rhetorical devices used in president barack obama’s...
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FIGURES OF SPEECH USED IN PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S
ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN SPEECHES
CHIDCHABA PANUKORNTHAMRONG
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER DEGREE OF
ARTS IN ENGLISH FOR COMMUNICATION
THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
BURAPHA UNIVERSITY
AUGUST 2018
COPYRIGHT OF BURAPHA UNIVERSITY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This research would not be accomplished without assistances and suggestions
from the following people. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to
Assistant Professor Dr. Somboon Chetchumlong for being an understanding and
helpful advisor. No words can describe how much I feel grateful to be one of his
students. He always has faith and believes in me. I would not come this far without
his support.
I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Walaiporn Chaya, Assistant
Professor Thanis Bunsom, Assistant Professor Dr. Wannapa Trakulkasemsuk,
Dr. Nattapat Pattana, and Assistant Professor Dr. Soontaree Laprungrueng. I am
sincerely thankful for their suggestions and kind words.
I am grateful to my family who always support me through hard time.
Thank you for your unconditionally love and care for me all these years. Thank you to
my husband and my son for being mentally support in everything I do.
Thank you my friends from English for communication major. So much
laughs and tears through this journey. I will never forget our friendship.
Chidchaba Panukornthamrong
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56920737: สาขาวิชา: ภาษาอังกฤษเพื่อการสื่อสาร; ศศ.ม. (ภาษาอังกฤษเพื่อการสื่อสาร) ค าส าคัญ: ภาษาภาพพจน์/ สุนทรพจน์ของประธานาธิบดีบารัค โอบามา/ สุนทรพจน์หาเสียง เลือกตั้ง ชิดชบา ภานุกรธ ารง: ภาษาภาพพจน์ที่พบในสุนทรพจน์หาเสียงเลือกตั้งของประธานาธิบดีบารัค โอบามา (FIGURES OF SPEECH USED IN PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN SPEECHES) คณะกรรมการควบคุมวิทยานิพนธ์: สมบูรณ์ เจตน์จ าลอง, Ph.D., ณัฐภัทร พัฒนา, ศศ.ด., 58 หน้า. ปี พ.ศ. 2561
งานวิจัยและเอกสารที่เกี่ยวข้องได้กล่าวไว้ว่าภาษาภาพพจน์มีผลต่อการชักน าผู้รับฟังอย่างมาก ผู้พูดใช้ภาษาภาพพจน์เพื่อให้เกิดภาพที่ชัดเจนในความคิดของผู้รับฟัง รวมทั้งภาษาภาพพจน์ยังช่วยให้งานเขียนมีประสิทธิภาพมากขึ้น ในงานวิจัยทางด้านภาษาภาพพจน์ยังได้กล่าวไว้ว่าภาษาภาพพจน์แต่ละประเภทให้ผลลัพธ์ต่อผู้รับฟังที่แตกต่างกันออกไปโดยขึ้นอยู่กับโอกาส วัตถุประสงค์ หรือแม้กระทั่งอาชีพของผู้พูด งานวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อวิเคราะห์ภาษาภาพพจน์ ที่พบในสุนทรพจน์ของประธานาธิบดี บารัค โอบามา โดยศึกษาภาษาภาพพจน์ที่พบในสุนทรพจน์ในช่วงการหาเสียงเลือกตั้ง 2 สมัย การศึกษาในครั้งนี้ได้น ากรอบแนวความคิดของ Corbett and Connors (1996) และ Ungerer and Schmid (1996) มาปรับใช้ ในการวิเคราะห์ข้อมูลสุนทรพจน์ ที่ใช้ในการศึกษาได้จากการสุ่มกลุ่มตัวอย่างแบบเจาะจงจ านวน 10 สุนทรพจน ์ ที่อยู่ในช่วงปี ค.ศ. 2007-2012 ผลการวิจัยแสดงให้เห็นว่าภาษาภาพพจน์ที่พบมากในกลุ่มตัวอย่างคือ parallelism (32.76%), repetition (28.93%), synecdoche (8.51%) ภาษาภาพพจน์ที่พบจ านวนน้อยได้แก่ antithesis (0.42%), simile (0.42%), irony (0.42%) ทั้งนี้ผลการเปรียบเทียบการใช้ภาษาภาพพจน์ระหว่างสุนทรพจน์หาเสียงเลือกตั้งสมัยที่ 1 และ สมัยที่ 2 ไม่พบความแตกต่าง
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56920737: MAJOR: ENGLISH FOR COMMUNICATION;
M.A. (ENGISH FOR COMMUNICATION)
KEYWORDS: FIGURES OF SPEECH / POLITICAL SPEECH/ ELECTORAL
CAMPAIGN SPEECHES
CHIDCHABA PANUKORNTHAMRONG: FIGURES OF SPEECH
USED IN PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN
SPEECHES. ADVISORY COMMITTEE: SOMBOON CHETCHUMLONG, Ph.D.,
NATTAPAT PATTANA, D.A., 58 P. 2018.
The concerning academic journals and related literatures are suggesting
that figures of speech give a fruitful influence to audiences. They give a clear picture
of what a speaker intends to communicate to audiences' minds. Also, figures of
speech are powerful materials to strengthen written papers. Moreover, figures of
speech research studies mentioned that each figure of speech gives a different impact
depending on occasions, purposes, or even occupations of the speaker. The purpose
of this study was to investigate figures of speech used in President Barack Obama’s
selected speeches. A main reason is to study figures of speech employed in his
electoral campaign during his 2 terms of election. The conceptual frameworks of
Corbett and Connors (1996) and Ungerer and Schmid (1996) were two main
frameworks used to guide and underpin this research. Ten speeches ranged from
2007 to 2012 were selected based on a purposive sampling method. The results
showed that the figures of speech mostly found in the electoral campaign speeches
were parallelism (32.76%), repetition (28.93%), synecdoche (8.51%), while the least
frequently found were antithesis (0.42%), simile (0.42%), and irony (0.42%). There
was no difference between figures of speech used in the first and the second electoral
campaign speeches.
CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. iv
CONTENTS ............................................................................................................. vi
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... viii
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. x
CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1
Statements and significance of the problems .......................................... 1
Objectives ............................................................................................... 3
Research questions .................................................................................. 3
Contribution to knowledge ..................................................................... 3
Scope of the study ................................................................................... 4
Definitions of terms ................................................................................ 4
Conceptual frameworks .......................................................................... 6
2 LITERATURE REVIEWS .......................................................................... 8
Brief biography of President Barack Obama .......................................... 8
Language and power ............................................................................... 9
Communication ....................................................................................... 10
Public speaking ....................................................................................... 16
Speech ..................................................................................................... 18
Figures of speech .................................................................................... 19
Related literatures ................................................................................... 27
3 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................ 33
Research design ......................................................................................... 33
Sampling method, data source, and sample ............................................... 34
Data analysis .............................................................................................. 34
Data presentation ....................................................................................... 36
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CONTENTS (Contd.)
CHAPTER Page
4 RESULTS .......................................................................................................... 37
The analysis of figures of speech used in President Barack Obama’s
electoral campaign speeches .................................................................. 37
5 CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION .............................................................. 44
Summary of findings............................................................................... 44
Discussion ............................................................................................... 45
Limitations .............................................................................................. 48
Implications............................................................................................. 48
Recommendations for the further studies ............................................... 49
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 50
APPENDIX ................................................................................................................ 55
BIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 58
LIST OF TABLES
Tables Page
1 Figures of speech found in President Barack Obama’s electoral campaign
speeches and percentages .............................................................................. 37
2 The data analysis of figures of speech used in electoral campaign speeches . 41
3 The figures of speech employed in the first and second terms of electoral
campaign speeches ......................................................................................... 42
LIST OF FIGURES
Figures Page
1 Conceptual framework ................................................................................. 7
2 Pathway of figures of speech analysis ......................................................... 35
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Statements and significance of the problems
English plays an important role in international communication. People are
employing English in many purposes such as studying abroad, international
conference, import and export business, or even overseas travel. Speaking ability is
one of the first proficiencies that humans have performed since they were young.
Also, speaking ability is very important to our everyday life. Normally, humans
always contact each other by speaking. Speaking is an easy and comfortable way to
contact other persons. Moreover, we can express our thought and feeling through
speaking. Not only contact with people in the same nation, we also contact with
foreigners with English.
For a long time, people have used public speaking to communicate to each
other. Look back to the Greek era, those politicians and scholars employed public
speaking to run their country. They discussed, criticized, and convinced people to
agree with them. Why is that so? It is because language is one of the most powerful
tools. It can be either arts or weapon. Moreover, a famous scholar Aristotle developed
the concept of Rhetoric which its principles have been used by people until today
(Ross & Roberts, 2010).
In the modern world, the crucial address in people’s minds might be
speeches from country leaders like USA, Russia, or China. It is a fact that their
speeches influence many things around the world such as stock, oil price, military
forces, etc. From this point, we can see that language is powerful and choices of
words are crucial. Thus, it is interesting to investigate speeches of important country
like the USA to look into details of their choices of words.
