Political Speeches Research Articles

Political Speech from Corporate America: Sparse, Mostly for Democrats, and Somewhat Representative

How do corporations engage in political speech in the age of social media? Evidence suggests that online corporate brands employ a variety of partisan signals which include not only ideological positions but also more subtle, implicit appeals to partisans. Identifying and scaling a broad range of these signals in ≈2 million Twitter and Insta- gram posts from the 1,000 most popular corporate brands in the United States, I find that most corporate brands’ speech mirrors the speech of Democrats, but this is concentrated in a handful of brands and occurs in uneven bursts across time. Moreover, this communication is not as dishonest as popular narratives suggest: the majority of brands’ partisan speech well represents the political preferences of key stakeholders (e.g. employees, voters, and consumers) and is at least somewhat informative about corporate governance priorities (e.g. political spending, DEI outcomes, and cli- mate policy). These results provide a measured counterbalance to popular narratives of ‘woke capitalism’, suggesting that political speech from corporate America is, at worst, sometimes inconsistent with stakeholders and firm agendas rather than outright hypocritical.

A Neo-aristotelian Criticism on the Language of Persuasion of the 2016 Presidential Debates

The purpose of this study was to explore how the five presidential aspirants employed rhetoric during the presidential debates held last February 21, 2016, in Cagayan de Oro for the first leg, and April 26, 2016, in Pangasinan for the third leg. The study employed the neo-Aristotelian Approach which is a dominant approach to criticism for examining rhetoric in public speech. In addition, three canons of rhetoric, including invention (ethos, pathos, logos), organization, and style were applied. The findings revealed that the analyses of the five presidential candidates using the three among the five canons of rhetoric, is useful to evaluate their speeches. Ethos is gravely used by most of the presidentiables to persuade their constituent voters. The functions of political speeches in the context of presidential debate were achieved.

A Comparative Discourse Analysis of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s and Joseph Biden Jr.’s Inaugural Speeches

This study aimed to analyze and describe the structure, concepts and language use of the inauguration speeches delivered by Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. and US President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., as well as the reasons for their selection. The researchers used a descriptive and qualitative research design to extract data from the transcripts of the two speeches. The findings revealed that both presidents used similar speech structures during their inaugurations, acknowledging important people, recognizing the historical significance of their inaugurations, and expressing hope for the future of their countries. The study also identifies the implications of the content of the message in the inaugural speeches of the two presidents. President Biden Jr. focused on racial fairness, honesty, and unity, while President Marcos Jr. advocated unity and hope for the future. Both presidents employed directive speech acts to encourage certain behaviors and attitudes, illustrating their different leadership viewpoints. It is recommended for linguistics students to have further readings in the application of Speech Act in comparative discourse analysis for political speeches, teachers should encourage more students to conduct research, parents should be aware of the implications of political speeches, administrators should motivate students to conduct study using quantitative research, and future researchers should focus on developing a more nuanced understanding of the discourses used by political leaders in different contexts and investigating the impact of political discourses on public opinion.

The British Conservative Party’s drift to the right: Taking on the “deep state”

The British Conservative Party has increasingly embraced a right-wing conspiracy theory according to which a host of unrelated actors are said to be working against the best interests of ordinary British people to advance a “woke” agenda that is left-wing, anti-Brexit, pro-immigration and unpatriotic. Some conservatives, namely former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have even gone so far as to suggest that these forces form part of a “deep state”, working in the shadows against the elected government and therefore against the people themselves. They purportedly do so by advancing “cultural Marxism” – pushing a silent revolution through, rather than against, the key institutions of the British State. Through an analysis of political speeches and of reports from right-wing think tanks close to the Conservative Party, this article seeks to analyse the British government’s recent attacks on those who it has designated as the principal enemies of the people: the universities, the BBC, the police and the judiciary. These attacks are not just rhetorical but have concrete effects on the ground which may seriously undermine their independence. Whilst there is scant evidence for the apparent left-wing bias of these institutions, painting them as “woke” serves primarily as a useful populist political strategy, placing the Conservative Party firmly on the side of “the people” in the context of the culture wars” and serving as a distraction from serious economic problems.

