Languages of a Revolution; Syria's War of Words

The 2011 Syrian revolution-turned-civil war is infamous for its devastation, destruction, and brutal acts of violence. This thesis looks beyond these atrocities and examines one of the revolution’s more subtle, yet equally significant, features – a “war of words.” This war, I argue, is evidenced by the intentional use of specific terminology to construct three distinct narratives of the Syrian uprising. These conflicting narratives, composed by former president Bashar al-Asad, the early opposition movement, and the Islamic State, respectively, directly impacted the revolution itself, as well as external perceptions of it. Using a linguistic lens, this work provides additional insight into the role (and power) of language in Syria’s decade long conflict. It also sheds light on the continued impact of historical circumstances on contemporary rhetoric in revolutionary Syria. Given Bashar al-Asad’s late-2024 departure, and the dynamic nature of the country’s political struggles, this insight is valuable to any research examining a post-Asad Syria.