Definition and Examples of Testimony in Rhetoric

Definition and Examples of Testimony in Rhetoric Testimony is a  rhetorical term for a persons account of an event or state of affairs. Etymology: from the Latin, witness Testimony is  of various kinds, said  Richard Whately in Elements of Rhetoric (1828), and may possess various degrees of force, not only in reference to its own intrinsic character, but in reference also to the kind of conclusion that it is brought to support. In his discussion of testimony, Whately examined the distinctions between matters of fact and matters of opinion, noting that there is often much room for the exercise of judgment, and for difference of opinion, in reference to things which are, themselves, matters of fact. Examples and Observations Four out of five dentists surveyed recommend Trident sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum! -(advertising claim made by Trident chewing gum)No wonder so many doctors now smoke and recommend King-Size Viceroys. -(advertising claim made in the 1950s by Viceroy cigarettes)One of the Soviet Georgias senior citizens thought Dannon was an excellent yogurt. She ought to know. Shes been eating yogurt for 137 years. -(advertising campaign for Dannon Yogurt)Extrinsic Proof as Testimony-  I define testimony as everything that is brought in and secured from some external circumstance for the purpose of gaining a conviction. The best witness, therefore, is one who has, or is perceived by the jury to have, authority. -(Cicero, Topica, 44 B.C.)- Cicero stated that all extrinsic proofs rely chiefly upon the authority granted by the community to those who make them (Topics IV 24). In other words, Cicero defined all extrinsic proof as testimony. In keeping with Ciceros remark, we might argue that facts are a kind of testimony since their accuracy depends upon the care taken by the person who establishes them as facts and upon his reputation in relevant communities, as well. -(Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee, Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students, 3rd ed. Pearson, 2004) George Campbell on Evaluating Testimony (The Philosophy of Rhetoric, 1776)Although [George] Campbell does not provide a detailed discussion of the guidelines to be used in evaluating the reliability of a rhetors testimony, he does list the following criteria that may be used in corroborating or invalidating the claims of a witness: 1. The reputation of the author and the manner of his or her address.2. The nature of the fact attested.3. The occasion and disposition of the hearers to whom it was given.4. The design or motives of the witness.5. The use of concurrent testimony. When these criteria are met, and are consistent with experience, a high level of persuasion may be achieved. -(James L. Golden et al., The Rhetoric of Western Thought: From the Mediterranean World to the Global Setting, 8th ed. Kendall Hunt, 2003)Testimony of Condoleezza RiceOn August 6, 2001, over a month before 9/11, during the summer of threat, President Bush received a Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB) at his Crawford, Texas ranch indicating that bin Laden might be planning to hijack commercial airliners. The memo was entitled Bin Laden Determined to Strike inside US, and the entire memo focused on the possibility of terrorist attacks inside the US. In testimony before the 9/11 Commission, Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor to President Bush, stated to the commission that she and Bush considered the August 6th PDB as just an historical document and stated that it was not considered a warning. -(D. Lindley Young, The Modern Tribune, April 8, 2004) Richard Whately on Matters of Fact and OpinionObserving that argument from testimony is related mostly to jurisprudence, [Richard] Whately [1787-1863] observes two kinds of Testimony that can be used to support the truth of a premise: testimony regarding matters of fact, in which a witness testifies to matters verified by the senses, and testimony regarding matters of opinion, in which a witness offers a judgment based on common sense or deduction. As a form of argument from signs, testimony convinces by presenting evidence of an effect from which a cause or condition can be inferred. -(Nan Johnson, Nineteenth-Century Rhetoric in North America. Southern Illinois University Press, 1991)The Testimony of WitnessesContemporary rhetoric includes a kind of testimony that was absent from ancient considerations: statements by persons who were physically present at an event. The authority of proximate witnesses derives not from their wisdom or their professional expertise but from the modern presumption that evidence provided by the senses is reliable and credible. . . .The worth of testimony offered by proximate witnesses must pass several tests. First, a witness must be in a position to observe the events in question. Second, conditions must be such that a witness can adequately perceive an event. Third, the witnesss state of mind at the time must be conducive to her accurate observation and reporting. If this is not the case, her testimony must be modified accordingly. Fourth, in keeping with modern faith in empirical evidence, testimony offered by a proximate witness is more valuable than evidence offered by someone who was not present. -(Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee, Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students, 3rd ed. Pearson, 2004) Pronunciation: TES-ti-MON-ee

10 Functions of the Comma

10 Functions of the Comma 10 Functions of the Comma 10 Functions of the Comma By Mark Nichol A comma is a versatile punctuation mark, serving ten basic functions. Here’s an enumeration, with examples. 1. Separate the elements in a series: â€Å"Groucho, Harpo, and Chico developed the philosophy called Marxism.† Many periodicals and websites, and most colloquially written books, omit the serial, or final, comma, but it is all but mandatory in formal writing and is recommended in all usage. As language maven Bryan Garner observes, â€Å"Omitting the serial comma may cause ambiguities, whereas including it never will.† 2. Separate coordinated independent clauses: â€Å"I like the Marx Brothers, but she thinks they’re too silly.† (An independent clause is one that can stand on its own as a sentence but is linked with another by a conjunction and/or a punctuation mark.) Exceptions include sentences with closely linked clauses (â€Å"Go to the window and see who’s there†) and those with a compound predicate (â€Å"The Marx Brothers are known for their puns and their sight gags†). 3. Separate an introductory word (â€Å"Naturally, I agree with you†), phrase (â€Å"Last summer, I went on a long vacation†), or subordinate clause (â€Å"If you’re too busy now, wait until later†) from the remainder of the sentence. 4. Separate an optional parenthetical element from the remainder of the sentence. â€Å"We have, in a manner of speaking, won despite our loss.† (The phrase â€Å"in a manner of speaking† could also be set off by em dashes or parentheses, depending on whether the writer wishes to emphasize the interruption of the statement â€Å"We have won despite our loss† or wants to diminish it as an aside.) 5. Separate coordinate adjectives from each other: â€Å"I could really use a tall, cool drink right now.† (Do not separate noncoordinate adjectives with a comma; this post explains the difference between these two types of adjectives.) 6. Separate an attribution from a direct quotation: â€Å"She said, ‘Neither choice is very appealing’†; â€Å"‘That’s not my problem,’ he replied.† (A colon may be precede a formal pronouncement or an attribution that forms a complete thought, as in, â€Å"He had this to say: ‘Her point is irrelevant.† Omit punctuation when the attribution is implied, as in â€Å"Your response ‘Her point is irrelevant’ is evasive.†) 7. Separate a participial phrase or one lacking a verb from the remainder of the sentence: â€Å"Having said that, I still have my doubts†; â€Å"The deed done, we retreated to our hideout.† 8. Separate a salutation from a letter (â€Å"Dear friends,†) or a complimentary close from a signature in a letter (â€Å"Sincerely,†). A colon should be used in place of a comma in a formal salutation. 9. Separate elements when setting off a term for a larger geopolitical entity from that for a smaller one located within it (â€Å"Santa Barbara, California, is located on the coast†) and for elements of street addresses (â€Å"1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC†) (and dates (â€Å"January 1, 2013†). 10. Separate groups of three digits in numbers: (Let me tell you how to make your first 100,000,000 dollars.† (Because large numbers are difficult to scan, it’s usually better to use one of the following forms: â€Å"100 million dollars,† â€Å"one hundred million dollars.†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Using "a" and "an" Before WordsOne Fell SwoopPhrasal Verbs and Phrasal Nouns