CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF FIGURES OF SPEECH IN SEVERN SUZUKI’S PERSUASIVE SPEECH

Abstract

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a frequently used method with the intent of serving a trustworthy evaluation of what is intended to mean when the language is used to define and commentate. It is therefore of capital importance to consider the social context, the manner and word selection while analysing a speech in order to avoid passively reporting upon since the speech is impregnated with its meaning and perspective. In this respect, the purpose of the current study was to search for the critical discourse analysis of the speech given by a then 12-year-old Canadian girl called Severn Suziki, an environmental activist, in United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 in order to draw the attention of 117 presidents and representatives of 178 nations to some crucial topics such as environment and global warming. The keyword analysis of the speech revealed that the most frequently used words were ordered as child, children, world and afraid confirming the main aim of the speech that the environment should be protected for the future generations. Critical discourse analysis of the speech demonstrated that Severn Suziki utilised 7 figures of speech such as alliteration, hyperbole, imagery, irony, parallelism, rhetorical questions and simile justifying that she had her own particularity and implemented various persuasive techniques and figures of speech.