In this research, the analyzed speech text is the text of former US President
Barack Obama, as it is known that he is the first African-American president who
won two elections. He is a successful communicator when delivering a speech. There
are many books and websites that collect his speeches for information, study or even
commercial. The goal of persuaders is to change the audience belief toward some
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issues or to do something. They employ several techniques to gain audiences’
attention, to establish credibility and trustworthy. It is an interesting issue to study
what is behind President Barack Obama public speaking success. After looking into
details, Obama always selected a straightforward word. The word used is upfront and
direct on target. In this case, a good political speech is a speech using language that
is able to have an effect on the listener so that the choices of words are easy to
understand and appropriate. According to Yangmongkol (2009), Obama employed a
speech which contained several figures of speech that helped listeners or writers to
understand more about the message he wanted to deliver. The figures of speech can
strengthen his speeches and convinced voters. Inthrarun (2001) said that figures of
speech is one of language used techniques that compare words or phrases and give a
different meaning from its appearances. The purpose of such method is to give a clear
picture to audiences. Also, the figures of speech will compare words of phrase to
make a fruitful result of stylistic. Chanwimalueang (2012) said that figures of speech
are the way that make language more impressive and become clear in an audience’s
mind. The audience will understand and appreciate with such language. Figures of
speech give audiences a clear picture of speech. Their techniques will compare
language with several methods. Almost, the meaning of word will not match with the
appearance the readers saw. In the same way, the study of Sari (2014) suggested that
President Barack Obama often used figures of speech and made the speech more
interesting and message was well received by the audiences. He is considered one of
the good communicators. Barack Obama speech is similar to the style of a politician
like Dr. King or even President Kennedy (Hart, 2010). They were great speakers and
politicians in the US history. Their speeches influenced lots of work and people.
Generally, it is a fact that powerful speakers influenced many audiences. In
investigating Barack Obama’s figures of speech, this research focuses on figures of
speech which were used in the electoral campaign speech and some others
monumental presidential speeches. It is because of two reasons. The first reason is
that this research is aimed to give the deeper analysis toward Obama’s use of figures
of speech. The second reason is the lexical choices in this speech are very unique. For
example, his a more perfect union speech uses several connotative words and some
poetics languages to deliver its messages. Perhaps, it is a unique strategy for the
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speaker to empower his messages and affected listeners. In 2008, Obama gave
wonderful speeches that caught many Americans’ heart. Then he won the election
(Hart, 2010). Also, he won the election for the second terms in 2012.
From the reason above, the researcher has planned to study President Obama’s
speeches. For the present research, the researcher wants to study figures of speech
used in President Obama’s electoral campaign speeches because his speeches had
interesting linguistic features and caught big wave of attention. The researcher
believes that figures of speech give a fruitful result to audiences. Also, they can give a
clear picture to audiences’ mind.
From the background above, the researcher intended to study his speeches he
addressed in his two electoral campaigns. The study may reveal how he employed
choices of words to get audience’s attention and successfully get his messages across.
Objectives
This study aims to identify figures of speech which were embedded in the
speeches resulted from analyzing figures of speech used in electoral campaign
speeches belonging to President Barack Obama during his two terms of election.
Research questions
Three research questions are proposed in this study, namely:
1. What are the figures of speeches delivered in President Barack Obama’s
electoral campaign speeches?
2. Which figures of speech are most frequently found in President Barack
Obama’s electoral campaign speeches?
3. Are there any differences between the figures of speech used in President
Barack Obama’s first and second electoral campaign speeches?
Contribution to knowledge
The present study investigated the use of figures of speech techniques
showed in President Barack Obama‘s electoral campaign speeches. The findings from
this study can apply with other written and spoken works. They may help others to
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understand how figures of speech work. The study might benefit the readers who want
to prepare political speeches. Political speeches employ formal language and good
pattern to persuade the audiences. Readers can adapt good pattern of speeches to their
own works. Furthermore, the findings of this study will be beneficial in providing
knowledge and understanding of figures of speech in political speech. Those who do
not know about political speeches will get a better perception of it. They can learn
how to choose proper figures of speech and create their own work for the best
outcome. Additionally, the findings from this research can be developed as
instructional media and tools to benefit English language students as a case study and
can be a guideline for further study in the same area.
Scope of the study
This research covered 10 speeches of President Obama which can be found
on a website www.americanrhetoric.com. The author of this website is Associate
Professor Michael E. Eidenmuller from University of Texas. The research studied the
figures of speech from President Barack Obama electoral campaign speeches. There
are a numerous number of figures of speech (Corbett & Connors, 1996). Hence, the
researcher conducted a pilot study and found 15 types of figures of speech, which
were defined in the section below.
Definition of terms
Figures of speech refer to a phrase or word having different meanings than
its literal meanings. It is a form of speech varied from a common usage that helps
convey meaning in a sophisticate manner (Brummett, 2008). In summary, figures of
speech are a language that changes its meaning or sentence structure from literally
forms to give a vivid picture in audiences mind.
Metaphor
Metaphor is a word or phrase that means one thing and is used for referring
to another thing in order to emphasize their similar qualities (Rundell, 2007).
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Simile
Simile is a phrase that describes something by comparing it to something
else using the word like or as (Rundell, 2007).
Metonymy
Metonymy is expressions in which you refer to something using the name of
something else that is closely related to it (Rundell, 2007).
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a way of emphasizing what you are saying by describing it as
far more extreme than it really is (Rundell, 2007).
Oxymoron
Oxymoron is an expression that contains words with opposite meanings
(Rundell, 2007).
Paradox
Paradox is a person, thing, or situation that is strange because they have
features or qualities that do not normally exist together. It is a statement consisting of
two parts that seem to mean the opposite of each other, or the used of this kind of
statement in writing (Rundell, 2007).
Personification
Personification is the practice of showing a particular quality in the form of
person, or an instance of this (Rundell, 2007).
Synecdoche
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the
whole or vice versa (Pearsall, 1998).
Antithesis
Antithesis is the exact opposite of something (Rundell, 2007).
Repetition
Repetition is something that happens in the same way as an earlier event, the
act of repeating something (Rundell, 2007).
Parallelism
Parallelism is the quality or state of being similar to something else. It is a
quality or feature that makes something similar to something else (Rundell, 2007).
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Alliteration
Alliteration is the used of the same letter or sound at the beginning of words
in a sentence, especially in poetry (Rundell, 2007).
Assonance
Assonance is the repeating of sounds in words that are close together
(Rundell, 2007).
Irony
Irony is a form of humor in which you use words to express the opposite of
what the words really mean (Rundell, 2007).
Understatement
Understatement is a statement that makes something seem less important,
serious, big etc than it really is (Rundell, 2007).
Conceptual frameworks
The choice of words and the way the president expressed his ideas through
speech is an interesting thing to study, because through figures of speech and
language styles, the president expressed his ideology on a work plan carried out
during his reign. Moreover, it can be seen how the use of speech associated with the
goal to encourage and unite the whole of American society to work together to build
the country into a better America. The styles of language can also demonstrate the
proficiency of the president in a speech.
The study main concern is from Ungerer and Schmid (1996) which
explained that a study of figures of speech in traditional theory is focused on stylistic,
rhetorical study, or literature. It focused on the comparison of meaning of language
and structure which concluded the figures of speech from traditional theory study as
metaphor, simile, metonymy, hyperbole, oxymoron, paradox, personification, and
synecdoche. Additionally, Corbett and Connors (1996) grouped figures of speech as
schemes and tropes as they focus on both meaning of the words and structure.
Schemes are figures of speech which associate with word order, syntax, letter, and
sound such as alliteration, parallelism, and assonance while tropes are figures of
speeches with an unexpected twist in the meaning of words such as metaphor, simile,
and hyperbole (see Figure 1).
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Figure 1 Conceptual framework
President Barack Obama’s
speeches
Language meaning
Apply Ungerer and Schmid
(1996) and Corbett and Connors
(1996) frameworks to analyze
data
Figures of speech
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEWS
This chapter presents more details of documents related to the current study
as well as theoretical framework including brief biography of President Barack
Obama, language and power, communication, public speaking, speech, figures of
speech, and related literatures.
Brief biography of President Barack Obama
President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. His mother Ann was from
Kansas, U.S.A. and his father, Barack Sr., was from Kenya, Africa. Back then, it was
illegal in many states of the US that white and black have a romantic relationship
together. However, Hawaii seems to be different. No one concerns much about races.
Unfortunately, their marriage end up since Barack Jr. was very young. Barack Jr.
graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He used to work as a
civil right lawyer and taught in University of Chicago Law School. Barack was first
elected as the Illinois state senate in 1996. At that time, his campaign was about taxes
and health welfare. He was elected to the US senator in 2004. Finally, he won the
election and became the US president on January 20, 2009 (Remnick, 2011).
There were full of hope and joy during Obama swearing-in ceremony. Hart
(2010, p. 1) described the atmosphere of Obama’s first inauguration speech in his
book: Finally, inauguration day came. Nearly two million people filled the National
Mall, between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. There was a great feeling of
hope. Obama spoke to the people before him, to the nation and to the world
Also, he used words written by George Washington during Revolutionary
War when it seemed as if the young nation might not survive. There are some
criticisms from experts. The opponent side stated that Barack Obama speech shows
the style of writing, not a speech to delivery, On the contrary, the pros side mentioned
that Barack Obama speech is similar to the style of a powerful politician like Dr. King
or even President Kennedy (Observer, 2008).
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Language and power
According to Cambridge online dictionary, power means the ability to
control people and events, as well as Oxford online dictionary gives a meaning of
power as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the
course of events. How do people use language to influence others? As we know that
a brilliant speaker can convince people by using a persuasive and meaningful
language. According to Enachi-Vasluianu and Malureanu (2016), persuasive language
is defined as any message that is intended to shape, reinforce or change the response
of another. It has become a trend in fast path society with multiple information
options. Persuasive language focuses on information goals to increase of the
audiences’ reception towards the message. The ability to persuade is one of the
fundamental performances for politicians, activists, priests, and so on. It is important
for them to know how and when to employ persuasive language to convince people.
