A Selectional Restriction Violation is where you give a noun properties that a noun cannot have. For example, it is possible to suggest that humans and animals have
feelings. But can an object like a spoon have feelings? Truth be told the answer is no, and when you suggest that a spoon has feelings you are giving a noun
properties that it does not have, and cannot have.
A few easy examples of this are…
“Aww you hurt that poor fluffy teddy bear.”
“These bricks are scared to be laid.”
“These clothes love me.”
Various political leaders are well known among the NLP community for their
common use of Selectional Restrictional Violation, and other hypnotic language
patterns during speeches and public gatherings. Interestingly enough, if you think about it, the movers for change have long understood the power of purposeful
language and its dramatic effect on the human psyche. Why else would these
leaders have speech writers, for if not to craft a well-orchestrated array of words designed to send the listener into an easily influence-able hypnotic trance-like
state? Media and marketing companies are certainly not exempt from this; as
they bombard the public with their “sexy, beautiful, look like this” campaigns.
One of the easiest and most obvious uses of Selectional Restriction Violation is in Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I have a dream” speech where he addresses a
large crowd of people with this rather hypnotic language. To quote, “This
sweltering summer of the Negro’s Legitimate Discontent will not pass until there
is an invigorating autumn of “freedom and equality.” – Did you notice how he
described ‘legitimate discontent’ as a ‘sweltering summer’ or how ‘freedom and
equality’ can be described as an ‘invigorating autumn?’ It’s impossible for solid BOOST YOUR BODY-IMAGE WITH NLP – NICKRITCHIELIVE.COM
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objects that are not human to have human characteristics (or feelings) when they
are not human, yet we do it in language all the time.
So even though these Selectional Restriction Violations make no logical sense,
when you add them to a speech or to your speaking patterns, you’ll notice that
the way you speak takes on a type of poetic quality, and frequently sends people
into a trance-like state.