Discourse Analysis of Female Political Speeches: A Study of Linguistic Techniques and Devices

Abstract

This study explains the role of discourse analysis in understanding political speeches by shedding light on the application of theories and techniques of discourse analysis to analyse political discourse. Language is a multi-layered entity, and based on this, the study analyses the meanings and constructs that lie behind the linguistic elements in political speeches. The study is based on three female political speeches viz., those of Jacinda Ardern (the previous New Zealand Prime Minister) in Christchurch’s, the first Senate speech of Fatima Payman, a Muslim immigrant to be a senator in the Australian Senate, and the opening speech of Sanna Marin, the Prime Minister of Finland, at NYU in 2023. The selection was made using Fairclough’s Framework to identify different topics for speeches. In the analysis, the researcher unravels the underlying meaning in these speeches, and simultaneously the relationships between power and ideology, ideology and identity. Findings showed that the three speeches used many persuasive techniques and rhetorical devices with concealed meanings betraying ideological biases, and persuasive strategies to advance individual agendas.