address notes

Abstract

Introduction

The world was shocked by the 2016 elections poll turnout where presidential candidate Donald J. Trump was declared the winner of the U.S. (United States) elections. The main shock was from the fact that the elected president was not only a billionaire real estate magnate, but he was also a thespian and authority in the real estate sector. The main reason behind the selection of this Donald Trump as US President in the 2016 elections political leader was that he spoke of various expected actions once he was in office that rarely penetrated mainstream political discourse in America (Wang & Liu, 2018). Therefore, some political analysts were trying to analyze his speeches to understand his potential by using one of thea form of critical discourse analysis ((CDA), forms which is political discourse analysis. This form analysis is used as a tool that enables us to examine whether the language in political speeches is applicable in a given context (Bonilla, 2016). Therefore, the problem this paper tries to addresses is that Trump's speeches have not been extensively examined linguistically as evidenced by the accessible which is an issue of concern because his language could have an impact on so many people (Almurashi, 2016). Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: What does this mean, and what point are you trying to make? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: They tried but they didn’t do it? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: His potential what? I’m not sure what his election has to do with speech analysis. Please link more closely. Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: Who is us? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: Applicable to what? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: You just said that political analysts did examine them. Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: What does this mean?

The purpose of this literature review is to explore the application of critical discourse analysis to examine Donald Trump’s sSpeeches and to address the concerns of the evaluation of his political discourse. This paper is offering insights into ways that (CDA) approach can be used to evaluate the language in Trump's speeches and their meanings. Thus, his political philosophies and actions, if any have repercussions for the rest of the globe. The literature reviews offer a detailed critique of past scholarly materials on political discourse. Through the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of such materials. It focuses on how political discourse is created through linguistics elements to influence and present the political power in the community. Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: So you are not actually analyzing his speeches, you’re just explaining how other people have analyzed them? Is that right? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: What does this mean? Whose concerns? What evaluation? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: This is one purpose, but you have like 10 others in your abstract. Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: Is this a conclusion? What’s it doing here? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: But not on CDA or Trump? Why? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: Not a sentence. Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: This is a whole nother purpose. I really can’t review the paper until I know what the point is, and you haven’t said it clearly here.

Literature review

A language is a multifaceted tool that promotes the efficient transmission of knowledge and influences the execution of tasks. People use language in almost all aspects of the lives and culture to transmit knowledge, form bonds, and order action. However, language could also influence the formation of negative bonds that would create enmity, segregation, marginalization, and oppression. Discourse analysis is the practice of analyzing different uses of language using diverse conceptual models that would analyze the meaning of messages. Therefore, language is a crucial tool in the social and political fields in society because it allows individuals to take various identities and responsibilities. This paper explores the use of critical discourse analysis to examine Donald Trump’s political language aimed at offering the audience substantial knowledge-based concerning the vital evaluation of political discourse. Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: I’m not sure what the purpose of this is. Write a topic sentence that tells me. Also, if this is the introduction to your lit review, you need to tell us what’s in the review (what literature specifically you’re reviewing and why). Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: What audience?

Critical Discourse Analysis

In order to understanding the meaning behind the words of Donald Trump, this literature review highlights the important of critical discourse analysis to the filed. However, the connection between the words and their meaning sometimes seemed to be hiding or could reflect the opposite side of the meaning of these words. Therefore, the study of (CDA) explains the association between uses of words with social diversity and social context. Most explanation of CDA is concerned with social inequality which entails gender, religious aspects, and other philosophies. According to Han (2015), CDA has features such as influential ideologies, intertextuality, and current social challenges. Critical discourse analysis is an essential tool that identifies the different attributes of communication and uses various theoretical models; to determine the generalizability and applicability of such new evidence to different social and political contexts (Bonilla, 2016). According to Gee (2014), discourse analysis focuses on pieces of the language used in the situation network, recognizing the verbal cues or clues that help listeners and readers construe situations in particular ways and not others. Thus, discourse analysis is appropriate for analyzing literature due to the premise that “humans construct their realities, though what is ‘out there’ beyond human control places serious constraints on this construction (so ‘reality’ is not ‘only’ constructed)” (Gee, 2014, p. 113). Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: What field? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: What words? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: Something grammatical is wrong here and it makes the sentence incomprehensible. Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: None of these sentences really go together, and they don’t talk about the importance of CDA. It’s part definition, part assertion, Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: What new evidence? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: But you aren’t analyzing literature, so why make this point here? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: Not sure how this is relevant. Tell the reader.

