Seven Tips for Linguists to Create Persuasive Protest Signs
Today is the March of Science and people all over the country are taking to the streets to protest any anti-scientific programs and policies. If you’re planning to show your support, there’s still time to make commemorative signs with these simple wordplay tips.
As linguist and podcast host Daniel Midgley explains in Quartz , making smart protest signs is tricky because you have limited space and your message must be digested quickly (as you will be moving around). Whatever your objection, Midgley offers seven approaches to help you really see your sign:
- Parallelism : Use structural similarity as a tool to make your message more memorable, such as “My body / My choice”.
- Rhymes : Rhymes make any protest slogan more memorable, such as “No oil on our land” or “Don’t hate, educate.”
- Personality : If you are protesting against someone in particular, as many recently did against President Donald Trump, you might say something like “We will win.”
- Disbelief : A humorous conversational tone can draw both frivolity and attention to a situation, such as “I’m with them” and arrows pointing to people around you, or “[Quote required].” Just keep humor on anything. The sign that says “My hands are tired” is funny, but not entirely correct.
- Reflection : Take a slogan or words spoken by someone and bend them to your will, such as “America runs for science” instead of the original Dunkin ‘Donuts slogan.
- Positivity : Speak optimistically and directly, for example, “We support science!” or “Science saves lives.”
- Repetition : There is nothing wrong with making a sign that you have heard or seen before, such as “Science has no agenda.” Protests are not creative competitions.
Finally, don’t worry about how good your sign looks. A blank sheet of poster with a few strong words is more than enough. Now go away, be safe and support what you think is right.