What exactly does 'urge' mean? It's an order or request. I am confused, can any one explain clearly. For example:
Stalin urges ministers
Does this mean that Stalin is requesting ministers, or ordering ministers.
-
2What don't you understand about the definition? urge - Try earnestly or persistently to persuade (someone) to do something (WITH OBJECT, as it says there).– FumbleFingersOct 14, 2016 at 18:03
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
"Stalin urges Ministers" means whether stalin is requesting ministers or ordering ministers.
This is a good example where it's important to know your history and certain journalistic conventions, in order to understand the subtext of an English sentence. Knowing Stalin's penchant for eliminating those who disagreed with (or merely disappointed) him, you could imagine that any suggestion from him would be treated as an order. Otherwise the minister might find himself out of a job, exiled to Siberia, and possibly facing a firing squad.
But there's another layer to this, namely how Western newspapers, magazines, books, and other sources reported on Stalin's actions. In this case "urge" has the literal meaning of "to earnestly try to persuade", but it could effectively be a euphemism for order or command. If the journalists really wanted to imply that Stalin was suggesting something, they might use a more passive verb like "request", or "direct", or "outline", or "introduce", or "delineate", or various other options:
Stalin introduced his five-year plan to his ministers, outlining the steps they should take to increase agricultural productivity.
Stalin requested that his Ministers to identify dissent in the ranks, to ensure that all government officials were Party loyalists.
Of course, even these have the distinct smell of command about them. Such were the times.
You might ask why the news didn't just say "order" if it's clear that Stalin was issuing an order. The reason is that this would be inaccurate in a news story, since the statement took the form of a strong request and was not an actual command. The actual implications of the statement are left to the reader to decipher.
Note that this same or similar verbiage is in use today when reporting on news from similarly autocratic countries (like North Korea), where the news might report that their leader "issued a bellicose statement" instead of saying that he "threatened" South Korea -- even if that's what North Korea routinely does.