In the same way, Sallomi (2018) mentioned that the process of persuasion is a way of
communication which message delivered through a symbol to the audience. The
persuader aims to affect the audience emotion and reason by adopting certain words
or behavior which can manipulate them. To become successful in employing
persuasive language, the persuader has to master the skills of persuasive style
including speech act and many different figurative devices. The word gold tongue
may describe them. They know how to make use of language in many circumstances
such as marketing, advertising, public relations, or even political events. Fairclough
(1989) determined two types of discourse and power. Firstly, language as
interpersonal communication, it is the language that we use to communicate with each
other. One can use their linguistic abilities to convince others. It is upon credibility
and social roles as we tend to believe doctor more than clerk. Secondly, language as a
mass media discourse, it is designed for mass receptors such as newspaper, television,
radio, and so on. The target is to influence mass audiences in one time. For example;
One of Nelson Mandela’s most memorable speech during Rivonia Trials:
During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African
people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black
domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all
persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I
10
hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared
to die (The Washington Post, 2013, p. 3).
His speeches have awakened people to fight for freedom and justice after
years under control of government although deep down they are frightening to death.
They believe and praise him as a hero, role model, and the father of the nation.
Moreover, he is honored with Nobel Peace Prize.
Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of non violence protest in India. He seeks the
Indian to gain independence. Here is some part of his famous speech The Quit India
in 1942;
I believe that in the history of the world, there has not been a more
genuinely democratic struggle for freedom than ours. I read Carlyle’s French
Revolution while I was in prison, and Pandit Jawaharlal has told me something about
the Russian revolution. But it is my conviction that inasmuch as these struggles were
fought with the weapon of violence they failed to realize the democratic ideal. In the
democracy which I have envisaged, a democracy established by non-violence, there
will be equal freedom for all. Everybody will be his own master. It is to join a struggle
for such democracy that I invite you today. Once you realize this you will forget the
differences between the Hindus and Muslims, and think of yourselves as Indians only,
engaged in the common struggle for independence (Bhavan, 2004, p. 7).
As we can see from the examples above, those who are sharp in employing
language, they always influence people to do things no matter how unbelievable the
things are. They know how to speak and when to speak.
Communication
DeVito (1997) defined communication as an act, by one or more persons,
which send and receive messages, occur in certain contexts, have a certain influence,
and has an opportunity to give feedback. Meanwhile, according to Cangara (2012)
term communication derives from the Latin word “communis” which means
togetherness or build togetherness between two people or more. Definition of
communication refers to a process of exchanging messages between people who send
messages (communicator) to the person receiving the message (communicant) by
11
using the media as the intermediary and then to have that feedback from the
communicant in answer back on equalization meaning that has been received.
David K. Berlo mentioned briefly that communication as an instrument of
social interaction is useful to know and predict others, also to determine the existence
himself in creating a balance with the public. In its scope, communication described
how someone convey something through language or symbols specific to other
persons which man as good communicators occur face to face or by using
communication media as an intermediary message (Byrnes, 2005).
Some scholars explained that communication is not only the definition of
communications, but also in the form of communication that can be classified.
Classification is divided based on the viewpoint of each expert’s experience and field
of study. DeVito (1982) mentioned that communication divide into four kinds,
namely intrapersonal communication; interpersonal communication; small group
communication; public communications; and mass communication. The elements
contained in the communication that the source is made and send a message; message
that the information was taken; media is a tool that is used to move messages from
one place to the place of others; ie that the recipient be the recipients; influence or
effect is the difference before and after the recipient receives the message; feedback
as the impact derived from the recipient; and environments where factors or situations
can affect message delivery process. There are several important components in
communication which will be discussed in the section below.
Messages in communication
In the process of communication is done between people, one of the most
important in the process of communication is the message. Messages, communicators
and communicant cannot be separated from one another, but they are associated with
each other. The purpose of the communication itself is trying to bring the message or
information to be communicated between people. Message can be delivered by way
of face-to-face or it can also be helped by using communication media. Cangara
(2012) stated that the content of the message may be a science, entertainment,
information, advice, even propaganda. In English, the message translated to be
message, content, or information. Messages could be divided into verbal and
nonverbal messages.
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Verbal Messages
Verbal messages often use language in its application. Also Barnlund
(2008)said the language as a means of communication (oral and written) that have
functions that can be understood speakers or to understand the speakers. These
functions are grouped into four main functions, namely the identity, as a vehicle for
social interaction, as a means of catharsis or in other words as a concept in
psychology explains the process of liberation of man from any pressure, and as the
manipulation (Barnlund, 2008).
Verbal communication is verbal messages transmitted through voice. Oral
communication typically involves verbal and nonverbal symbols while written
communication is communication through words, written or printed. Verbal written-
communication is dealing with the creation and delivery of the message. An oral
message spoken constantly in a voice that connects verbatim, whereas in written
communication, the words seem different from one another because it is surrounded
by spaces, commas, semicolons, and periods (Randall, 2014)
Verbal message consists of oral and written language. Effectiveness can be
seen from the oral language pronunciation of speech, the clarity of the spoken word,
vocabulary, confidence, voice tone and style. While the written language are “the
writing” which refers to the factors that govern a person's capacity as listening,
reading, thinking ability, memory, power of observation and learning strengths, the
ability to gather and analyze information, the power of imagination, a unit of
language, writing skills, and abilities utilization of media (Barnlund, 2008).
Non Verbal messages
Non-verbal communication is communication using nonverbal messages.
Nonverbal term usually used to describe all the events of communication beyond
words were spoken and written. Theoretically nonverbal communication and verbal
communication can be separated. But in reality, these two types of communication are
mutually intertwined, complementary in communication that we do daily (Burgoon,
Guerrero, & Floyd, 2011).
Hecht and Ambady (1999) defines nonverbal messages into communication
without language, without a word, nonverbal messages mean a minus sign or a minus
sign language words. In contrast to De Vito (1997), revealing nonverbal message is a
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message that is communicated by body movements, eye movements, facial
expressions, body figure, the use of distance (space), speed, and even silence spoke
volumes. According to attitudes like this we can see what is behind the verbal
messages are “clear”. If summarized the understanding of experts, the definition of
the nonverbal message sought to be substituted or replaced of verbal messages when a
language is incapable of working and processed into message and the role of each
member of the body works to attract thus creating a message achievement on the
communicant.
The code used in non-verbal communication, has long attracted attention
among anthropology, language, even from the field of medicine. According to
Andersen (2007) mentions that the use of code nonverbal communication has a
function:
1. Assure what was said (repetition)
2. Shows the feelings and emotions that cannot be expressed in words
3. Show identity so that others may know him (identity)
4. Add to or complement utterances felt incomplete.
Giving meaning to the nonverbal code is heavily influenced by the social
and cultural systems that use them. In everyday life, we are often faced with things
that are unique, such as the increasingly rare people who can adhere to the principle of
the words and deeds, more and more people are articulate but not work in accordance
with his words. Or we are often confronted with something that actually contradicts
our perception. For example, people tend to use certain attributes precisely to deceive
others.
Political Communication
Communication is a process that is centered on the message rests on
information, communication and many theories have been developed to convey the
message processing information Politics is derived from the word “polis” meaning the
state, the city, which in totality is a unity between the state (city) and its people. The
word “polis” This developed into the “politicos” which means citizenship. From the
word “politicos” to “politera” which means that the rights of citizenship. By
definition, there are several views of political scholars, including Altheide (2004)
defines politics as the activity of the collective governing their actions in the
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conditions of social conflict. In many ways people differ from one another - physical,
talents, emotions, needs, goals, initiatives, behaviors, and so on. Furthermore, Nimmo
(1974)explained, sometimes this difference stimulating arguments, disputes and
squabbles. If they consider it a serious dispute, their attention by introducing issues
that contradict it, and finish; this is political activity According to R. Muth (1990) and
F.M. Muth (1990), political science is the science of power. In contrast, Easton
(1965), defines politics as follows: “Political as a process Reviews those
developmental processes through the persons acquire political orientation and
patterns of behavior”. This definition emphasizes that politics as a process in which
the evolution of the process a person receives a certain political orientation and
behavior patterns.
If the meaning of communication and political ties together the political
communication can be formulated as follows: political communication is the
communication that is intended to achieve certain effects that can affect the target
audience. Furthermore, in the point of view political goal per see, so the main purpose
of political communication is all the efforts made by certain groups (which have
political views or ideology similar to power) so that by means of the group's goals can
be achieved or accomplished. The orientation of political communication contains at
least two things are very clear: first, that political communication is always oriented to
certain values and goals to be achieved; values and objectives will reinforce that it is
part of the group; and secondly, that political communication oriented to the future
and anticipates it, as well as considering the circumstances and events of the past
(Muth & Muth, 1990).
Political communicator
Some scholars articulated that one characteristics of the communicator is
that the political communicator is always followed and can rarely be avoided. One of
the communicator characteristic is this person is always followed and can rarely be
avoided. In the most general sense that we all (human) are communicators, as well as
anyone involved in politics, it can be said that he is a political communicator. While
we recognize that every person is able to communicate about politics, but we also
recognize that relatively few people do, at least to do as well as permanent and
continuous. They are, relatively few are not only exchanging political messages; they
15
are opinion leaders in the political process. Usually political communicator is more
serious when they speak and act, when compared with ordinary citizens (Habermas &
McCarthy, 1977).
