This article contributes to the study of the European Commission's (EC) politicization by examining this phenomenon from the angle of communication. We elaborate a novel approach based on two linguistic indicators – charisma and technicality – which we then apply through a content analysis of 8,947 speeches delivered by Commission members between 1999 and 2019. Contrary to the narrative of an ever more political Commission, we find that the linguistic politicization of the EC decreased over the period under exam, reaching its nadir during Jean-Claude Juncker's presidential term (2014–19). Our findings raise the question of whether language is yet another ordinary dimension of politicization, or rather it is used strategically by the Commission to underplay its underlying politicization as measured in more traditional institutional, policy, and individual terms. Either way, our study highlights the multi-faceted nature of the politicization concept, and the need for deeper and more nuanced analyses of it.

中文翻译：

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一个“更具政治性”的委员会？通过语言重新评估欧共体政治化

本文通过从传播的角度审视这一现象，有助于研究欧盟委员会（EC）的政治化。我们基于两个语言指标——魅力和技术——制定了一种新颖的方法，然后我们通过对委员会成员在 1999 年至 2019 年期间发表的 8,947 次演讲的内容分析来应用它。与越来越政治化的委员会的叙述相反，我们发现欧共体的语言政治化在审查期间有所下降，在让-克洛德·容克 (Jean-Claude Juncker) 的总统任期 (2014-19) 期间达到最低点。我们的研究结果提出了一个问题，即语言是否是政治化的另一个普通维度，或者更确切地说，它被委员会战略性地用来淡化其潜在的政治化，以更传统的制度、政策、和个别条款。无论哪种方式，我们的研究都强调了政治化概念的多面性，以及对其进行更深入和更细致分析的必要性。