Shocked and Awed is an unusual and rewarding dictionary illuminating the use of language by different actors in a conflict to express their point-of-view, denigrate their opponents, control events, or provide disinformation. Even the creation of slang terms serves these interests in a vibrant and colourful way. The topic of the book is the events of 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Unlike most dictionaries, this one is divided into chapters. "Chapter 1 focuses on 9/11 itself and on the American intelligence response to it. Chapter 2 looks at the language of Osama bin Laden and of Islamist movements more generally. Chapter 3 is devoted to the vocabulary associated with the US detention and treatment of suspects. Chapter 4 covers the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the most direct outcomes of 9/11. Chapter 5 examines terminology commonly used in and about the Middle...