A Pragmatic Analysis of Barack Obama's “A More Perfect Union” in the Context of Relevance Theory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33195/Keywords:
Pragmatic analysis, Relevance Theory, Barack Obama, SpeechAbstract
This research aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the 'A More Perfect Union' speech by Barack Obama using a pragmatic approach. The paper is qualitative and descriptive and uses textual analysis for interpretation. This study utilizes the principles of relevance theory developed by Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson to unlock the intricate ways through which Obama powerfully crafted his message to connect, persuade, and resonate with his audience. Through a careful and purposeful examination of the context, implication, and cognitive effects, the paper intends to make known the cognitive mechanisms that Obama employs to establish relevance and get his message across effectively. The presented research work contributes to a deeper knowledge of the pragmatic aspects of political rhetoric and offers insights into the impact of linguistic strategies on the formation of public opinion and debates nowadays.
References
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press.
Carston, R. (2002). Thoughts and utterances: The pragmatics of explicit communication. Wiley-Blackwell.
Charteris-Black, J. (2009). The use of metaphor in the discourse of vision: A relevance theory approach. Metaphor and Symbol, 24(2), 87-109.
Chilton, P. (2004). Analyzing political discourse: Theory and practice. Routledge.
Crowley, S. (2009). A more perfect union: Barack Obama's race speech at the National Constitution Center. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 95(4), 404-427.
Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In P. Cole & J. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and Semantics, Vol. 3: Speech Acts (pp. 41-58). Academic Press.
Levinson, S. C. (1983). Pragmatics. Cambridge University Press.
Pew Research Center. (2008). Obama's speech on race, media coverage. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org
Sperber, D., & Wilson, D. (1986). Relevance: Communication and cognition. Harvard University Press.
Van Dijk, T. A. (2006). Discourse, context and cognition. Discourse Studies, 8(1), 159-177.
Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford University Press.
Zarefsky, D. (2012). Rhetorical perspectives on Barack Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 15(4), 601-626.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