One of the role of communicator in the changing process of public opinion,
Doob (1961) suggested that in general the characteristics of a political communicator,
namely: in term of behavior a communicator are able to read the potential audience to
watch it, they were able to honor audience and it will effect on how he/she use
communication style. If he thinks the audience comes from community low
education, the communicator will allow messages to be delivered in accordance with
the ability of audience. Each audience must have certain characteristics and this will
affect the style of communication is a communicator polities.
Almond mention that political communicator has a role as a political
function, together with the function of articulation, aggregation, dissemination and
recruitment contained in any political system. Political communication is a necessary
precondition for the continuity of other functions (Almond, 2003). While Galnoor
(1984) mentioned that political communication is a political infrastructure, which is a
combination of social interaction in which information related to the joint venture and
the power relations into the circulation.
In conclusion, as applying the formulation of political communication as a
process, procedures and activities shaping political attitudes and behaviors are
integrated in a political system. In the words of a more open political communication
regarding the following matters: 1. submitted by political communicator, 2. the
message concerning the weight of political power and the state, 3. is integrated in the
political system.
Political Communication Functions
The function of political communication can be divided to two parts. First,
the function of political communication that is in the structure of government
(political superstructure) or referred to by the term the governmental political sphere
contains information relating to all of the policies implemented by the government.
The contents of the communication addressed to the efforts to achieve national loyalty
and integrity to achieve wider objectives of the state. Second, the function of which is
the structure of society (political infrastructure) are also referred to as the socio
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political sphere, ie as interest aggregation and articulation of interests, in which both
functions as a communication process that takes place in between the association and
the delivery or distribution of the content of communication against the government
of the results of the aggregation and articulation (King & Gilbert, 2004; McNair,
2011).
Furthermore, political communication functions proposed by McNair (2011)
and combined with communication functions by Hedebro (1982), thus conclusion the
political communication functions are providing information to the public on the
efforts undertaken political institutions as well as in relation to the government and
society, socializing the policies, programs and objectives of political institutions,
motivating politicians, functionaries and party supporters, being a platform that can
accommodate the ideas of society so that the talk in the form of public opinion,
educating the public by providing information, socialization of the means of elections
and the use of their rights as voters, being the entertainment community as a
democratic party by displaying campaigners artists and commentators or political
observer, cultivating integration with a growing sense of nationality in order to avoid
conflicts and the threat of separatist actions that threaten national unity, creating a
climate of change by changing the power structure through the information to seek
public support to the movement of reform and democratization, improving the
political activities community level through the news, agenda setting as well as
political review.
In general, political communication is a bridge between the superstructure
and infrastructure; they are mutually dependent on each other within the scope of a
government. Reciprocal communication is to response to one another so they achieve
mutual understanding and oriented to the maximum benefit for the public interest.
That is the definitions and functions of political communication briefly.
Public Speaking
Public speaking defines as the communication of ideas and feelings by using
symbols that look and sound coming from the speaker regarding thoughts and ideas,
using symbol-emblem-sounds, words, changes in tone, and gesture (McBurney &
Wrage 1965). In addition, public speaking refers to a verbal communication about the
17
subject matter or the front of the public. The goal of public speaking includes such as
influence, persuade, educate, change opinions, provide explanations, and provide
information to the public on certain place (Beebe & Beebe, 2006; Nikitina, 2014).
According to Zarefsky (2010), in public speaking: Strategies for Success:
“Public speaking is a continuous communication process in the which messages and
signals Circulate back and forth between speakers and listeners” (talks in public is
something the communication process that is ongoing in which a message and a
symbol of circulating repeated continuously between speaker and listener. From the
definition or understanding about the public speaking of the above, it is understood
that public speaking is the art of public speaking in which an oral communication that
effectively takes place continuously in which a message and a symbol circulating re-
continuously between the speaker and the listener with the intention that the listener
thinking, feel, and act as expected by the speaker.
There are three elements in public speaking (Waters, 1999), namely:
Speaker: The speaker is the center of the transaction. The speaker acts as a
communicator to appear as a central activity that illustrates the convergence of the
soul of the audience to "consider" the speaker appear as an excuse audience. Speakers
are required to be able to use the techniques and tactics of communication for the
purpose of speech is achieved. By recognizing the “appetite” so that the audience can
package a message that can captivate the audience, in the sense of willing and able to
understand the intent of the speaker and understand the contents of his speech will
benefit their lives (Waters, 1999).
Message: All messages in public speaking activities flow, starting from the
speaker to the listener. Messages sent and received simultaneously and show their
vocal combinations effective message delivery, for one reason or another
complementary (Waters, 1999).
Audience: The audience or the audience involved in the process of public
speaking activities are in fact insane-beings who obviously each is different and has
its own peculiarities. Each listener is included in public speaking situations with
different purposes, different motives, different hopes, different knowledge and
different attitudes, beliefs and values. Consequently, each listener will be looking
appearance and his speech is slightly different from one another. The principal
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intention is nothing but change the “climate” of meeting toward the better, in
accordance with the “climate” desired speaker (Waters, 1999).
Importantly, public speaking and communication functions are the same as
public speaking as a communication tool. Person who wants to convey a message to
others definitely use the method which means to communication with other person.
There is an element that conveys, there is the content of the message and there are
tools or media used to deliver it. Human life is generally covered by the
communication process (Waters, 1999).
In addition, public speaking as a means and method of communication
already known and to function in daily life, some important function as follow (Lucas,
1946): 1. Conveying information (to inform): Namely activities to collect, store data,
facts and messages, opinions and comments, so that people could know the
circumstances that occurred outside it. 2. Education (to educate): An opportunity to
get an education widely, both for formal education in school and outside of school.
Also improve the quality of the presentation of the material is good, interesting, and
memorable. 3. Entertaining (to entertain): The mass media have much time to spare
with the functioning of all age groups as a means of entertainment in the home.
4. Influencing others: Encouraging others to follow the desires of the communicator.
Speech
Nacaskul (1978) mentioned that generally, speech is the way of speaking in
an appropriate occasion and employs good style of language. Speech must be well
prepared and used a formal and good language. Moreover, a speaker should be
participated with his/her audiences. Not only read the speech, speaker shall have eye
contact with audiences also. Every speech must have a general or specific purpose.
A general purpose is to inform, to persuade, to entertain, or to inspire. A specific
purpose means an objective that speaker attempting to change audiences' belief or
attitude. Speech might be separated into four categories by looking at its purpose.
1. Informative speech – this type of speech conveys facts or information to
audiences. The speaker must give the details of information and avoid details that
confuse audiences. Moreover, the speaker has to tide up details and fact together then
summarize main point and lead them to audiences’ mind.
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2. Persuasive speech - the purpose of persuasive speech is to change the
audiences' behavior or attitude toward something or even accept the speaker's opinion.
This type of speech always has emotion involved and speaker always asks audience
support such as sales representation.
3. Speech to entertain - this type of speech attempts to amuse or provide
enjoyment to the audience. Any speeches can be an entertainment speech without
laughing. Speech to entertain includes anecdotes or experiences of the speaker.
4. Inspirational speech/ speech to inspire - this kind of speech asks people to
achieve noble goals or ideals or reach their highest potential. Most of inspiration
speeches are from non-profit organizations or monk preaching (Phimsawat, 2014,
pp. 5-10).
Figures of speech
Figures of speech play an important part in rhetoric expression and writings
work. It has been used since ancient time. In the history, the Greeks were the first to
use figures of speech in their works; they called them schema or schemes. It gives a
different and vivid perception to the piece of writing by emphasizing their meaning.
Na-Nakorn (1997) and Kithikorn (2005) mentioned that figures of speech
are words that give a clear picture to audiences. When using figures of speech, the
meanings of messages sent are not on the surface level but must be interpreted to
understand. Figures of speech are used in several methods from their usual meaning to
create special notions in audiences’ mind. In the same way, Corbett and Connors
(1996) and Ungerer and Schmid (1996) said that from ancient time, people have been
using figures of speech for many purposes such as politics, education, poetic, etc.
They help to connected sentences by emphasizing the ideas all together. Hence,
figures of speech play an important role in many aspects. Figures of speech are used
to attract audiences’ attention and to keep audiences interest in the works is writer’s
achievement. They can be found not only in poetry but also in everyday life such as
advertisement, newspaper, book, speech, and so on. There are several categories and
arrangements of figures of speech but in this research will only present the ones that
frequency found and used.
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Here are frequently found figures of speech from the pilot study and their
concepts;
Metaphor
Metaphor is a word or phrase that means one thing and is used for referring
to another thing in order to emphasize their similar qualities (Rundell, 2007). It is a
thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something
abstract. A word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally
applicable (Pearsall, 1998). For example;
The question of federal aid to parochial schools is a bramble patch.
On the final examination, several students went down in flames.
The promise between us was a delicate flower.
Her hair was a flowing golden river streaming down her shoulders.
Simile
Simile is a phrase that describes something by comparing it to something
else using the word like or as (Rundell, 2007). It is a figure of speech involving the
comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a
description more emphatic or vivid (Pearsall, 1998). For example;
Like a lamp, dispelling the darkness of ignorance.
Dalai Lama
A good speech should be like woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the
subject and short enough to create interest.
Winston Churchill
A simile committing suicide is always a depressing spectacle.
Oscar Wilde
Metonymy
Metonymy is expressions in which you refer to something using the name of
something else that is closely related to it (Rundell, 2007). The substitution of the
name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for
business executive, or the turf for horse racing (Pearsall, 1998). For example;
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When she spoke even now, after forty years, among the slurred consonants
and the flat vowels of the land where her life had been cast, New England talked as
plainly as it did in the speech of her kin who had never left New Hampshire.
