Political Speeches Research Articles

Speech Acts and Political Commitment: An Analysis of APC Presidential Nomination Acceptance speech of Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu

An acceptance speech is one of the political speeches being delivered by political aspirants across the world. This paper investigates and identifies the speech act features of the nomination acceptance speech of a notable Nigeria politician, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The theoretical framework of Speech Act Theory of Austin and modified by Searle was adopted for its analysis. The analysis specifically focuses on the illocutionary acts that were used in the speech. These illocutionary acts are: assertives, directives, commissives, expressives and declaratives. The findings reveal that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu uses illocutionary acts: expressives (33.3%), assertives (13.3%), commissives (36.7%), directives (16.7%) and declaratives (0%). He uses the nomination acceptance speech to inform, thank, promise, request, state, assure, persuade and reflect on the present political challenges ahead his party, the All Progressive Congress in the 2023 Presidential election. It was further revealed from the illocutionary acts in the speech that Senator Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to the development of the nation cannot be overemphasised. Those identified speech acts further foster his political interest and commitment to the affairs and welfares of Nigerians. The work adds to the knowledge of speech act analysis and provides insights into the relevance of political commitment by politicians in Nigeria.

The Translation of Animal Metaphors in Politics between English and Arabic

Objectives: This study aims to examine the conceptualization of animal metaphors in political speeches delivered by Abdullah II, the King of Jordan, and President Trump. Additionally, the research investigates the translatability of metaphors between English and Arabic in political speeches.
 Methods: The study analyzes metaphors using the conceptual theory of metaphor. Translated metaphors are examined based on the triangulation of translation procedures suggested by Schäffner (2004) and Deignan et al. (1997).
 Results: The study reveals that metaphors play a significant role in shaping political discourse and serve as influential devices used by politicians to persuade their audience and communicate complex political ideas, particularly in relation to topics such as terrorism. Regarding the translatability of metaphors, the study finds that the similarities outweigh the differences, primarily in terms of the correspondence in the number of conceptual domains.
 Conclusions: It is widely acknowledged that metaphors are prevalent in politics and have been established as major linguistic devices. Therefore, many political figures extensively employ metaphors. The research recommends exploring other types of metaphors in different genres.

Speech Acts as a Strategy of Bias in Donald Trump’s Political Speeches

This study deals with analyzing bias in selected political speeches delivered by Donald Trump in different occasions from a pragmatic perspective, namely speech act theory. The reason behind choosing this topic is that it has not been given its due attention, especially from a pragmatic perspective, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge. The study aims at finding out the pragmatic strategies, namely speech acts that American politicians exploit to issue bias in their political speeches. Six speeches have been chosen randomly to be analysed as far as types of speech acts are concerned. Data analysis is followed by a table and a figure to illustrate the frequency and percentage of the identified speech act. Finally, there are the main conclusions that the researcher arrived at.

Imran Khan and Z.A. Bhutto: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistani Political Speeches

Critical Discourse Analysis elucidates the text, language, social customs, hidden agendas, and linguistic twists. Politicians manipulate language in such a way that people's sentiments and emotions connect with politicians. In political debates, CDA has been used to showcase the speech style behind all these and every sort of discourse that can be employed to control the sentiment expressed to the audience (Roffee, 2016). Fairclough's study of the three-dimensional model: text, discursive practices, and societal practices influenced this study. This research examines how political speeches by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Imran Khan are constructed and how ideology emerges. Various linguistic tools have been investigated to uncover hidden agendas. The major findings in Imran Khan's power projection are his excessive use of religious and political implications and personal pronouns to gain and show his power. Power is discovered to be constructed via language, ideology, society, and political practices. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's speech focuses on the right of countries to self-determination. Both UN speeches were watershed moments in Pakistani history, reflecting existing political ideologies and societal factors. The speeches demonstrate how language can build persuasive arguments and communicate important ideas beyond words.

DIFFERENTIATION OF TYPES OF INDIRECT DIRECTIVE SPEECH ACT IN GERMAN DIALOGICAL DISCOURSE

The article is dedicated to the study of indirect directive speech acts and the differentiation of their types in the German dialogical discourse. Authoritarian or significant indirect speech acts are such acts aimed at prompting action, but this action is partially caused by the desire of the respondent; instead, non-authoritarian or polite indirect speech acts are intended to induce action in a polite, unobtrusive form.

