Mood as a structural analysis: How linguistic structure build interpersonal relationship in a speech text of Muhammed Buhari's 61st independence anniversary on 1st October, 2021

Abstract

The study presents an exploration of how interpersonal relationships are created in a speech text. It investigated former President Muhammadu Buhari's Independence Day speech using mood structural analysis. The analysis aimed to explore the power of using mood structure in addressing Nigerians about the President's programs and policies during the 61st Independence Anniversary. The study adopted Halliday's systemic functional grammatical framework. The data were broken into clauses and mood structures. The analysis revealed that there were twelve declarative and four imperative sentences, respectively. The findings showed that the former President employed more declarative sentences than other forms of mood to demonstrate his close connection with his audience. He deliberately used fewer imperative sentences and other mood forms to indicate the power dynamics with his audience. The mood structural analysis of former President Buhari's Independence speech was characterized by well-selected linguistic structures aimed at conveying the policies and programs of his administration over time. It also illustrates how linguistic structures build interpersonal relationships in a speech text.