The association between social situations and discourse has been discussed since 1950. According to an American structural linguist Z. S. Harris (1952), discourse analysis is simply studying written or spoken language in relation to its social context. It aims to understand how language is used in real life situations. Harris discussed communication strategies and syntactic rules in terms of context and semantics. Later, the use of semantic examination in exploring the association between environment and participants was followed by recognition of discourse analysis as an independent discipline in the 1960s. Notably, the first person to introduce critical discourse analysis in language and control was Fowler in 1979(Fowler, 1985). Fowler examined fundamental language ideologies while considering social, cultural, and historical factors. He stressed that language has social associations and ideological meanings. Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: Another definition – put it with the other definitions in a section called “Definitions” Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: What does this connect to? Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: Why do you need this history? You have to explain the reason, and that should be in a topic sentence.

Another approach in the discourse analysis to assessing the dialect used by the speakers in their speeches is through studying the structure, role, and advantages of the theory of functional grammar. Notably, the theory of functional grammar is useful in exploring discourses. In this approach, there is an exploration of the information structure, language functions, and thematic structure of the text (Weiss and Wodak, 2016). Besides, Han (2015), upholds that discourse analysis is significant in exploring language in both verbal and written forms. In the same manner, Halliday (1975, as cited in Rachman, Yunianti, & Ratnadewi, 2017) highlighted that the central form of speech is demanding and giving hence the necessity of functional grammar. Essentially, it illustrates the language structure and discloses the rationales from the angle of social purpose. Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: Is this what you’re looking at or using as a tool? I’m not sure. Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: You need to reorganize. You don’t have topic sentences that work, so everything in your paragraphs is just unorganized. Have one section/paragraph on definitions, one on types of CDA, one on benefits of CDA,

Critical discourse analysis replicates that the social system decides discourse authorities' social structure and pattern. In the political discourse ideology and power, according to Fairclough in1989, he suggested a three-dimensional structure that is on the foundation of social semiotic and systemic functional linguistic. He affirmed that social-cultural practice, language discourse, and text have a close association, and therefore concluding that dialogue is a social practice.

The study of (CDA) explains the association between uses of words in public speeches like political speeches, newspapers and so on. As a part of (CDA), political discourse analysis helps to examine whether the language in political speeches is related to a given context (Bonilla, 2016). This paper will provide a small prevue of the major shift that has taken place in the political discourse in the United States of America. Comment by Egbert, Joy Lynn: Yet another purpose. I don’t know what you’re trying to do here.

Political Discourse Analysis

Political speeches are important to understand the speaker goals and intention with the globe, for that the language of these political speeches are match the speaker objective and how does that reflect of people point of views. The political discourse can be defined as a classic discourse, entailing slogan, speech, and replies given in press conferences. Moreover, Political discourse establishes a relationship with the audience to gain politicians' recognition and support. Examining political speeches is essential to understand that language plays diverse functions other than communication. Political speeches help to create people with authority and power in society. Therefore, the political declaration is different from other discussions since it takes the stand of the speaker, elucidates his view and pronounces his proposal with its essential aspect being to achieve political objectives. Chen (2018) evaluated political discourse and demonstrates how the speaker convinces audiences to support and accept his opinions. The study established that language form can portray the views, stance, and attitudes of people, which can reveal their intentions. The language of politics is not clear to figure what is the intention of the speaker on saying these statements, therefore, the study of political discourse analysis can help to understand what the political objective for the speaker.

Notably, the study established that language form can portray the views, stance, and attitudes of people, which can reveal their intentions. Political speeches can be viewed from both linguistic and functional perspectives. In other words, they present linguistic and functional characteristics.