Techniques for Assessing Disciplined Attitudes of Santri in Arabic Subjects at Al-Irsyad Tengaran 7, Batu City

This research intended to find out: 1) indicators of disciplinary attitude assessment, 2) assessment techniques discipline attitude at Al-Irsyad Tengaran Islamic Boarding School 7 Batu City, 3) efforts in instilling the values of discipline to the students at Al-Irsyad Tengaran Islamic Boarding School 7 Batu City. This study uses a qualitative approach with descriptive qualitative research methods. The data sources used by researchers in this study were school principals, heads of curriculum sections, Arabic subject teachers and students at Al-Irsyad Tengaran Islamic Boarding School 7 Batu City. The research results are: 1). There are 10 indicators for discipline attitudes assessment, 2) the assessment technique is carried out by the teacher for each subject in each note, but based on predetermined indicators. 3) inculcating the value of discipline including; a) the teacher and the pesantren always invite and guide the students to be on time, b) the teacher and the pesantren always invite the students to always maintain good and polite speech, c) the teacher and the pesantren also always appeal to all the students to can maintain neatness, especially in dressing, d) teachers in class has an obligation to the students to provide motivation and advice related to the importance of instilling discipline in carrying out activities

A Critical Cognitive Analysis of Metaphors in Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s Political Speeches

This thesis analyzes the use of various types of metaphors in a self-built corpus of political speeches delivered by the first president of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, on his fight for Independence for Ghana and the whole of Africa. It aims to uncover how Dr. Nkrumah used rhetoric as a weapon to achieve his political aims and ideologies. In order to identify the metaphorical expressions, I used the Metaphor Identification Procedure developed by scholars at the VU University Amsterdam (abbreviated as MIPVU), which is a systematic and transparent procedure for identifying linguistic metaphors. By adopting MIPVU, lexical units of the sentences were examined, and then the contextual meaning of the unit was established to determine the more basic meaning. If the contextual meaning is contrasted with the basic meaning but can be understood in comparison with it, then the unit will be marked as a metaphor. A total sum of forty-three metaphorical expressions was identified in my self-built corpus. After the metaphors were identified, I followed the procedures of Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) to analyze the use of metaphors to reveal the underlying ideologies and rhetorical functions. It is found that Nkrumah frequently used the journey, war and religious metaphors to convey the intended message and achieve his political objectives. These metaphors can serve a series of functions, such as attracting attention to establish trust, providing an explanation through framing, expressing empathy, emotion or motivation, fulfilling aesthetic purpose as well as creating a political myth. More generally, metaphors as a powerful tool help make Nkrumah’s political speeches more convincing.

Chinese Passive Sentences Interpretation Strategies in the Perspective of Skopos Theory

Due to different language families and cultural backgrounds, Chinese and English have much disparity, among which the passive voice is one of the most significant differences. Therefore, developing appropriate strategies for passive voice interpretation is essential. However, current translation community has relatively little research on the Chinese - English translation of passive sentences, and even the existent research on this field is not systematic. This study aims to find out common strategies for English interpretation of Chinese passive sentences (abbreviated as CPS) on the basis of Skopos Theory. The present study conducts Corpus Linguistics as the research method, and focuses on the structures, components, and semantic meanings of both source and target sentences to discuss whether the interpretation strategy employed achieved its purpose. By collecting and analyzing CPS in political speeches between 1997 and 2017 and their English interpretations from CEPIC corpus, three strategies are proposed in this study: 1) Interpreting CPS into English passive sentences; 2) Interpreting CPS into English active sentences; 3) Interpreting CPS into English structures without active or passive voice. The choice of strategy is contingent but must conforms with the translation purpose and take into consideration the target audience and target setting, so to improve the quality of interpretation activity as an efficacious trans-national communication.

Defending Christianity from the ‘rainbow plague’

Building on previous work on the anti-genderism register and moments of enregisterment, and adopting the Discourse-Historical Approach with its notion of topoi as an argumentation device used by right-wing populists, this article examines how the Catholic Church and right-wing politicians and media have mobilised against the alleged threat of ‘LGBT/gender ideology’ in Poland. Based on the analysis of 70 texts including homilies, political speeches, news articles and interviews, the article identifies three content-related topoi that are relayed across various anti-genderist actors. Together, these topoi and their repeated reuptake help to construct a historicised narrative of Poland as the defender of Christianity and of Europe, and to legitimise different actors’ anti-LGBT campaigns as they pursue their particular agendas. The article makes a contribution to exploring the processes through which the globally circulating anti-genderism register operates in a specific local context.