William Faulkner, Light in August
A little water clears us of this deed.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a way of emphasizing what you are saying by describing it as
far more extreme than it really is (Rundell, 2007). Exaggerated statements or claims
not meant to be taken literally (Pearsall, 1998). For example;
What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune's
ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this hand will rather. The
multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth
At that time Bogota was a remote, lugubrious city where an insomniac rain
had been falling since the beginning of the 16th century.
Gabriel García Márquez, Living to Tell the Tale
Oxymoron
Oxymoron is an expression that contains words with opposite meanings
(Rundell, 2007). It is a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms
appear in conjunction (Pearsall, 1998). For example;
No light but rather darkness visible.
John Milton, Paradise Lost
To lead the people, walk behind them.
Lao Tzu
I can resist anything, except temptation.
Oscar Wilde
Paradox
Paradox is a person, thing, or situation that is strange because they have
features or qualities that do not normally exist together. It is a statement consisting of
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two parts that seem to mean the opposite of each other, or the used of this kind of
statement in writing (Rundell, 2007).
It is a statement or proposition which, despite sound (or apparently sound)
reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems logically
unacceptable or self-contradictory (Pearsall, 1998). For example;
I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know
nothing.
Socrates
My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth of love it is to me,
That I must love a loathèd enemy.
William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength.
George Orwell, 1984
Personification
Personification is the practice of showing a particular quality in the form of
person, or an instance of this (Rundell, 2007). It is an attribution of a personal nature
or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract
quality in human form (Pearsall, 1998). For example;
Next came Fraud, and he had on,
Like Eldon, an ermined gown;
His big tears, for he wept well,
Turned to mill-stones as they fell.
And the little children, who
Round his feet played to and fro,
Thinking every tear a gem,
Had their brains knocked out by them.
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Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Mask of Anarchy
The alarm clock screamed at me this morning.
The fire swallowed the entire forest.
Synecdoche
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the
whole or vice versa (Pearsall, 1998). It is a general class name used to denote a
specific member of that or an associated class. For example;
Plastic for credit cards
Threads for clothing
White hair for elderly people
Coke for soft drink
Mama for instant noodle
Kleenex for tissues paper
Antithesis
Antithesis is the exact opposite of something (Rundell, 2007). A rhetorical
or literary device in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is expressed (Pearsall,
1998). For example;
To err is human; to forgive divine.
Alexander Pope
Patience is bitter, but it has a sweet fruit.
Aristotle
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you
ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what
America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
John F. Kennedy Jr.
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Repetition
Repetition is something that happens in the same way as an earlier event, the
act of repeating something (Rundell, 2007). It is an action of repeating something that
has already been said or written (Pearsall, 1998). For example;
I have failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I
succeed.
Michael Jordan
How the danger sinks and swells,
By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells,
Of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells—
In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!
Edgar Allen Poe, The bells
Parallelism
Parallelism is the quality or state of being similar to something else. It is a
quality or feature that makes something similar to something else (Rundell, 2007).
It is a use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose which correspond in
grammatical structure, sound, metre, meaning, etc (Pearsall, 1998). For example;
My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us,
grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our
ancestors.
Barack Obama
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones...
William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
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Alliteration
Alliteration is the used of the same letter or sound at the beginning of words
in a sentence, especially in poetry (Rundell, 2007). It is an occurrence of the same
letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words (Pearsall,
1998). For example;
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes;
A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.
William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Jellyfish have germs and jarring toxins.
The tornado tossed the trailer like a trash can.
Grass grows greener in the graveyard
Assonance
Assonance is the repeating of sounds in words that are close together
(Rundell, 2007). It is a resemblance of sound between syllables of nearby words,
arising particularly from the rhyming of two or more stressed vowels, but not
consonants, but also from the use of identical consonants with different vowels
(Pearsall, 1998). For example;
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love’s long since cancell'd woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
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But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restor'd and sorrows end
William Shakespeare, Sonnet 30
Irony
Irony is a form of humor in which you use words to express the opposite of
what the words really mean (Rundell, 2007). Irony is an expression of one’s meaning
by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or
emphatic effect (Pearsall, 1998). For example;
Thank Heaven! the crisis,
The danger is past,
And the lingering illness
Is over at last,
And the fever called "Living"
Is conquered at last.
Edgar Allen Poe
I saw a fish drowning.
Marriage is the leading cause of divorce.
Understatement
Understatement is a statement that makes something seem less important,
serious, big etc than it really is (Rundell, 2007). The presentation of something as
being smaller or less good or important than it really is (Pearsall, 1998). For example;
I have to have this operation. It isn’t very serious. I have this tiny little
tumor on the brain.
J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
The blood was dribbling out of the corner of my mouth. ‘The artery’s gone,’
I thought. I wondered how long you last when your carotid artery is cut; not many
minutes, presumably. Everything was very blurry. There must have been about two
minutes during which I assumed that I was killed. And that too was interesting.
George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia
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In summary, this study focused on a conceptual framework of Corbett and
Connors (1996) and Ungerer and Schmid (1996) which is most applicable in term of
data analysis and criteria.
Related literatures
The researcher have found a number of studies which investigated the use
of language in political speech. The researcher have reviewed some of them which
their information are useful for current study as follows:
Kithikorn (2005) studied research named “Analyses of Speeches by
President Bush during The Crisis of 9/11”. The objective of the study was to analyze
figures of speech and speech organization of President Bush’s speeches during 9/11
crisis. There were three speeches analyzed. The result indicated that the most figures
of speech frequently found were parallelism, alliteration, and metaphor. For the type
of speech and speech organization were speech to reinforcement and simple form
respectively. President Vladimir Putin and President Bush have shared some
similarities of used persuasive languages to catch audiences' attention. For example,
Putin used the effect of repetition in the beginning sounds in words. This effect was to
emphasize what he wanted to express such as “Mr. President, allow me to wish you a
warm welcome to Moscow” as well as, President Bush employed parallelism more
often than other devices because he needed to emphasize his message to shocked
people. The alliteration, he used it because needed people to remember his messages
easier and metaphor used for connecting between Americans and terrorists.
Also, there are some researchers indicated that political speeches are sources
of figures of speech. Changdacha (2006) conducted study named “A Study of stylistic
devices in the inaugural addresses of American Presidents: From Ronald Reagan to
George W. Bush”. The study was focused on supporting materials employed in
inaugural addresses, diction that frequently appeared in inaugural addresses, sentence
strategies, and figurative language. The study analyzed six inaugural addresses of four
American presidents: Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W.
Bush. The result revealed that there were supporting materials in every address
especially explanation and description. Supporting materials helped speaker to
28
amplify, clarify, and justify his believes, attitudes, or even ideas. For diction, jargon
and euphemisms were most frequently employed. Omission was the most frequently
sentence strategies used in addresses. The political speeches were rich of figurative
language. This study metaphor and personification were most frequently found.
The researcher concluded that political speeches were a good source of stylistic
devices because main purposes of such speeches were caught an attention and
persuades people. Thus, several styles of stylistic devices were found in this type
of speech.
Moreover, Khamthorn (2007) conducted research entitled “A study of
persuasive devices in four selected acceptance speeches of Nobel peace prize
winners” The objective of the study was to capture persuasive devices used in four
acceptance speeches of Noble peace prize winners and looked at persuasive devices
style of each of them. The study focused on two conceptual frameworks which were
persuasive devices that enhanced evocative appeal and reason or fact that enhanced
logical appeal. The result revealed that there were greater used of evocation appeal
than logical appeal in acceptance speeches of Nobel peace prize winners. The most
frequently used of persuasive devices related to evocative appeal were motive word,
parallelism, and repetition. On the other hand, the most frequently used of devices
related to logical appeal was mention of specific name, fact, and logical argument.
Moreover, the study showed that winners’ field of work influenced their style of
language used. For example, Mother Teresa employed devices related to emotion
more frequently than other winners because her nature of work was helping people
and doing a charity. In short, the main purpose of persuasive or public speech was to
persuade people thus they needed persuasive devices to strengthen them.
Additionally, Kritsanaviparkporn (2007) studied “Rhetorical devices
analysis of the US presidents' inaugural addresses during 1961-2005”. The study was
to examine the rhetorical devices used in the US presidents' inaugural addresses, find
out the frequency of each devices, investigate which rhetorical device was the most
frequency found, and conclude the conceptual framework of the US presidents'
inaugural speeches during 1961-2005. There were twelve speeches involved in the
study. The result exposed that rhetorical devices found in selected speeches were
antithesis (21.03%), simile (18.84%), anaphora (17.85%), and alliteration (15.47%).
29
Also, the study grouped such rhetorical devices into two groups as anaphora and
alliteration which were devices that helped speakers express the standpoint of their
ideas. Another group was antithesis and similes which were indicated the point and
picture of speakers. Thus, the top four of rhetorical devices found in twelve speeches
of the US presidents' inaugural speeches during 1961-2005 were antithesis, simile,
anaphora, and alliteration can be assumed as typical and characteristics of leader US
politicians during 1961-2005.
In the same way, Sukhanit (2009) investigated the research entitled “An
Analysis of Linguistic Features of Some Selected Speeches Belonging to the Current
Russian President, Vladimir Putin”. The objective of the study was to identify speech
act features in pragmatics, and the figurative language features in semantics of
President Vladimir Putin selected speeches. The research selected 24 speeches from
total 150 speeches on the website belonging to President Vladimir Putin. The
figurative language features found in President Vladimir Putin selected speeches were
alliteration, denotation, assonance, anastrophe, simile, and allusion. The alliteration
was the most figurative language features frequently found in President Vladimir
Putin selected speeches because Putin used the effect of repetition in the beginning
sounds in words. This effected result to emphasize what he want to expressed such as
Mr. President, allow me to wish you a warm welcome to Moscow.
