Analysis of Personal Pronoun in Biden’s 2021 Inaugural Speech Based on the Theory of Interpersonal Function Theory

Abstract

The inaugural speech is a type of public speech and part of the speech culture. It is also one of the main contents of activities that national leaders often engage in. It embodies not only the humanistic spirit of the society, but also the state leaders’ ardent expectations and best wishes for the people and the country. In recent years, the research on speech discourse analysis has gradually aroused the interest of domestic scholars. Although different scholars have different perspectives on this thesis, they have achieved certain results, especially the exploration of speech discourse under the framework of systemic functional linguistics. Based on the theory of interpersonal function in systemic functional linguistics, this paper analyzes the personal pronouns in Joseph Biden’s inaugural speech from the perspective of interpersonal function theory and aims to reveal how the speaker uses personal pronouns to achieve his speech.