A discoursal analysis of the political texts used in the American presidential speeches before and after the events of September the 11th

Other Title(s)

تحليل خطابي للنصوص السياسية المستخدمة في الخطب الرئاسية الأمريكية قبل و بعد أحداث الحادي عشر من أيلول

Dissertant

Mahdi, Arkan Adil Salih

Thesis advisor

Muhammad, Mundhir Manhal

University

University of Baghdad

Faculty

College of Languages

Department

English Language Department

University Country

Iraq

Degree

Master

Degree Date

2006

English Abstract

As a matter of fact, language is considered a basic tool for communication that can be used effectively to achieve certain goals of certain influences.This role of language can be observed clearly in the field of politics which is almost present in any single conversation between two or more individuals.Most of the recent studies concentrate on the complex and interrelated link between language and politics; and on how the politician employs language in a way that enables him to persuade his hearers of what he is talking about , and thus, realizing his objectives.

What is aforementioned has been tackled and outlined in the American Presidential Addresses of G.W Bush.In listening to or reading most of the speeches made after the events of September 11th, it is observed that Bush’s language (tone and style) has changed a lot as compared with the one used before this incident.It is here where the reader can recognize how G.W Bush uses language effectively and manipulatively to achieve what he is talking about in a persuasive manner.

The current study consists of five chapters, including the Introduction.

Chapter One deals with the theoretical aspects related to the connection between language and politics, highlighting, at the same time, the concept of political discourse and its interchangeable relationship with pragmatics and context of situation.Chapter Two sheds light on the subject of political speechwriting (definitions, types, and its relationship to rhetoric) as well as shedding light the American speechwriting process, including concepts and types.As for Chapter Three, it presents an overall survey of the major models of linguistic and pragmatic analysis in order to approach a framework for the suggested model of analysis that will be adopted to conduct the analysis and comparison on the given speeches.Chapter Four tackles the practical dimension of the study,i.e., investigating the linguistic and pragmatic features of the selected speeches in terms of frequency of occurrence.

Finally, in Chapter Five conclusions are drawn and further studies are suggested in the same variety.

Actually, the general hypothesis that the study is based upon is that the language of speaking G.W Bush employs after the events of September 11th is quite different from the one he uses in his speeches before these events; and is described as being aggressive, threatening, and warning in most of its implications.The key difference in the tone and style of speaking in these two different periods is revealed mainly through the pragmatic investigation involved in the analysis, as represented by the use of speech acts, implicature, and presupposition.Then, the linguistic surveying comes as a complementary part to the pragmatic one in one single selective model to conduct the comparison in question.In general, the linguistic and pragmatic investigation of the speeches reveals a high frequency of occurrence of features in the post-September 11th despite the manifestations in the distribution of these features, particularly, at the linguistic level.

Main Subjects

Languages & Comparative Literature

No. of Pages

167

Table of Contents

• APA
• MLA
• AMA

Language

English

Data Type

Arab Theses

Record ID

BIM-755623