The socio pragmatic functions of inaugural speech: A critical discourse analysis approach

Abstract

Inaugural speech as the first formal presentation of a new president plays highly persuasive and ideological functions in the political scene of a country. This study adopted a critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach to investigate the typical discursive characteristics underlying the inaugural address. To this end, George Bush's (2005) second term and Barack Obama's (2009) first term inaugural speeches were analyzed to explore the potential ideologies signaled by the discursive strategies and rhetorical devices which these presidents employed to express their political views. The results revealed that the speakers possessed a rich repertoire of discursive mechanisms such as the positive self and negative other-presentation strategies for influencing the addressees. The findings also attested the intricate relationships existing between language, power and ideology.