Transformation of the political elite of Kyrgyzstan (1991-2024): Dynamics and analysis

Relevance. This study is relevant as it analyzes the complex transformation of Kyrgyzstan's political elite since independence, examining critical issues like the impact of revolutions, persistence of clan systems, and challenges to democratization. Purpose. The purpose of the study was to analyse the dynamics and transformation of the political elite of Kyrgyzstan since independence to identify the main trends and factors determining its evolution. Methodology. The research uses mixed methods, including legislative analysis, statistical data review, and content analysis of political speeches. Results. The results revealed that the political elite of Kyrgyzstan as a phenomenon still remains a clan-based, elite-patronage system with elements of corruption and requires a rethink of ineffective behavioural practices that have acquired a cyclical character, undermining the effectiveness of a series of revolutions that have occurred. It was highlighted that the increased number of revolutionary events in the country indicates both the strengthening of national identity and the desire to set the country on the path of democratic development, and the difficulties in forming a new political elite due to various factors. A comparative analysis of events in other Central Asian countries demonstrates similar trends in the establishment of political elites and obstacles in the establishment of democracy. Conclusions. The study concludes that the political elite remains largely based on patronage networks despite regime changes. Revolutionary events have not led to sustainable democratic reforms. Gender representation has improved but falls short of goals. Press freedom faces increasing restrictions. The research suggests that achieving stable democratic governance requires addressing clan politics, corruption, and weak institutions. It emphasizes the need for transparent, merit-based systems in political recruitment. The study highlights the ongoing tension between democratic aspirations and authoritarian practices in Kyrgyzstan's political landscape. Keywords: hybridity; cyclicality; solidarity; security; clan elite selection system; elite patronage system

Political Discourse Analysis of Donald Trump’s Rhetoric: A Linguistic Study of Cognition and Discursivity

To elucidate the deliberate use of Islamophobia in the political sphere, this study carefully examines Donald Trump's presidential campaign speeches using political discourse analysis (PDA). Trump’s Islamophobic position in political discourse has sparked a global discussion. His divisive political language during the 2016 elections contributed to an overall rise in incidents showing hatred for Muslims in the America by painting a poor picture of the Muslim world. The present study employs the theoretical framework of Van Dijk (1998) to examine the socio-political contexts of the discourse: participants’ insight (their goals, relevant knowledge and their belief system), group organization, power dynamics, as well as favourable and unfavourable perceptions of “us” against “them”. The purpose of the work is to highlight the processes by which Islamophobia is created, propagated, and normalised in public discourse. The nature of the current investigation involves heterogeneous techniques. It analyzes the text using PDA methods. Additionally, it computes word frequency to determine the proportion of positive to negative terms in Donald Trump's political speech. The analysis reveals that political leaders use language as a tool to serve their own political ends. This study focusses on understanding the complex interplay between language, power, and ideology in contemporary political communication. By shedding light on the pervasive influence of Islamophobia as a political strategy, it underscores the imperative of critically engaging with political discourse to challenge hegemonic narratives, and to foster all-inclusive and democratic societies. Political leaders frequently employ language as a weapon to further their agendas. This research work highlights the necessity of critically interacting with political discourse to challenge dominant narratives and promote inclusive and democratic societies by bringing to light the pervasive influence of Islamophobia as a political strategy.

Critical discourse analysis study of stance taking and positioning in American and Russian political speeches

The goal of the current study is to look into the various stance-taking techniques utilized in American and Russian political speeches. Examining these forms' lexical and grammatical forms, semantic and discoursal roles, and social relevance in establishing the speaker's place and ideology are all important. Thus, based on Fairclough's (1995) dialectical-relational approach of CDA, the current study analysis six political speeches. They study concludes that the prevalent application of certain markers, whether in terms of highly significant words or grammatical things, has symbolically conveyed the speakers level of confidence and knowledge. Their adoption of engagement formalizations demonstrated their propensity to consider other people's perspectives, but they do not value them as highly as their own beliefs and attitudes. They create a dialogue space for different viewpoints, but they take care to prevent them from receiving the same endorsement as their own. Engagement conveys a conviction in this way.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's 7th March Speech: An Analysis Through Performance Study Lens

This paper critically examines Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s 7th March speech from a performance studies perspective. It argues that the speech, delivered at a crucial juncture in the Bangladesh Liberation War, utilized performative language and embodied performance techniques to galvanize the Bengali population. This paper analyzes how Mujib's rhetoric transformed social realities and mobilized a nation towards independence by applying theories from performance studies, including those of J.L. Austin, Judith Butler, Erving Goffman, and Richard Schechner. The findings suggest that Mujib’s strategic use of pronouns, emotive expressions, rhetorical questions, and repetitive phrases, along with his dynamic body language, created a powerful performative act that effectively united and motivated the audience. Concluding comments emphasize the enduring impact of Mujib's speech on the formation of Bangladeshi national identity. Research implications highlight the importance of viewing political speeches through the lens of performance studies to understand their broader social and cultural impacts. Limitations of the study include the reliance on textual analysis without incorporating audience reception data, which could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the speech's impact.

