A discourse analysis of the acceptance speech of President Goodluck Jonathan after his victory at the 2011 presidential polls

Abstract

Speeches are meant to communicate the intentions of the speaker. Elected African leaders and other political office holdersaround the world normally make speeches during campaigns to communicate their manifestoes to the electorate. Acceptance speeches are also made after their victories at the polls.This is followed by inaugural speeches on the day they assume office. Apart from these events that require speeches, there are also many other circumstances or events that call for speeches from political leaders during their reign. This study analyses the acceptance speech made by President Goodluck Jonathan following his victory in the 2011 presidential election. The speech act theory propounded by J.L. Austinwas adopted in the analysis of the speech. The result indicates that President Jonathan utilized assertive and directive statements during the said speech. This indicates that whereas he implied a certain degree of commitment on the one hand, he was nevertheless evasive in terms of committing himself to the expectations of the citizens.