Argumentation & persuasion

Lesson opening

This is the first part of the lesson. The rest, the exercises and the reviews are in the app.

Argumentation: tvrdim da, dokaz je, s druge strane

You can already state an opinion and soften it (the lesson “Expressing opinion”), and you can link sentences into a text with međutim, dakle, naime (the lesson “Linking words”). Argumentation is the next floor up: not “what I think” but why anyone should believe it. A Serbian argument has a frame, a set of moves and a firm tie to register, that is, to the setting: the same point made in a kafana (a Serbian tavern), at a meeting and in writing takes three different sets of words.

The frame: thesis, argument, proof, conclusion

First, the names for the parts of an argument. Some are international (teza, argument, poenta), some are Slavic (dokaz, zaključak), and the verbs that go with them follow Serbian habits, not English ones.

The frame has four steps, and the order is the same in conversation and in writing.

“An argument in favour of something” can be built two ways: the conversational argument za to (za with the accusative) and the bookish u prilog with the dative, Navešću dva argumenta u prilog toj tezi. “I will give two arguments in support of this thesis.” The same phrase gives Sve to ide u prilog našem predlogu. “All of that speaks in favour of our proposal.”

Stating a thesis: from ja mislim ovako to zalažem se za

There are three sets of phrases for stating a thesis. They differ not in force but in setting: the more official the setting, the longer and more impersonal the formula, just as English “Here’s the thing” becomes “We would argue that”.

Three key verbs and their cases: zalagati se za “to argue for, to champion” takes the accusative; biti protiv “to be against” takes the genitive (Ja sam protiv tog rešenja. “I’m against that solution.”); insistirati na “to insist on” takes the locative (Insistiram na tome da se glasa danas. “I insist that we vote today.”).

Mind the register of “I think”. Mislim da… is the everyday way to say it, and so is Po meni… “in my view”; smatram da is a notch more formal, like “I hold that” (the lesson “Expressing opinion”), and is more at home at a meeting or in writing than in a kafana. Tvrdim da… “I claim, I maintain” is firmer still: once you have said it, you owe a reason.

Backing it up and weighing it: arguments, proof, for and against

A bare thesis survives seconds in a Serbian conversation before someone fires back Na osnovu čega? “Based on what?” You answer with verbs of support, and each has its own construction.

Evidence itself comes in four kinds, and the phrases for them are the same in a newspaper, a presentation and a conversation.

Cheat sheet

The cheat sheet — everything essential from the lesson on one page. In the app it opens at any time.

Argumentation

The frame: teza thesis → argument, razlog reason → dokaz, podatak, činjenica, primer proof → protivargument, prigovor objection → zaključak, poenta conclusion. Techniques: ustupak concession, pobijanje rebuttal.

Stating a thesis

Cases: zalagati se za + Acc., biti protiv + Gen., insistirati na + Loc., u prilog + Dat. “I think”: mislim da; smatram da is more formal; Tvrdim da… “I claim” needs a reason.

Backing up and weighing

• Verbs: navesti argument/primer, dati primer give, izneti stav set out, potkrepiti tvrdnju back up, pozvati se na cite, dokazati da… prove.
• Evidence: podaci pokazuju da…, prema podacima…, brojke govore da…, istraživanja pokazuju da…, uzmimo primer…, iskustvo pokazuje da…, Dokaz je to što…
• In order: kao prvo, kao drugo firstly, secondly; pre svega above all.
• Weighing: prednosti i mane pros and cons, argumenti za i protiv, s jedne strane… s druge strane…, isplati se; prevagnuti tip the scales. With što: Prednost je što je jeftinije, a mana što traje duže.

Concede, then object

Rebutting

Dose and persuasion

• Soften: donekle, u izvesnoj meri, uglavnom, rekao bih, nije baš…, ne bih rekao da…
• Strengthen: svakako, nesumnjivo, u svakom slučaju, zaista, upravo, itekako. svakako = “certainly” and “in any case”.
• Persuade: question Zar nije jasno da…? Nije li bolje da…?; hypothesis Zamislite da… Šta bi bilo kad bismo…?; appeal Predlažem da… Vredi bar probati. Hajde da probamo.; Složićete se da… “you’ll agree that” (future).

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