A Study of Interactional Metadiscourse Features in Chinese University Students' Prepared English Speech

Speech is an activity in which speakers convey their message to listeners continuously. A coherent, logical argument must be made by the speaker, and audience participation is essential for a successful speech. The majority of prior research on English Public Speaking (hence referred to as EPS) from the Critical Discourse Analysis (hereinafter referred to as CDA) perspective focused on political or academic speech. Although the speech of English language learners (also known as EFLs) has caught the interest of academics. There has not been much study of the interactional metadiscourse characteristics of EFLs' EPS. In this study, we investigate how the usage of metadiscourse influences speakers' performance and the ways presenters engage with their listeners. We do this by drawing on Hyland's stance and engagement framework from 2005. Based on a corpus of 90 prepared speech scripts from high-scoring and low-scoring groups, the results suggest that explicit mentions of oneself and listeners are the most frequent elements, whereas stance markers are employed more frequently than listener engagement markers. Additionally, this study found a positive correlation between the usage of hedges and speech scores and a marginally negative correlation between speech scores and the use of self-mentions. In terms of technique, the interactional metadiscourse analysis on investigating EPS is provided by this study, while in terms of pedagogy, it emphasizes the significance of interactional metadiscourse in EPS instruction.

The Construction of Pragmatic Identity in Political Speech Discourse -- Taking the Keynote Speech by Xi Jinping at the Opening Ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 as an Example

Pragmatic identity construction is conducive to achieving communicative purposes. And political discourse is an effective means of promoting international communication. While the construction of identity in the field of pragmatics is rarely discussed in political discourse. To better understand the political intention of speakers, the research explores how and what pragmatic identities are constructed in political discourse based on pragmatic identity theory, and takes the Keynote Speech by Xi Jinping at the Opening Ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 as corpus. It is found that this speech included many derived identities from pragmatic identities. And President Xi Jinping chooses and exchanges his derived identities from various pragmatic identities by using the strategies of the personal pronoun and linguistic adaptation theory, which helps him better switch his pragmatic identity and achieve his interpersonal functions or political functions.

How to build a “Dream” in political speech? A critical discourse analysis of the discursive construction of the Chinese Dream speech

ABSTRACT This paper examines how Chinese politician tactically builds a dream narrative in political speech, namely, the Chinese Dream. By combining the discourse-historical approach, corpus-assisted methods and framing analysis, the study forms a complementary framework to examine the discursive construction of the Chinese Dream in President Xi Jinping’s representative speeches between 2012 and 2022. It identifies four key thematic representations, i.e. NATIONAL REJUVENATION, CPC’S LEGITIMACY, CHINESE PEOPLE’S INTERESTS and WORLD’S INTERESTS and also finds that the strategies of nomination, predication, argumentation and perspectivization are skillfully used and reveals the Chinese-centric narrative frame. Beyond that, it further discusses Chineseness in the dream narrative. The paper argues that the Chinese Dream is an artificially discursive construct in a grand narrative used to build an ultimate national consensus and to serve the ideological legitimacy of the ruling class.

Pluralistic Unity

Abstract This essay examines the term duoyuan yiti, ‘pluralistic unity’, in cultural and artistic contexts in China and its use in everyday speech in the form of cultural metaphors. It briefly introduces the history of this term and provides examples of its use in political speech, academic writing and grassroots communication. The article also analyses discourses, phrases and ideas that have been constructed around duoyuan yiti, noting their profound impact on social life in China, particularly in its ‘minority’ regions. The article seeks to fill in the gap between, on the one hand, research into the term in Chinese in line with China’s official views and, on the other hand, policy-focused critical approaches in English-language academic writing. Through examining a cluster of derivative terms and slogans, I illustrate how, in public discourse, ‘diversity’ is performed and articulated as subsidiary to ‘unity’ in contemporary China.

DISCOURSE IN COMPARATIVE LINGUISTICS

The application of the concept of discourse in semantics is more complex. Discourse semantics is the analysis of how we use vocabulary in specific areas of intellectual research. An example of this is the use of a pronoun in a sentence, which the reader or listener can only understand while connected. Below we will try to analyze the peculiarities of political speech and its relationship with other areas of linguistics. This analysis explores the connection between language and structure, such as the relationship between a sentence and the broader context in which it exists.

Directive Speech Act in Megawati Sukarnoputri’s Political Speech during the Celebration of PDIP’s 50th Anniversary

The objective of the research was to interpret the type and subtype of directive speech act found in Megawati Sukarnoputri’s political speech during the celebration of PDIP’s 50th anniversary, identify its frequencies and explain what they are used for. This is a qualitative research that applied directive speech act approach. The data in this study were taken from the transcript of the speech. They were interpreted by identifying utterances which applies directive speech act, and categorizing them into different types and subtypes. This research discovered 184 utterances which applied directive speech act where 121 of them were categorized as command, 35 were requests and 28 were suggestions. The most dominant subtype was direct speech act, while indirect speech used occasionally. It additionally revealed that command used to give order, instructions, prohibitions and warnings, requests to ask for cooperation, and support, and express wishes, and suggestions to give advice and opinions.