Yangmongkol (2009) studied the research entitled “Persuasive language
used in President Barack Obama's speeches”. The objective was to explore persuasive
language used in President Barack Obama’s speeches, to analyze styles of sentence
strategies, rhetorical devices, and political and economic appeals, and to explore the
success of using persuasive language in political speeches. This study investigated
twelve speeches from President Barack Obama’s speeches during 100 days of his
presidential office. The research claimed that these 100 days since the first day that
Barack Obama swore to Mr. President was crucial time to cope with many issues. The
study focused on persuasive language, sentences strategies, rhetorical devices, and
political and economic appeals that influenced political speeches. The result revealed
that some persuasive language and sentence strategies found in selected speeches
were achievement of restating words (repetition), arrangement words or sentence in a
same manner (parallelism), combining opposing ideas in the same sentence
30
(antithesis), and lacking of conjunctions between coordinate phrases or words
(asyndeton). For both political and economic issues, Mr. President employed the same
techniques. Moreover, President Barack Obama employed repetition more often than
other sentence strategies for political speeches. Also, he used metaphor as rhetorical
devices for political speeches. For economic speeches, the result indicated the same
way as political speeches. However, President employed such techniques more often
in economic speeches. The speeches of President Barack Obama contained several
characteristics which helped readers or writers to be better speakers.
The research of Yangmongkol (2009) and Diep (2012) assured that
politicians used figures of speech to strengthen their speeches and to convince voters.
Diep conducted the research entitled “A Study of Some Linguistic Features of Barack
Obama’s English Speeches”. The study was to suggest styles of speech written to
Vietnamese teachers and learners. Also, the study investigated stylistic features that
find in President Barack Obama’s speeches. The study focused on stylistic devices
namely repetition, metaphor, and euphemism through 50 speeches of Barack Obama
which selected from website. The result revealed that among repetition, metaphor,
and euphemism, metaphor was frequently found in Barack Obama’s 50 speeches.
Metaphor was often found in political speeches because communicators wanted to
persuade and made such speeches interesting. Metaphor was somewhat good to
persuade people and it affected audiences’ emotion. Moreover, metaphor gave a vivid
picture to audiences' mind. In the contrary, euphemism and repetition were created
visual effect and emphasized a main message respectively.
A study aims to determine the meaning and function of metaphors. In this
case the author uses the theory advanced by some experts that Levinson (1983) and
Ullman (1962). Data was taken from two speeches that Barack Obama's speech at the
GPO House Issues Conference on 29 January 2010, and Barack Obama's speech on
reforming Wall Street on April 22, 2010. The method used in analyzing the data is
unified pragmatic. Furthermore, the analysis results are presented using formal and
informal methods. The analysis found 6 metaphors in a transcript of a speech of
Barack Obama. The metaphor used by Barack Obama in building rhetoric is to
compare the known word in American culture with the current American condition,
especially the condition of the American economy. This strategy identifies that by
31
using the metaphor, therefore listeners will be impressed, interested and understand
the content of the speech of Barack Obama (Sabu, 2011).
This study aims to investigate the diction used by President Barack Obama
in his presidential inauguration speech in 2009. This study used qualitative methods.
The author uses the theory of diction, imagery language and rhetorical devices. The
results of this study states President Barack Obama often uses words that are
connotative in his speech. Furthermore, Obama also often use the language of
metaphor and rhetorical device to make the speech more interesting and the message
was well received by the audience. The use of special diction in the presidential
inauguration speech President Barack Obama gives the effect of its own to the
listeners. The effect obtained from the use of such diction among others, the listeners
become more familiar with messaging in Obama's speech as metaphors in this speech
gives more emphasis on the message itself; listeners become more sensitive to the
meaning of each sentence and they also get a lesson from the sentence without feeling
patronized; and listeners can receive the core message of the speech without feeling
offended (Sari, 2014).
To analyze the speech of famous figure is always interesting, for example
analyze the speech of first president of Indonesia, Soekarno. A study analyzed the
type of communicative action undertaken by the first President of the Republic of
Indonesia while giving at the Asia-Africa conference. By using on the theory of
communicative action developed by Jurgen Habermas and critical discourse analysis
Fairclough and descriptive qualitative-quantitative analysis is applied. The study
shows that the President's speech is the most dominant speech in which every kind of
communicative action occurs with the total number of 141 speeches. This study also
showed that the expressive type is the most dominant (as many as 89 cases), followed
by a kind of regulative with 63 cases, with 52 important types of cases, and most
types within constitutes with 45 cases (Dewanti, 2011).
A study of persuasion in political discourse in the last speech of former
Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the charismatic president died one day
after the State of the Union delivered an important speech. Tunisia when it was hit by
a revolution that became known as the Arab Spring revolutions. Sentences in a speech
were analyzed by Speech Act Theory in the typology Searle. Analysis continued by
32
comparing the speech of Aristotle using techniques diglossia. In the final stage, the
principle of Griecean used to analyze whether there are irregularities persuasive
purposes. This study found that the figure of speech used with or without a
performative verbs that are positive. It can be concluded that the speech act can be
used as a tool to influence others. With certain illocutionary force will build the image
of a communicator (Jarraya, 2013).
From these related literature, all information can be assumed that choices of
figures of speech are crucial for speakers. The politicians who want to convince
people may apply figures of speech that emphasize their ideas. Some research also
confirmed that political speeches are one of speeches that contain several figures of
speech to convince people. For instance, Mother Teresa who always helped people
used figures of speech to persuade audiences. Additionally, related literatures revealed
that each figures of speech give a different impact to audiences such as the orators
employed repetition to let the audiences absorb his/her message without feeling
offended. Also, purpose of the speech was one of the factors that the orators decided
which of figures of speech they should employ. In this study focused on electoral
campaign speeches to investigated the use of figures of speech in formal occasion and
the choices of figures of speech President Barack Obama applied to his speeches.
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents research procedure of present study as well as
sampling method that use to select sample of data, speeches. The process and
methodology of the present study are discussed in this chapter including research
design, sampling method , data source and sample, data analysis, and data
presentation.
Research design
This study analyzed the text of President Barack Obama's speeches, thus
documentation or documentary technique is a suitable method for this study.
Documentation method is a systematic study on the records or documents as data
sources. There are two terms of documents ;first in a broad sense, namely covering all
sources, both written and oral sources resources; both in the strict sense, such as
covering all written sources only; The second in a specific sense is only covering the
official papers and letters state, such as a letter of agreement, legislation, concessions,
grants and so on. Before actual documents analysis occurs, the researcher must
undergo a details planning process to ensure reliable results (Bowen, 2009). This
study applied qualitative research method to explore the research questions.
Sampling method, data source, and sample
According to Pakcharoen (2013), non-probability sampling is ways to select
sample in which totally number of population does not present. Thus, such population
cannot apply probability sampling method. However, some samples might not be
selected but some samples might duplicate. Moreover, this method cannot generalize
to the population. The non-probability sampling consisted of convenience sampling,
purposive sampling, and quota sampling. The researcher selected the sample by using
a purposive sampling method because the researcher wanted to analyze figures of
speech found in speeches of President Barack Obama during his two terms of
electoral campaign only. The samples are selected by random from website
34
www.americanrhetoric.com. The criterion of sample selection was the period during
two terms of President Barack Obama electoral campaign speeches which were
speeches from 2007 to 2008 and 2012. Here are list of speeches of President Barack
Obama.
1. 10 Feb 2007 Presidential Candidacy Announcement
2. 04 Mar 2007 Brown Chapel Speech
3. 13 Mar 2007 Senate Speech on Iraq Federalism Amendment
4. 21 Mar 2007 Senate Speech on Iraq War After 4 Years
5. 18 Mar 2008 A More Perfect Union Speech
6. 23 Jul 2012 Speech to the 113th VFW Convention
7. 06 Sep 2012 Second Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech
8. 25 Oct 2012 Campaign Rally in Tampa, Florida
9. 01 Nov 2012 Campaign Rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin
10. 03 Nov 2012 Campaign Rally in Bristow, Virginia
Data analysis
The present study analyzed in-depth of speeches of President Barack
Obama. This study uses Ungerer and Schmid (1996) and Corbett and Connors (1996)
conceptual frameworks to investigate text from President Barack Obama’s electoral
campaign speeches.
35
Figure 2 Pathway of figures of speech analysis
Steps of the data analysis as presented in Figure 2 can be described as
follows:
1. Data Collection: The collection of data is an integral part of the data
analysis activities. Data collection activities in this research refer to the
documentation study. In this study, the data collection was started by studying related
literatures and collected President Barack Obama’s electoral campaign speeches.
2. Data Reduction: In order to investigate figures of speech used in the
present study, the researcher conducted a pilot study and coded types of figures of
speech frequently found in President Barack Obama’s electoral campaign speeches.
Study related literatures and
collect President Barack
Obama’s speeches
Analyze data with figures of
speech conceptual framework
Code types of figures of
speech found in speeches
Discuss and present the
results
36
They consisted of 15 types of figures of speech including, metaphor, simile,
metonymy, hyperbole, oxymoron, paradox, personification, synecdoche, irony,
understatement, alliteration, assonance, antithesis, repetition, and parallelism.
