Friday 12 November 2010

The Language of Terror


BOO!!! Did that frighten you? Of course not. It’s not very high up on the list of the scariest words in the English language. But what about: “You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high.”

Now that sounds quite threatening, and by Tweeting those words, Paul Chambers from Northern Ireland was convicted of sending a menacing electronic communication, fined £400 and ordered to pay £2,600 prosecution costs.

A threat to blow up an airport is hardly a joking matter and bomb hoaxes are not exactly a laugh-a-minute subject either, but the above comment was not intended as either. Chambers was upset that the closure of the airport due to bad weather might threaten his holiday and sent a private message to a tweet-mate which then became public due to the way Twitter operates.

When you read the full comment in its proper context, it immediately loses any threatening intent: “Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!”

A real terrorist is hardly likely to make a bomb threat using an easily traceable Twitter account. The copious use of exclamation marks is a clear indication that this was someone simply someone letting off steam.

Whether justice has prevailed or the law is an ass is a matter for subjective comment. From a linguistic point of view, however, this seems to be a very good example of how context can dramatically affect the meaning of words.