Joyful Learning dalam Pendidikan Rasulullah SAW

This article aims to present joyful learning inthe education of Rasulullah SAW. The research uses library research, is presented in a narrative manner, and is analyzed descriptively. The results of the study showed that the Prophet Muhammad had practiced joyful learning in his learning process, where he played and joked with young children, while guiding and reminding them when they made mistakes, and motivating them to do good. The principle of learning is by prioritizing gentle, humble, not neglecting, and polite speech. The implication of the research is that it can help educators and stakeholders to use fun learning strategies in Rasulullah SAW education effectively for Islamic education, especially early childhood.

Специфика коммуникативных стратегий военно-политического дискурса в информационной среде (на материале английского и русского языков)

The aim of the study is to determine the specific nature of the communication strategies of military-political discourse in the information environment in the English and Russian languages. It is noted that military discourse is becoming more important in modern political conditions. The paper presents the communication strategies of military-political discourse in the information environment using specific examples from official documents and speeches of politicians. The purpose of the strategies has been determined, that is to have a certain impact on the addressee of communication. The scientific novelty of the study lies in providing a new classification of communication strategies (informational tension creation, persuasion, theatrical presentation) in military-political discourse. In addition, it is the first time that a comparison of linguistic means (lexemes, epithets, comparisons, metaphors) has been carried out within the framework of the communication strategies of Russian and English military-political discourse. The study has revealed the features and conditions of using the communication strategies of informational tension creation, persuasion and theatrical presentation in the framework of Russian and English military-political discourse. Both individuals and society as a whole can act as addressees, depending on this, the communication strategy used varies.

Комплексная анафора как структурный элемент речевой и текстовой стратегий (на материале немецкого языка)

The aim of the study is to determine the features of complex anaphors and complex anaphoric entities as units of organisation of a textual strategy of argumentation in political discourse at the structural and pragmatic levels of language. The paper focuses on the relevance of considering political discourse to examine speech impact, summarises the existing research on Sahra Wagenknecht’s individual speech style, justifies the need to involve the textual categories of coherence and cohesion to analyse the construction of a strategy of argumentation in a text of political speech. The scientific novelty of the study lies in identifying correlations between the structural and pragmatic levels of the text using the example of text-forming means, i.e. complex anaphors and complex anaphoric entities. In addition, some patterns between the types of complex anaphoric entities, their strategic functions and the sequence of their use in the text were found. As a result, it was proved that complex anaphors and complex anaphoric entities, being the means of coherence of political speech, implement a textual strategy of argumentation and a speech strategy of discrediting. The study was conducted on the material of the German language.

‘The People Were Toppled by the Fire from All Sides’: An Analysis of the Metaphorical Use of Fire in Jordanian Political Speeches

This paper examines the metaphorical use of fire in political speeches in the House of Representatives of Jordan. The analysis relies on political speeches made on different occasions between 2015 and 2022. This study uses a corpus-based approach to analyse fire metaphors. The findings indicate that fire is used in political speeches to achieve different metaphorical purposes, both positive and negative. The positive use of fire includes using it as a metaphor relating to hope and optimism for a better future as well as using it to praise courageous deeds and efforts of others. The negative use of fire includes using it to indicate danger, the speed at which unwanted things spread, pain and distress and the urgency to take immediate action to stop danger.

Linguistic and Stylistic Features of English Public Speeches

Political communication plays a special role in the life of modern society. Political speeches can be used to judge the direction of the development of political relations between states and the priorities of politicians in various spheres of social and political life. A political public speech is nothing but the interaction of a politician with the audience, a means of propaganda, a presentation of his position and views, a means of persuasion, and a tool for the power struggle. In political speeches, the important role of language as a means of struggle for power and a way to retain it is especially evident. This determines the relevance of studying the linguistic and stylistic features of political speech and identifying effective ways of linguistic influence on a wide audience. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the description of linguistic and stylistic means that contribute to the creation of an effective political speech in English on the example of the speeches of US President Donald Trump, whose speech style is of great interest to linguists. The article aims to describe the linguistic and stylistic means of creating expressiveness that Trump prefers in his speeches. An equally important objective is to determine the main functions of using linguistic and stylistic devices in a political speech.