3. Display Data: This step described a set of structured information that
gives the possibility of drawing conclusions and taking action. Presentation of
qualitative data is presented in the form of narrative text.
4. Conclusion Drawing and Verification: This step is the final activity of the
data analysis. Conclusion in the form of interpretation activities, namely finding the
meaning of the data that has been presented. Among data display and conclusion there
was activity analysis of existing data. In this sense the analysis of qualitative data is
an ongoing effort, repeatedly and continuously. The problem of data reduction, data
presentation and conclusion / verification into the image of success in a row as a
series of activities related analysis was discussed. The analyzed data were verified by
two university lecturers for the accuracy.
Data presentation
The data presentation and display refers to the description of a set of
structured information that gives the possibility of drawing conclusions and taking
action. Qualitative data is presented in the form of narrative text. The presentation
may also in forms of matrices, diagrams, tables and charts. The result of present
study was presented in the form of an explanation, an example of speeches and table
were asserted.
37
CHAPTER 4
RESULTS
This chapter presents the results of figures of speech found in President
Barack Obama’s electoral campaign speeches. The study aims to identify figures of
speech features which were embedded in the speeches resulted from analyzing figures
of speech used in electoral campaign speeches belonging to President Barack Obama
during his two terms of election. Three analyses were made; first, the analysis of
figures of speech used in electoral his campaign speeches, second, the analysis to
calculate the occurrences of figures of speech in electoral campaign speeches and
third the comparison of figures of speech used between first and second term of
electoral campaign speech.
The analysis of figures of speech used in President Barack Obama’s
electoral campaign speeches
In order to analyze figures of speech used in President Barack Obama
electoral campaign speeches, 10 speeches were analyzed based on textual analysis and
count the occurrences. The results of figures of speech are presented in chronological
order.
Part 1 what are the figures of speeches delivered in President Barack
Obama’s electoral campaign speeches?
Table 1 Figures of speech found in President Barack Obama’s electoral campaign
speeches and percentages
Figures of speech Frequency Percentages
Metaphor 18 7.65
Simile 1 0.42
Metonymy 14 5.95
Hyperbole 4 1.70
38
Table 1 (Contd.)
Figures of speech Frequency Percentages
Oxymoron 2 0.85
Paradox 8 3.40
Personification 7 2.97
Synecdoche 20 8.51
Antithesis 1 0.42
Repetition 68 28.93
Parallelism 77 32.76
Alliteration 4 1.70
Assonance 8 3.40
Irony 1 0.42
Understatement 2 0.85
Total 235 100
From Table 1, the results showed that figures of speech found in electoral
campaign speeches were parallelism, repetition, synecdoche, personification,
alliteration, hyperbole, assonance, and paradox. There were lesser occurrences for
simile, oxymoron, antithesis, irony, and understatement.
Example 1 Parallelism in Official Announcement of Candidacy for US
President’s speech
And I accepted the job, sight unseen, motivated then by a single, simple,
powerful idea
Example 2 Parallelism in A more perfect union speech
They are full of dancing and clapping and screaming and shouting that
may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and
cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and
successes, the love and, yes, the bitterness and biases that make up the black
experience in America.
39
Example 3 Repetition in Official Announcement of Candidacy for US
President’s speech
That's what Abraham Lincoln understood. He had his doubts. He had his
defeats. He had his skeptics. He had his setbacks
Example 4 Repetition in Selma Voting Rights March Commemoration
speech
It's because they marched that we elected councilmen, congressmen. It is
because they marched that we have Artur Davis and Keith Ellison. It is because they
marched that I got the kind of education I got, a law degree, a seat in the Illinois
senate and ultimately in the United States senate.
Example 5 Repetition in The war we need to win speech
That means no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens; no more
national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime; no more
tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war; no more
ignoring the law when it is inconvenient.
Example 6 Repetition in A more perfect union speech
Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and
foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered
controversial while I sat in the church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his
political views?
This paragraph used repetition to emphasize the message that the orator
wants to deliver to the audiences in this case voter. The orator repeated the message
over and over to convince for his vote.
Example 7 Synecdoche in Campaign Policy Speech on Iraq at the Wilson
Center
Our men and women in uniform have accomplished every mission we have
given them.
Example 8 Synecdoche in remarks at a campaign rally in Tampa, Florida
When I set foot in that Oval Office, I'm thinking about you. I'm fighting for your
families.
40
Example 9 Personification in second democratic presidential nomination
acceptance speech The truth gets buried under an avalanche of money and
advertising.
Example 10 Personification in democratic nomination victory speech
This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet
began to heal.
Example 11 Alliteration in campaign policy speech on Iraq at the wilson
center But Marshall knew that even the fiercest of adversaries could forge bonds of
friendship founded in freedom.
Example 12 Alliteration in address to the 113th convention of the veterans
of foreign wars They left with their heads held high.
Example 13 Hyperbole in remarks at a campaign rally in Green Bay
Who over 30 years has led a church that serves the community by doing God's work
here on Earth.
Example 14 Assonance in New Hampshire primary concession speech
In the face of secession, we unified a nation and set the captives free. In the face of
Depression...
Example 15 Paradox in a more perfect union speech
In the face of war, you believe there can be peace. In the face of despair, you believe
there can be hope. In the face of a politics that shut you out, that's told you to settle,
that's divided us for too long, you believe that we can be one people, reaching for
what's possible, building that more perfect union.
Example 16 Antithesis in official announcement of candidacy for US
president speech
I know it's a little chilly -- but I'm fired up
Part 2 Which figures of speech is most frequency found in President Barack
Obama’s electoral campaign speeches?
From Table 1, the result showed that figures of speech found in electoral
campaign speeches were parallelism (32.76%), repetition (28.93%), synecdoche
(8.51%), metaphor (7.65%), metonymy (5.95%), paradox (3.40%), assonance
(3.40%), personification (2.97%), hyperbole (1.70%), alliteration (1.70%), oxymoron
(0.85%), understatement (0.85%), simile (0.42%), irony (0.42%) and antithesis
41
(0.42%). Thus, parallelism was the most frequency found in all 10 electoral campaign
speeches belonging to President Barack Obama during his 2 terms of election.
Table 2 The data analysis of figures of speech used in electoral campaign speeches
Speech Figures of speech Explanation
they must never succumb to despair
or cynicism. They must always
believe -- They must always believe
that they can write their own
destiny.
Repetition Repetition of words
And so because of what they
endured, because of what they
marched; they led a people out of
bondage.
Parallelism Used the same
sentence structure
It's because they marched that we
elected councilmen, congressmen. It
is because they marched that we
have Artur Davis and Keith Ellison.
It is because they marched that I
got the kind of education I got, a
law degree, a seat in the Illinois
senate and ultimately in the United
States senate.
Repetition Repetition of words
I'm not a native of this great state Synecdoche Great state refers to
America
42
Part 3 Are there any differences of figures of speech used between the first
and second term of electoral campaign speeches?
Table 3 The figures of speech employed in the first and second terms of electoral
campaign speeches
Figures of speech First term speeches Second term speeches
Metaphor 12 6
Simile 1 0
Metonymy 9 5
Hyperbole 4 0
Oxymoron 2 0
Paradox 7 1
Personification 4 3
Synecdoche 12 8
Antithesis 1 0
Repetition 34 34
Parallelism 39 38
Alliteration 2 2
Assonance 7 1
Irony 1 0
Understatement 1 1
Total 136 99
From Table 3, the results showed that figures of speech found in the first
term of electoral campaign speeches were parallelism 39 times, repetition 34 times,
synecdoche 12 times, metaphor 12 times, assonance 7 times, paradox 7 times,
personification 4 times, hyperbole 4 times, oxymoron 2 times and alliteration 2 times.
There were lesser occurrences for simile 1 time, antithesis 1 time, irony 1 time, and
understatement1 time. For the second term of electoral campaign speeches, the results
indicated that parallelism 38 times, repetition 34 times, synecdoche 8 times,
43
metaphor 6 times, personification 3 times, alliteration 2 times, assonance 1 times,
paradox 1 times, understatement1 time, simile 1, and antithesis 1 time There were no
occurrence for hyperbole, oxymoron, and irony.
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents a summary of findings, discussion, limitations,
implications, and recommendations for further study. The findings were found in
analyzed text of ten electoral campaign speeches delivered by President Barack
Obama during his two terms of election ranged from 2007 to 2012. The data were
selected via a purposive sampling method, and Corbett and Corner (1996) and
Ungerer and Schmid (1996) conceptual frameworks were employed to underpin the
data analysis.
Summary of findings
The present study consisted of 3 questions as follow; 1. The figures of
speech mostly found in the electoral campaign speeches were parallelism, repetition,
synecdoche, personification, alliteration, hyperbole, assonance, and paradox,
respectively. There were lesser occurrences for simile, oxymoron, antithesis, irony,
and understatement.
2. The most frequency figures of speech found in electoral campaign
speeches were parallelism (32.76%), followed repetition (28.93%), synecdoche
(8.51%), metaphor (7.65%), metonymy (5.95%), paradox (3.40%), assonance
(3.40%), personification (2.97%), hyperbole (1.70%), alliteration (1.70%), oxymoron
(0.85%), understatement (0.85%), simile (0.42%), irony (0.42%) and antithesis
(0.42%). Thus, parallelism was the most frequency found in all 20 electoral campaign
speeches belonging to President Barack Obama during his 2 terms of election.
