Critical Discourse Analysis of Barack Obama's 2012 Speeches: Views from Systemic Functional Linguistics and Rhetoric (original) (raw)
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Drawing on overarching methodological frameworks of Hallidayan grammatical metaphor, Fairclough's perspective on critical discourse analysis and rhetoric, this study attempts to posit a novel, integrated and practical approach to political, the media, advertisement and other discourses. To this end and based on the proposed approach, it aims to critically and eclectically exemplify and dissect three speeches delivered by Mr. Barack Obama, former president of the US, to first manifest the integrated approach practicality and adeptness through analysis; then by virtue of analysis to unveil how language is manipulated and distorted by orators in order to convey seamlessly intended messages and political creeds to the audience. Surveying recent annals of literature, to date no one has conducted an integrated study applying these disciplines in an individual paper and this study as a trial one can be useful for upcoming research. The analysis depicts practicality and efficiency of the integrated approach and displays that the speeches abound with nominalizations, modal verbs, parallelisms and antitheses. Furthermore, there are some three-part listing, the use of passivization, quotations and modality metaphors. Therefore, a tendency to utilize more nominalizations, parallelism and other devices by the speaker can be a fundamental reason for making his political language more powerful, impressive, persuasive and ambiguous as well.
A Critical Discourse Analysis of Barack Obama " s Speeches
The Critical Discourse Analysis is often applied to analyze political discourse including the public speech, in which the speaker wins favorite response from the audience. This paper, based on Critical Discourse Analysis theory and Systematic Functional Linguistics, analyzes Barack Obama's presidential speeches mainly from the point of transitivity and modality, in which we can learn the language how to serve the ideology and power. Moreover, we can have a better understanding of the political purpose of these speeches.
JELLT Vol 1, No 1 November 2016 A Discourse Analysis of Figurative Language in Obama's Speech
Lestary Sudarsono, Nurmin Samola, Mister gidion Maru abstract Language is fundamental to all social processes, and human do need language to communicate to each other. In social process, there are people who communicate more than they say, they use language that indicate meanings more than the language does. This term is called figurative language. By conducting the study about language in use, we undertake a discourse analysis. In this research, a discourse analysis is conducted in Barrack Obama's first inaugural address with point of view of four types figurative language, they are metaphor, personification, paradox, and hyperbole. The purpose of this research are to find out four types of figurative language and interpret the meanings indicate in that figurative expressions. In conducting this research, descriptive qualitative method was used. The results of this research were described qualitatively from the stage categorization of the figurative language until explanation and interpretation of the figurative expressions. The analyzing of this research was supported by the related references to this research. By analyzing the data based on the related theory, the result of this research showed that there are 52 figurative expressions, where metaphor had the highest frequency as 24 expressions or 46.15%, followed by hyperbole as 14 expressions or 26.92%, expressions of personification as 9 expressions or 17.30%, and the least frequency is paradox as 5 expressions or 9.61%. From those result could be concluded that in Obama's speech contained huge number of figurative expressions. This fact showed that figurative language is important and could influence the language to become more powerful and more artistic.
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2015
The aim of this paper is to survey the art of linguistic spin in Obama's and Rouhani's political speeches at UN in September 2013 based on Halliday's systematic functional linguistics. The analysis is mainly performed through the transitivity system and modality to represent how two presidents' language can incorporate both ideology and power in their political speeches. In other words, they can manifest their power, capabilities, and policies through language; furthermore, the political implications of these speeches can be perceived better by common people.
Rhetorical and metatextual features in political discourse: the case of Obama's speech on race
Elia Estudios De Linguistica Inglesa Aplicada, 2011
El objetivo de este artículo es llevar a cabo un análisis de las características gramaticales y metatextuales en el famoso discurso de Obama sobre la raza del año 2008. Este discurso fue pronunciado en un momento crítico de su campaña y su mensaje podía significar seguir con opciones de convertirse en el futuro Presidente o, por el contrario, perder cualquier credibilidad en el electorado. En este discurso él no solo tiene que decir su opinión sobre quien fuera su asesor espiritual durante varias décadas, el Reverendo Wright y sus polémicas palabras sino, además, su propia opinión del tema. Con este trabajo intento concluir con las razones por las que los discursos de Obama durante la campaña fueron tan aplaudidos por su contenido y los recursos gramaticales utilizados convirtiéndolos en mensajes bien construidos que hace que se consideren ejemplos de buenos discursos. Palabras clave: Características gramaticales metatextuales, discurso político The aim of this paper is to analyse the grammatical and metatextual features in Obama's famous speech on race given in 2008. It was delivered at a critical moment of his campaign and his message Estudios de lingüística inglesa aplicada Conchi Hernández-Guerra ELIA 11, 2011, pp. 119-146 could determine whether he would maintain the option of running for the Presidency of the country or, on the contrary, reduce his credibility with the voters. In this speech he has to discuss not only his opinion of his spiritual leader, the Reverend Wright, over several decades and the latter's polemical words but also give his own opinion about the subject. With this paper I try to consider why Obama's speeches in the campaign are so celebrated for their content and for the grammatical resources used to compose a well-combined message which is recognized as an example of excellent oratory.