Persuasion in Social Speeches

The study of the political speeches has drawn the attention of scholars since its revelation up to the present day. Many scholars have attempted to study specific features of it. One of these features that has been at the core of interest is persuasion. This research was aimed to elaborate on the concept of persuasion in the political speeches and to find out the persuasive strategies used in the speeches of queen Rania (queen of the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan) The study has confined itself to three main objectives. These are discussing the concept of persuasion as manifested in the political speeches, Identifying the persuasive strategies used, and naming the most common and the least common ones. By using a model based on persuasive communication theory and other related concepts, researcher analyzed the data using quantitative-qualitative research method. The analysis started with a comprehensive reading of queen Rania speech and then identifying the tokens of persuasive strategies. The results were put in numerical form and discussed both quantitively and qualitatively. The study findings show that persuasion is one of the basic concepts in the political speeches due to the nature of this text which aimed at persuading people to follow the righteous course of action and belief. It is also found that all the persuasive strategies included in the model appeared in the text under study. Finally, the study revealed that metaphor is the most commonly used persuasive strategies while personification is the least.

Education policy and ‘free speech’ on race and faith equality at school

ABSTRACT Right-wing populists have recurrently created moral panics internationally about the supposed need to ‘protect free speech’ in higher education (HE), and ‘protect children’ from progressive speech in schools. This paper presents the first systematic analysis of how such dynamics function with respect to race and faith equality in a national school policy context. Drawing on a critical post-structural framework, we conceptualise the policy problematisation of speech as situated in a wider set of coercion-consent governing strategies used to manage contemporary authoritarian neoliberal contradictions, and to narrow the speakability of anti-racist and faith equality concerns. We present a two-stage thematic and discursive analysis of a corpus of primarily school-focused English policy texts from successive Conservative-led governments (2010–2022). The analysis outlines three main policy strategies which narrow speakability: the defining of ‘good’ schools and citizens with limited/oppositional reference to race equality, the problematising of ‘dangerous’ speech, and the indexing of school/HE subjects who are truly vulnerable to political speech. The paper offers an urgent case study of how possibilities for progressive race and faith-based expression are shaped beyond explicitly speech-focused policies, and argues that engagement of the complex governance of speakability offers nuanced possibilities for analysing bans on progressive education internationally.

Implikatur Pidato Politik Anies Baswedan Terima Deklarasi Capres Pilpres 2024 Dari Nasdem

This research is motivated by the implicature in the video of Anies Baswedan's first political speech receiving the presidential candidate's declaration for the 2024 presidential election from Nasdem on the YouTube platform. The aim of this research is to describe the types and meaning of implicatures in Anies Baswedan's speech in the video of his first political speech accepting the presidential candidate's declaration for the 2024 presidential election. This research is included in qualitative research using a descriptive approach. The data in this research is oral data in the form of speech which has been classified based on the type and meaning of implicatures contained in the video of Anies Baswedan's first political speech receiving the presidential candidate declaration for the 2024 presidential election from Nasdem. The research results show that there are types and meanings of implicatures in Anies' speech in the video of the declaration of his first political speech. Anies Baswedan received the presidential candidate declaration for the 2024 presidential election from Nasdem. The types of implicatures found in this research are conventional implicatures and conversational or non-conventional implicatures. Meanwhile, the meaning of implicatures found is in the form of referential and non-referential meanings.

Philippine English in the political speeches of President Rodrigo Duterte

AbstractThe rise of Rodrigo Duterte to power after the 2016 national elections in the Philippines quickly and drastically altered the country's political landscape. This is observed in the language choices of Duterte, in political speeches delivered during his administration. However, these ‘dutertisms’ have already been observed even before the national elections. This paper considers the years before Duterte became President and analyses his language practices in some of his campaign speeches. Using Davis's Lapu‐Lapu Factor as a lens, I attempt to trace how Duterte has successfully weaponised his brand of English, heavily textured by his heritage language Davao Bisaya, to win votes in the national elections.

Prosodic features of polite speech

Abstract This paper uses interactional data to investigate the acoustic characteristics of polite or deferential speech in Korean. We asked fourteen Korean speakers to perform two tasks with two different interlocutors: a status superior and a friend. Consistent with previous studies of non-interactional data, deferential speech has lower pitch and shimmer, and quieter final syllables. However, divergent from previous studies, deferential speech featured higher jitter (in some locations), higher shimmer and higher H1-H2 (on one task). Through analysis of different locations in prosodic structure, we found that females used more pitch variation on final syllables in deferential speech. We argue that these mixed results show the importance of context in signalling vocal politeness, and also complexities of using interactional data. The findings advance the study of multimodal politeness beyond the analysis of experimental data.

The Strategies of Persuasion in Political Discourse: A Comparative Analysis of the Political Speeches of Arab and Non-Arab Leaders During Covid-19 Pandemic

This paper investigated the persuasive methods in Arabic and non-Arabic political speeches during the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the similarities and differences between Arab and non-Arab leaders in using persuasive strategies. Data of the study consisted of the political speeches which were concerned with the Covid-19 situation in six different countries of the world, released between March and August 2020. The data analysis examines persuasive methods in political speeches and analyze them using Aristotle's triangle (Rhetorical Triangle). The analysis revealed that persuasive strategies based on Aristotle’s theory (400 B.C) were applied in the six leaders’ political speeches during the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the results indicated that the most frequently persuasive strategies used by the Arab leaders are pathos and ethos strategies. Of the three strategies, it could be observed that logos and ethos strategies were the most employed by non-Arab in their speeches.

Facework display of a political leader: Linguo-rhetoric approach (the case study of Julia Gillard's speech on misogyny)

This article focuses on the cognitive rhetoric features of the politician's facework that incorporate face threatening acts, communicative strategies, and discursive functions in a political speech. The data were taken from the speech on misogyny delivered in 2012 by the 27th Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Throughout the article we disclose the interaction of the politician's face, politeness, and power in the institutional discourse. Julia Gillard does her facework actively engaged into the misogyny argument which provides a persuasive ground to confront the opponent's face through reinforced employment of both positive and negative face threatening acts. The findings suggest that doing facework through rhetorical practices Gillard signals her identity in three faces: a political leader, a female politician and her individual social self-image of a woman and daughter. Gillard's face claims are closely bound with her sense of sociality rights and obligations. This entails her relational and collective self-construal prevail over her individual face. The symbolic power obliges Gillard to protect her collective self-credibility and makes the ground for undermining the self-worth of the opponent in a rather straightforward manner. The politeness Gillard exercises is mainly prescribed by the institutional goal and status which directly impact the use of the linguistic means employed by the politician.

Lexico-syntactic analysis of antonyms in some speeches of John Dramani Mahama

Language and politics are intertwined. This is because in order to champion political interest, politicians rely on some powerful linguistic resources to communicate with their audience. Available literature suggests that one of such linguistic resources is antonyms. However, researchers have not paid attention to the use of antonyms in political discourse, especially, in Ghana. On account of this, the present study investigated the lexico-syntactic features of antonyms in some speeches of John Dramani Mahama, a former President of the Republic of Ghana. The study is an interface between cognitive semantics and political discourse which sought to discover the lexico-syntactic features and the functional implications of the antonym pairs used in the speeches of John Dramani Mahama. The study was conducted within the framework of the Lexical Field Theory and the speeches were analysed, using the qualitative research method. Through the use of purposive sampling method, sixteen (16) political speeches of John Dramani Mahama were selected for the analysis. The study relied on Cruse’s (1986) outlined features of antonymy and Murphy’s (2003) theoretical view on context-derived antonymy to identify the antonym pairs in the speeches. The study discovered one hundred and seventy-three (173) antonym pairs in the sixteen (16) selected speeches. The outcome of the study further revealed the noun phrase pair as the largest grammatical category in the selected speeches. The study again showed that John Dramani Mahama usually uses noun antonymic pairs and the coordinated frame X and Y in his political speeches. The study concluded that John Dramani Mahama uses antonyms in his speeches to persuade his audience, establish association, inspire hope and confidence, call for patriotism and hardworking towards national development, and finally, to present his political vision to Ghanaians.

An Analysis and Comparison of the Differences in the Realization of Interpersonal Functions in Different Political Keynote Speeches

This research employs Halliday's theory of the interpersonal function to scrutinize and contrast language patterns and techniques in keynote speeches delivered by notable political figures, specifically former US President Donald Trump, ex-UK Prime Minister Theresa May, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In the era of globalization, where increased interconnectedness emphasizes the importance of political speeches, shaping nations and reflecting the interests and identities of stakeholders, it is crucial to examine these speeches. The analysis identifies shared traits, including skillful use of first-person language to establish authority and self-expression, in addition to the use of medium-valued modal verbs and declarative mood for interpersonal connection and viewpoint assertion. The study explores variations in Trump's "America First" inaugural address and disparities in speeches by Trump and May that are related to high-valued modal and second-person verbs, highlighting their different political backgrounds. Furthermore, it evaluates the interpersonal function in Hillary Clinton's speeches, examining language's effectiveness in engaging audiences and accomplishing different speech objectives. By examining these patterns, this research supports a better understanding of cultural differences between the United States and Britain, revealing linguistic tools that help political figures connect with audiences and accomplish specific speech goals. This cross-cultural study provides detailed insights into language's role in political communication, deepening our understanding of leaders' strategies for effective agenda communication and resonance with constituents.

Motives and interests of power. Behind Anies Baswedan's populist political communication style as a government political actor

This research was conducted with the aim of identifying Anies Baswedan's populist political communication style as a government political actor and uncovering the motives and interests of power behind its use by using theory of populism and Burke’s dramatism. This research has a critical paradigm with a qualitative research design. The data collection method consists of in-depth interviews (in dept interviews); observation; literature and document study; and triangulation. The research quality criteria are based on historical situatedness. The research results show that the populist political communication style of government political actors is a symbolic action of a leader born from the democratic process. The component of the populist political communication style that is prominently used is the pro-people component. The motive revealed was the desire to build alternative political power through image and public opinion. Meanwhile, the interests of power are to protect and strengthen the legitimacy of the leadership to maintain power and pave the way for political career advancement. A number of findings which are novel in this research are the populist dramatism approach as a synthesis of the theories of dramatism and populism; audience's perception as an additional element in the analysis of the Burkeian dramatic pentad; and identification and cross-check methods to determine the appropriate scene for the rhetorical act of political speech.

Importance of the Food Issue in Algeria's Economic Policy

The issue of food security has been taken very seriously by the public authorities since the country's independence in 1962. This major social and political concern was manifested in the various political speeches of leaders and in the national charter which proclaims this universal right of the population to healthy, varied, sustainable and accessible food for all. To achieve this, a decisive role was given to the national agricultural sector to ensure the supply of basic foodstuffs to the population at accessible prices, particularly for disadvantaged social groups. Thus, agricultural and agri-food policies were designed and implemented to achieve the objective of food security and preserve national sovereignty. In this article, we will try to provide some answers on the main axes of this food policy adopted by the State. First, we briefly present the characteristics of the consumption model of Algerians, then, we expose the importance of the means and actions implemented to achieve these objectives through in particular the recommended subsidy and import policies for basic foodstuffs. by the state. Finally and thanks to the statistical data available, we deduce some aspects of the limits and constraints of this food policy before suggesting some recommendations to strengthen its reliability in the face of the country's economic constraints.

A Critical Pragmatic Analysis of Manipulation in Trump's Political Speeches

According to the socio-cognitive nature of ideologies that is manifested in the belief system and ideologically based practices that shared by members of social groups, critical pragmatics(CP henceforth) has come to existence. CP is a sub field of socio-pragmatics that works within macro pragmatics which deals with cognitively , socially , and culturally issues such as domination , power , language , ideology ,etc.(Al-hindawi& Al-khazali, 2021: 1). It is well –known that language is not only a tool for communication and transition of information but it can be manipulated to be an instrument of offence and defense. Language remains a rich and adaptable tool for configuration of life events . It can bring solidarity , harmony and brotherhood if it is properly utilized , but if it wrongly applied it can provoke animosity , conflict and violence . Manipulation is one of the strategies in which language is utilized for negative goals . This study is concerned with an important feature of political discourse, that is; manipulation which is analyzed from critical pragmatic perspective . This feature has become the most prominent feature of this type of discourse due to the nature of politics itself. This study examines manipulation in ten of Trump's political speeches and involves discovering how Trump constructs ideological discourse to present reality for his audience that frames his ideology by using manipulating strategies . Such strategies are conducted by Trump to marketing his agenda , ideology and programme to his audience