Words are weapons

Level 1 | Elementary

1 Pre-reading: Key Vocabulary

Fill the gaps using these key words from the text: crusade autocratic independence rogue state liberation resistance hero occupation martyr propaganda

1. A ____________ is someone who dies for a religious or political reason. 2. A ____________ is someone who does something very brave. 3. A ____________ is a country that does not behave in the same way as other countries. 4. A ____________ is a holy war against another religion. 5. An ____________ government is one which is not democratic. 6. If a country has ____________, it has freedom from control by another country. 7. ____________ is false information which governments and media use to change peoples opinions. 8. If a country is under ____________ it is under the control of another countrys army. 9. ____________ is when you fight against the army of another country that is in your country. 10. ____________ is when you are finally free from the control of another country.

2 What do you know?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. When was the attack on the World Trade Center in New York? Who organised the attack? Where does the US government keep al-Qaida prisoners? What are WMD? Who is Donald Rumsfeld?

Now look in the text and check your answers.

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Words are weapons

Level 1 | Elementary

From civilisation to WMD, words are weapons

Simon Tisdall
ometimes politicians use words that could be dangerous. Soon after September 11, President Bush spoke about a "crusade" against al-Qaida. This word has a very negative meaning for Muslims. It made them think that the Christian world wanted to attack them. So Bushs use of language was very careless. Now Bush does not use the word "crusade". But he still talks about the need to defend "civilisation" and "the civilised world" against "dark forces". He never explains which part of the world is the "uncivilised" or "dark" bit. Perhaps he means Kandahar in Afghanistan. Or Eastbourne in the south of England. It is not clear.

With this careless use of language, prisoners locked up in places like Guantanamo Bay are, of course, "evil". The latest word in this political language is WMD, or weapons of mass destruction. Everyone has heard of WMD and they are now the reason why there is an attack on civil liberties everywhere. They are the reason why military spending is rising, why the developing world is not developing, and why politicians dont listen to public opinion. Rich countries have their own WMD, of course, but their weapons are somehow "OK". WMD in developing countries or "rogue states" on the other hand, are not OK. These WMD are dangerous. There are some words, on the other hand, that Western leaders do not use. These include "resistance" and "occupation". Resistance is a positive word and they do not use it to talk about the people in Iraq who attack American forces. Also they do not use the word "occupation" when they talk about Iraq; they prefer the word "liberation". "Occupation" sounds illegal. It makes Iraq sound like Palestine, Tibet, Afghanistan or even Vietnam. That really is careless talk. Politicians and the media need to be more careful in their use of language. They should not use words that have a strong political or cultural meaning or words which have unclear meanings. Sometimes it is difficult to know what is truth and what is propaganda.

Words are important in how a people sees itself: the US declaration of independence is one example. Modern-day Palestinians also see themselves in a battle for "independence" and "freedom". Words like "imperialism" and "liberation" influence the way people write history. The word "terrorism" is a good example. In general, "terrorism" is a terrible thing; everybody hates it; nobody likes it. Why then is there so much "terrorism"? Because people cannot agree what the word means. It depends on their point of view. Terrorism is a word that people often use incorrectly. For the US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, for example, the recent helicopter attack at Falluja in Iraq was the work of "terrorists". To the people on the other side, however, the men who attacked the helicopter are freedom-fighters, heroes or martyrs. The real terrorists always belong to the "other side". When Bush declared his world "war on terror", autocratic rulers all over the world began to do terrible things in the name of "security". From Chechnya to Colombia, Pakistan to the Philippines, the anti-terror "war" grows every day. It is difficult to believe that there are so many terrorists.

The Guardian Weekly 20-11-03, page 14

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Words are weapons

Level 1 | Elementary

3 Comprehension check
Choose the best answer to each question: 1. Why is crusade a dangerous word? a. Because it has many meanings. b. Because it means careless. c. Because it has a negative meaning for Muslims. 2. What is the problem with the word terrorism? a. People cannot agree what it means. b. Everybody hates it. c. It is a good example of the way people write history. 3. What is the difference between WMD in "rogue states" and WMD in rich countries? a. They are the reason why military spending is rising. b. They are the reason why politicians dont listen to public opinion. c. In the first they are "not OK" and in the second they are "OK". 4. Why dont Western leaders use the word "occupation"? a. Because it is like resistance. b. Because it sounds illegal. c. Because it is propaganda.

4 Vocabulary: Prepositions
Complete these sentences using prepositions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. The meaning of the word terror depends ____________________________ your point of view. Everyone has heard ____________________________ WMD. President Bush declared a war ____________________________ terror. Politicians dont listen ____________________________ public opinion. Bush wants to defend the world ____________________________ "dark forces". The real terrorists always belong ____________________________ the other side. Politicians do many things ____________________________ the name of security. ____________________________ the other hand, .

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Words are weapons

Level 1 | Elementary

5 Vocabulary: Word Building

Complete the table 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Verb mean defend liberate agree destroy develop resist occupy Noun ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

6 Pronunciation: Mark the stress

Put these words into the correct box according to their stress pattern recent difficult careless occupy attack martyr terrorist resistance depend important Iraq reason prisoner September destruction crusade

1. o 0 o

2. 0 o o

3. o 0

4. 0 o

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Words are weapons

Level 1 | Elementary

Key
1 Key Vocabulary 1. martyr 2. hero 3. rogue state 4. crusade 5. autocratic 6. independence 7. propaganda 8. occupation 9. resistance 10. liberation 5 Vocabulary 2: Word Building 1. meaning 2. defence 3. liberation 4. agreement 5. destruction 6.development 7. resistance 8.occupation

2 What do you know? 1. September 11 (2001) 2.Al-Qaida 3. Guantanamo Bay - Cuba 4. Weapons of mass destruction 5. The US Secretary of Defence

6 Pronunciation: Mark the stress Put these words into the correct box according to their stress pattern 1. resistance; destruction; important; September 2. occupy; terrorist; prisoner; difficult 3. attack; depend; crusade; Iraq 4. recent; careless; martyr; reason

3 Comprehension Check 1 c; 2 a; 3 c; 4 b:

4 Vocabulary 1: Prepositions 1. on 2. of 3. on 4. to 5. against/ from 6. to 7. in 8. on

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