Investigation Into the Language and Rhetorical Devices Used in Political Speeches Example
INTRODUCTION:
I am studying the rally speeches for the leaders of the Labour and Liberal Democrat party’s. Nick Clegg has been the leader of the Liberal Democrat party for 5 years now and Ed Milliband has been the leader of the Labour party for 2 years. Both of these leaders have become unpopular in the public’s eyes: Nick Clegg due to him lying about the raising of tuition fees as well as the negative view from his party as they feel he has disassociated himself from the party objectives in order to conform to a conservative coalition. Ed Milliband is unpopular due to his lack of solid policy projections and no real estimates of what he would do as prime minister, he has left the nation in confusion and doubting his ability. Subsequently both leaders had a lot to gain, or lose, from the party conference. Therefore I chose to study these speeches in order to judge political rhetoric and grammatical features used. I will look at things such as repetition, pronouns, metaphors and rhetorical questions as well as comparing the study to other language and power theories. Alan Finlayson of East Anglia University, theorized on the language used in political speeches and the use of rhetoric is a strong constant throughout. His research has bought up strong pointers also found in my data so I aim to explore his research among other theorists in comparison with my findings.
QUESTION:
Do the party leaders use rhetorical devices in similar ways and for similar purposes?
AIMS:
In order to investigate my hypothesis I have produced 3 aims, which investigate, in more detail significant areas of the speech transcripts: 1. Explore how the speeches employ rhetorical and grammatical technique to create dramatic effect in political speeches. 2. Compare the similarities and differences between the two political leaders. 3. Compare my data in relation to political speech theories on the use of rhetoric and grammatical frameworks.
METHODOLOGY:
I am studying the rally speeches for the leaders of the Labour and Liberal Democrat party’s. Nick Clegg has been the leader of the Liberal Democrat party for 5 years now and Ed Milliband has been the leader of the Labour party for 2 years. Both of these leaders have become unpopular in the public’s eyes: Nick Clegg due to him lying about the raising of tuition fees as well as the negative view from his party as they feel he has disassociated himself from the party objectives in order to conform to a conservative coalition. Ed Milliband is unpopular due to his lack of solid policy projections and no real estimates of what he would do as prime minister, he has left the nation in confusion and doubting his ability. Subsequently both leaders had a lot to gain, or lose, from the party conference. Therefore I chose to study these speeches in order to judge political rhetoric and grammatical features used. I will look at things such as repetition, pronouns, metaphors and rhetorical questions as well as comparing the study to other language and power theories. Alan Finlayson of East Anglia University, theorized on the language used in political speeches and the use of rhetoric is a strong constant throughout. His research has bought up strong pointers also found in my data so I aim to explore his research among other theorists in comparison with my findings.
QUESTION:
Do the party leaders use rhetorical devices in similar ways and for similar purposes?
AIMS:
In order to investigate my hypothesis I have produced 3 aims, which investigate, in more detail significant areas of the speech transcripts: 1. Explore how the speeches employ rhetorical and grammatical technique to create dramatic effect in political speeches. 2. Compare the similarities and differences between the two political leaders. 3. Compare my data in relation to political speech theories on the use of rhetoric and grammatical frameworks.
METHODOLOGY: