What is a sound bite? A great definition from the Académie française

La petite phrase is the first French book focusing on political sound bites. However, the Académie

française (French Academy), the prominent institution in charge of anything pertaining to the French language, had already coined in its Dictionary a comprehensive 13-word definition: « une formule concise qui sous des dehors anodins vise à marquer les esprits » (a concise formula which under innocent outsides aims at leaving a mark on minds). This is a specially efficient definition. Like the sound bite itself, it says much in few words:

1. A sound bite is not necessarily a complete sentence in a grammatical sense: it is a "formula" – a condensed expression of some rule, as in mathematics, pharmacy and so on. Think, for example, of Einstein’s E=MC2: it contains the world! The analogy is accurate: the implicit mission of sound bites is to show what to do or think in certain circumstances.
2. “Petite”, in French, means “small” or “short”. However, a sound bite is not just short, made of few words, it is "concise," an adjective that, according to the Académie française itself, means “which says a lot in few words." The sound bite contains more than itself.
3. A sound bite shows "under innocent outsides." In the Académie française view, a sound bite is a 3D object: if it has outsides, it must have insides. The wording is not that important: the true message is hidden in the sound bite.
4. A sound bite “aims”: it is driven by it’s own intention. Note this: in the definition, the subject of the action verb is the sound bite itself, as if it was animated by a life of its own instead of being a mere expression of its author. Indeed, quite often, a sound bite will follow its own course, perhaps at its author's regrets. Or, it will hit another target than the intended one.
5. The purpose of the sound bite is to "leave a mark", an impact which lasts, at least for some time. It relates to memory more than intelligence, its goal is not to convince or to fuel an argument.
6. The mark left by the sound bite bears on “minds”. This word may have many different meanings, but note that the Académie française chose to use the plural, denoting a collective character of the sound bite: it is directed generally toward a group, not an individual.

Michel Le Séac'h