Rhetorical Schemes in Barack Obama’s Winning Speech
Humanis
This study is aimed to identify the kinds, functions, and meanings of rhetorical schemes applied in Obama’s speech. The data of this study were taken by documentation method and note-taking technique from the winning speech delivered by Barack Obama on November, 4th 2008 at Grant Park in Chicago. The video is uploaded by Marc Schulz on October, 19th 2012 in YouTube and its transcript is available on ABC news (internet). In addition, the data were analyzed descriptive qualitatively using Holman’s theory about rhetorical devices (1960). This study revealed that there are three schemes in rhetorical devices namely phonological, morphological, and syntactical applied by Barack Obama. Furthermore, two functions applied are to give vivid example and to emphasize points. The meanings from applied rhetorical schemes are constructed based on the reference Obama does in his speech towards socio-historical events in America.
2020
This paper examines the art of linguistic spin in three popular speeches given by Barack Obama during October 2, 2002 to February 5, 2008. Obama's linguistic spin has been approached through the model of transitivity systems proposed by Halliday. The analysis and interpretation reveal the way he became successful in persuading the people gather around him. These linguistic features have been taken as tools for analysis as these relate closely to the ideational function of language, quite suitable for the analysis and interpretation of a political discourse since political discourse also deals with the ideational function. The results of the study show that Obama uses material processes of action and event as well as mental process of affection to physically gather the people around him. He uses relational processes as well to create his positive image in the minds of people. He seems much interested in using circumstance of location, both spatial and temporal, and circumstance of reason to make his account objective and reliable.
2011
This paper examines the art of linguistic spin in three popular speeches given by Barack Obama during October 2, 2002 to February 5, 2008. Obama's linguistic spin has been approached through the model of transitivity systems proposed by Halliday. The analysis and interpretation reveal the way he became successful in persuading the people gather around him. These linguistic features have been taken as tools for analysis as these relate closely to the ideational function of language, quite suitable for the analysis and interpretation of a political discourse since political discourse also deals with the ideational function. The results of the study show that Obama uses material processes of action and event as well as mental process of affection to physically gather the people around him. He uses relational processes as well to create his positive image in the minds of people. He seems much interested in using circumstance of location, both spatial and temporal, and circumstance o...
2008
Language is produced intentionally by human beings for particular goals in communication. It functions as a means to seek for self-interest and it is related to power relations among people. They, therefore, use strategies and tactics to influence other people in order their goals can be realized. It is very interesting to investigate and analyze the ways Barack Obama as the presidential nomination from Democratic Party in the United States uses discursive tactics to influence the audiences. How does Barack Obama use Micro structural level strategies of discourse in his political speeches? What are the tactics on word structure used by Barack Obama? What are the tactics on phrasal structure used by Barack Obama? What are the tactics on expression or oral structure used by Barack Obama? What are the tactics on sentential structure used by Barack Obama? To answer the problems, the researcher adopts Critical Discourse Analysis introduced by Teun A. van Dijk about discourse structures a...
UJAH: Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2021
A political speech is usually characterized by the use of different linguistic techniques and strategies that allow politicians to convey their political messages and persuade people of their ideologies and thoughts. The American presidential inaugural address is therefore a form of political discourse that imbues the characteristics of both written and oral discourse. This study consequently looked at how Presidents Barrack Obama and Donald Trump of America have used Linguistic resources (Pronouns and metaphors) to construct individual and collective ideologies and persuade America to accept their political ideologies. This exploration was carried out within the frameworks of Lakoff and Johnson Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Charter is – Black’s Critical Metaphor Theory and the content method of data analysis. The corpus was drawn from the respective official websites of Barrack Obama and Donald Trump. It was discovered that their speeches were characterized by skilful choice of rheto...