3. There were no differences between the used of figures of speech in two
terms of electoral campaign speeches. The findings of figures of speech found in the
first term of electoral campaign speeches were parallelism (28.67%), repetition
(25%), synecdoche (8.82%), metaphor (8.82%), assonance (5.14%), paradox (5.14%),
personification (2.94%), hyperbole (2.94%), oxymoron (1.47%) and alliteration
(1.47%). There were lesser occurrences for simile (0.73%), antithesis (0.73%), irony
(0.73%), and understatement (0.73%). For the second term of electoral campaign
45
speeches, the results indicated that parallelism (38.38%), repetition (34.34%),
synecdoche (8.08%), metaphor (6.06%), personification (3.03%), alliteration (2.02%),
assonance (1.01%), paradox (1.01%), understatement(1.01%), simile (1.01%), and
antithesis (1.01%). There were no occurrence for hyperbole, oxymoron, and irony.
Discussion
This study aimed to explore the used of figures of speech found in electoral
campaign speeches during President Barack Obama two terms of election. The figures
of speech found in such speeches were parallelism, repetition, synecdoche,
personification, alliteration, hyperbole, assonance, and paradox, respectively. There
were lesser occurrences for simile, oxymoron, antithesis, irony, and understatement.
According to a previous study, Khamthorn (2007) found that parallelism and
repetition were found in selected acceptance speeches of Nobel peace prize winners.
As well as the study conducted by Yangmongkol (2009), it found parallelism,
repetition, and antithesis from twelve speeches of President Barack Obama during his
first hundred days of his presidential office.
The most frequency used figures of speech in the present study was
parallelism followed by repetition, and synecdoche respectively. Here are some
examples of figures of speech used in President Barack Obama's electoral campaign
speeches.
Example 1 Parallelism in remarks at a campaign rally in Tampa, Florida
If you're starting to get a temperature—your ears are ringing, your eyes are blurry,
you're showing symptoms
Example 2 Parallelism in official announcement of candidacy for US
President’s speech and I accepted the job, sight unseen, motivated then by a single,
simple, powerful idea
In these examples, the reoccurring structure may help voters to understand
the thoughts and ideas of the speakers well. Parallelism connected each of ideas
together and made a clearly message. For the present study, President Barack Obama
employed parallelism the most frequency to indicate and underline the structure of the
46
series of sentences. It is also created a rhythm of messages. Parallelism was used to
help audiences to remember the core messages easier.
Example 3 Repetition in The war we need to win speech
That means no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens; no more
national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime; no more
tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war; no more
ignoring the law when it is inconvenient.
In this example, the orators repeated the word no more several times. His
intention was to strengthen his speech and convinced voters. He wanted to assure that
voters would believe him. Thus, he tried to deliver messages to gain their trust. In this
case, he promised the American will be saved from government interfere their
personal lives.
Example 4 Repetition in speech at the Jefferson- Jackson dinner
A party that offers not just a difference in policies, but a difference in
leadership.
A party that doesn’t just focus on how to win but why we should.
A party that doesn’t just offer change as a slogan, but real, meaningful
change -- change that America can believe in.
In this example, the orator employed repetition to impress the listeners for
his campaign speeches. He tried to made audiences to interested and understand the
content of his core messages. In this case, he was mentioned about his team was truly
concern for American citizen, team that can do everything to serve American.
Example 5 Repetition in democratic nomination victory speech
America, this is our moment. This is our time, our time to turn the page on
the policies of the past, our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges
we face, our time to offer a new direction for this country that we love.
In this example, President Barack Obama mentioned about time and chance
that American can help each other to turn a new leaf for country. He kept repeating
about it is time to do something for country and needed voters to help. Repetition
helped to highlight the points.
According to Yangmongkol (2009) and Sukhanit (2009), repetition was the
figures of speech mostly found in President Barack Obama’s selected speeches and
47
President Vladimir Putin of Russia. The findings of present study support this idea.
Repetition tends to be figures of speech that President Barack Obama often uses in his
political speeches. It is to convince voters and emphasize the message by repeat it
again and again until the voters believe. Voters also get a lesson from messages
without feeling patronized and can perceive the meaning of messages without feeling
offended because they become more familiar with the messages. Moreover, the study
also revealed that repetition gave a result to emphasize what orators want to
expressed. It gives voters the idea of what orators want to deliver to them and gain
their attentions. The researcher believes that the reason that President Barack Obama
employed repetition the most because repetition gives a strong impact to audiences. It
helped to highlighted important thoughts and points.
The third most frequency found was synecdoche. According to Pearsall
(1998), synecdoche is a general class name used to denote a specific member of that
or and associated class. It is figures of speech which a part is made to represent the
whole or vise versa. President Barack often used synecdoche to refer to group of
people or things that voters already knew the meaning. This might be because he
wanted to make a beautiful speech by employing several types of techniques. In this
case, one of them was synecdoche. For example, he will use oval office to refer to
white house, men and women in uniform to refer to soldiers, countrymen for
American citizen etc.
However, there were lesser occurrences for simile, oxymoron, antithesis,
irony, and understatement. This might be because most of these figures of speech are
used to emphasize abstract or unfamiliar events. The researcher found that this group
of figures of speech tends to be used more in poetry whereas the present study was
conducted about electoral campaign speeches.
The used of figures of speech between first and second term of electoral
campaign speeches was not found differences. Both terms of electoral campaign
speeches employed parallelism, repetition, and synecdoche the most. This might be
because President Barack Obama prefers to use same styles of language that already
succeed. Thus, the figures of speech from first and second terms of electoral
campaign speeches were much in similar.
48
Limitation
During the data analysis process, the researcher found one difficulty that
may affect the result of the present study. One third of speeches belonging to
President Barack Obama electoral campaign was about the Middle East crisis and
military troop. The main messages were policy related to stop the operation in the
Middle East and bring US soldiers back to their homeland. There was less variety of
figures of speech in this type of speech. The speeches were direct and simple. This
might be because it was a sensitive issue and President Barack Obama wanted to
respect to fallen soldiers family. Hence, some of figures of speech were found less or
none.
Implications
The findings of the study are similar to related studies in many aspects.
Figures of speech seem to be an effective tool to strengthen the core value of speech.
They help catch audiences’ attention and bring them into the messages which speaker
intends to deliver. The present study supported that different figures of speech give a
different impact to audiences’ mind. Changdacha (2006) concluded that several types
of figures of speech were found in political speech and influenced audiences to trust
or believe the speaker. Moreover, the study revealed one interesting point, the
background of the speaker and the field of work which played an important part in
this study. President Barack Obama was the first African American that became US
president. In some of his electoral campaign speeches, he mentioned about his race
and unhappy childhood which he employed a several types of figures of speech such
as parallelism, repetition, and synecdoche to make his speech become even more
touching. He chose figures of speech to suit his speech and they empowered his
trustworthy to people. As a result, he won election for two terms straight. From these
findings, they may help those who are interested in figures of speech to learn how to
choose proper choices of words and create their own work for the best outcome.
49
Recommendations for the further studies
1. As the researcher did not have an opportunity to study the use of figures
of speech in several data sources such as film, novel, music, and so on, thus, it could
be a great opportunity to investigate in differences sources to get a better
understanding of figures of speech.
2. According to the results of this study, the researcher recommends to
investigate the speech with differences purpose as the results indicated that electoral
campaign speeches employed parallelism the most because the speaker wanted to
convince voters repeatedly. Hence, it is interesting to know whether difference types
of speech employ difference types of figures of speech.
3. The researcher found that there are several factors that might affect the
choices of figures of speech used such as gender, occupation, speaker’s background,
etc. The further studies should consider about them.
4. For further studies in the same area, the researcher recommends to
replicate the study with different speaker or larger sample for example, speeches of
famous activists, politicians, or other country leaders. Also, it is worth to compare
such speeches to see the differences of the figures of speeches used.
50
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APPENDIX
56
Speech Figures of speech Explanation
From far and wide, to brave the cold
today.
Parallelism Use parallel
structure
And I accepted the job, sight unseen,
motivated then by a single, simple,
powerful idea
Parallelism Use parallel
structure , in this
case three
adjectives before
noun
It was here, in Springfield, where I saw
all that is America converge -- farmers
and teachers, businessmen and
laborers, all of them
Parallelism Use parallel
structure as added
several nouns
together
It was here, in Springfield, where
North, South, East, and West come
together
Parallelism Use parallel
structure in this
case noun as
north, east, south,
and west
We welcomed immigrants to our
shores. We opened railroads to the
west. We landed a man on the moon.
And we heard a King's call to let
justice roll down like waters, and
righteousness like a mighty stream.
Parallelism
Use parallel
structure
That's what Abraham Lincoln
understood. He had his doubts. He
had his defeats. He had his skeptics.
He had his setbacks.
Repetition Repeating words
He tells us that there is power in
words. He tells us that there's power in
conviction.
Repetition Repeating words
57
Speech Figures of speech Explanation
He tells us that there's power in hope.
I want -- I want to win that next battle
-- for justice and opportunity. I want to
win that next battle --
Repetition Repeating words
That beneath all the differences of race
and region, faith and station, we are
one people.
Synecdoche One people refers
to American
people
But the life of a tall, gangly, self-made
Springfield lawyer tells us that a
different future is possible.
Synecdoche Tall, gangly, self-
made Springfield
lawyer refers to
former US
President Lincoln
Letting the Iraqis know that we will
not be there forever is our last, best
hope to pressure the Sunni and Shia to
come to the table and find peace.
Synecdoche Sunni and Shia
refer to Muslim
We welcomed immigrants to our
shores. We opened railroads to the
west.
Synecdoche Our shores refer
to USA