TRUMP SPEECHES AND LANGUAGE

Political discourse analysis can be used to explore Trump’s speeches. According to Rohmah (2018), the American president's statement is representative of the political discourse. The political declaration is different from other discussions since it takes the stand of the speaker, elucidates his view and pronounces his proposal with its essential aspect being to achieve political objectives. In politics, the construction of a good image is essential in winning the trust of the audience. Therefore, Trump's inaugural speech demonstrates the president's attitude about global events and internal issues. Always in the speech, the president, issues novel guidelines and policies entailing aspects like social security, political affairs, diplomatic strategy, and economic situations. According to Blake (2017), the speech highlights strong self-belief and undertakes to take efficient measures. It is essential to convince individuals to alter their ideology. Thus, the speech doesn’t only need to meet the demand of the speaker. Also, it should consider the feelings of the audience. The speaker must utilize language skillfully to interact with the listeners and stimulate their passions. The choice of words and sentence structure needs to be suitable.

Furthermore, the victory and inaugural speeches of President Trump demonstrated functional differences and similarities. These political statements can be viewed from both linguistic and practical perspectives. Besides, the practical perspective conceives language as a vital tool in social interactions and gets influenced mainly by the prevailing situations, these statements can be seen as a social practice, play a great role in the realization of the speaker's objectives.

The first way to explore Trump’s speeches is by building an analysis of Trump’s speeches from a linguistic point of view. Mohammedi and Jovani (2017) also explored the utilization of power and hidden tactics through the use of language in political discourse. They established that there exist linguistic elements that show the ideology in the text or language used in political campaigns either on the grammatical or language levels.

Second, political speeches can be viewed from functional perspectives. For instance, Chanturidze (2018) demonstrated the functional and linguistic differences between the two genres of political discourse (victory and inaugural speeches). He concluded that victory and inaugural speeches of President Trump demonstrated functional differences and similarities. The functional perspective is equally supported by Bonilla (2016), who explores “the discourse of Donald Trump as a businessman and as a president regarding the topics of immigration and economy”. The paper concluded that Trump’s conversations as a businessman and as president about the economy and immigration aspects differed regarding conceptual metaphors and ideological structures. Lastly, according to functional perspectives, these variations can be attributed to the prevailing situation or environment when the speeches were made. Whereas the paper covers the aspects of language and text as well as their functions in the discourse, it assists this review to explain the similar perspectives in Trump’s speeches which convey texts that have political meanings.

Besides, it is essential to understand that language plays diverse functions other than communication. This study seeks to meticulous linguistic examination of Donald Trump’s speeches with the aim to unlock the central ideological hypothesis and power associations. Therefore, Trump's speeches need to be Interpret from a different linguistical and functional perspective.

Interpretation of Trump’s Speeches

To understand the language of Trump's speeches the audience needs to be aware of the meanings and the connection in Trump's speeches. The interpretation of the speech was explored from the angles of transitivity, modality, and coherence.

A. Transitivity

Transitivity in a speech shows an individual’s view, stance, and attitude. In his speech, President Trump demonstrates transitivity by utilizing, verbal, existential, relational, and material processes frequently. We shall look at each aspect in detail.

First, material process in the speech helps to inform the audience essential message including American moves and accomplishments. For instance, the President quotes, “Because today we are not simply transferring power from one regime to another, or from one party to another but we are transmitting power from Washington DC and giving it back to you, the people.” He uses language to show that the ruling party and the President are concerned with an individual’s interests. He asserts, “For too long, a small group in our country’s Capital has enjoyed the incentives of government while citizens bear the cost.” In other words, the language helps the audiences realize that Trump has devoted themselves to changing injustices and social inequality. Thus, citizens are persuaded that they will achieve much with the Trump administration than any other administration.

Secondly, relational process is repeatedly observed in Trump’s speech. For instance, Trump says, “This is your day. It’s your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country.” The statement is a challenge for every American to rise to the occasion and fight for a better life. It shows that all Americans are masters of their country and play an essential role in the globe. The state can only become powerful and prosperous if Americans work hard and dedicate themselves to service. Thus, the nation requires everyone’s contribution, and every citizen is responsible for protecting and building his country. Through his speech, the President wins audiences’ support and trust.

Furthermore, existential process is observed in the statement, “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.” The President is aware of numerous black Americans that suffer and discriminated by the white. He knows that citizens have been unfairly treated. He uses this situation to gain more supporters. The President argues that the condition needs to change, and social justice realized. Thus, the audiences is persuaded to accept new political philosophies conformably.

Lastly, Trump also incorporates verbal process in his speech. He reminds Americans of what the Bible says. “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.” It is common for politicians to quote the Bible in political speeches. They understand that Religious faith is entrenched in the hearts of Americans. As a result, Trump suggests policies using heavenly power that strengthens the beliefs of his audience.

B. Modality

Modality expresses an individual’s desire that reflects their inclination and faith. It is seen regularly in political speech. High modality highlights an individual’s firm stance and attitude, while middle modality specifies mitigatory mood. Trump utilizes pattern to articulate his feeling and views. For example, the word “will” emerges forty-one times, but “must” only occur three times in the inaugural speech.

Notably, Trump is inclined to utilize middle modality that can predict the future. Trump makes a serious pledge indicating his dedication to America. He says, “I will fight for you with every breath in my body- and I will never, ever let you down.” In this case, “will” means that he expects that he can live up to the expectations of the Americans. The middle modality ensures impartiality and steers clear of argument and controversy. Besides, he influences audiences to recognize his attitude and idea that changes their philosophies unnoticeably. Additionally, He says, “We will not fail. Our nation will thrive and prosper again.” The use of “Will” can weaken subjectivity leaving more space for listeners to make the right choices. The message persuades Americans to believe that they will flourish.

There are more than forty sentences in the speech containing the first personal pronoun that establishes a peaceful atmosphere. “Our” and “We” appear ninety-six times in the statement as he seeks to curtail the distance with listeners. He stresses that they have a common interest, aim, and stance. The pronoun “We” makes everything look natural and acceptable and furnishes the psychology of the audience. Trump, seeking to dodge the negative report of his egotism, utilizes “they” referring to Washington elites who ignore normal American’s miseries. The objective is to draw a clear difference with the elites and take his stand.

C. Coherence

Various aspects make Trump’s speech coherent. According to Hassan (2018), parallelism can enhance the credibility of the speech and stimulate the sentiments of the audience. It constructs the confidence of Americans and encourages their spirit of making America great again. He uses “Together” to stipulate that the audience should participate in repairing America. The cooperation and solidarity of citizens can help achieve their dreams. He hopes that individuals can inherit the good traditions of the ancestors and make great achievements. Besides, Trump discusses topics that are dear to the American people. He talks of the border, employment, and welfare issues. Trump also states his ideas clearly to address the challenges and offer solutions. Thus, listeners can feel the mightiness and grandiose of the language he uses in the speech.

Conclusion:

The literature reviews political discourse analysis of President Trump’s political speech in justifying his claims and intends to persuade ‘the fellow Americans’ to accept his credo of making America first and great again. In the review of past scholarly materials on CDA, it was established that Critical discourse analysis is an essential tool that identifies the different attributes of communication and uses various theoretical models; to determine the generalizability and applicability of such new evidence to different social and political contexts. This is clearly portrayed in the analysis of Trump’s speech and we found that he employed various styles in his language form to fit his intentions, interests, and political objectives to his audience.

In the analysis and interpretation of Trump’s speech, the study has established that the use of aspects such as transitivity, modality, and coherence is essential in political speeches as it helps to persuade the audience toward specific political objectives even in the present political world. The language outline imitates an individual’s observation, stance, and attitude that reveal his objective. Thus, the speech persuades individual’s minds and alters their philosophies, convincing them to support Trump’s administration. While the findings of the literature review can borrow the same aspects for political aspirants in preparing and delivering their speeches to drive home their intentions and objectives. With such significance in social and political setups, the field of political discourse analysis needs more research to include socio-cultural and the socio-historical background. Besides, researchers should use other CDA analytical techniques such as Fairclough’s three-dimensional framework, socio-cognitive approach, and Wodak’s discourse-historical techniques to establish more concrete findings.

References

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Blake, A. (2017). Donald Trump’s full inauguration speech transcript, annotated. The Washington Post.

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Chanturidze, Y. (2018). Functional and Linguistic Characteristics of Donald Trump’s Victory and Inaugural Speeches. Journal of Language and Education, 4(4), 31-41.

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