Metaphors are linguistic, rhetorical devices that have the ability to increase effectiveness of the perception by adding comprehensibility and relatability, thus boosting persuasion. Strategic...Show moreMetaphors are linguistic, rhetorical devices that have the ability to increase effectiveness of the perception by adding comprehensibility and relatability, thus boosting persuasion. Strategic manoeuvring by means of metaphor in political speeches is quite common, yet, only little awareness exists on the subject, especially in the political realm, which is why it is crucial to increase knowledge on this subject. The general purpose of this study is to increase knowledge of the strategic use of metaphors of US Republican and Democratic presidents’ inaugural speeches in the past 20 years, employing Critical Discourse Analysis to address how the strategic use of metaphors compares between the (first) inaugural addresses of President G.W. Bush, President Obama, President Trump, and President Biden, and how these metaphors function. The metaphors in the speeches were identified using existing literature and Lakoff’s Master Metaphor List (1991). Findings revealed that all four presidents’ most frequent conceptual metaphors were the journey, object, building, and war metaphors, which may be explained by both their high rate of conventionalisation and their exceptional rhetorical properties. Furthermore, the Democratic presidents used more different types of metaphors than the Republican presidents did. The Democratic and Republican Presidents used roughly the same number of metaphors relative to their speeches’ word counts. A follow-up analysis may help gain insights on whether voters’ perceptions of presidents are influenced by the inaugural addresses and the role of metaphors and other rhetorical tools in the political genre.Show less
This paper investigates Barack Obama’s style of speech. First of all, the purpose is to examine how Obama’s conceptual metaphors and other distinct style markers in his speeches frame himself and...Show moreThis paper investigates Barack Obama’s style of speech. First of all, the purpose is to examine how Obama’s conceptual metaphors and other distinct style markers in his speeches frame himself and his views in terms of the three rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos. Second, it is intended to test whether the given style markers undergo any change or remain consistent over the period of his presidency. A quick review of his first and the last State of the Union Address reveals that his most recent speech makes use of humour and informal expressions like phrasal words and colloquialisms in contrast to the serious tone and official language of the first address. The methodology employed in this paper consists of the stylistic checklist by Leech & Short (2007), the Metaphor Identification Procedure (Pragglejaz Group 2007) and the Conceptual Metaphor Theory by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). The theoretical framework applied is based on the concepts of canons of rhetoric, metaphor and metaphor in politics as well as framing. An analysis using the above-mentioned theories and framework reveals how Obama frames himself, Americans as people, and how he structures the American realities of life in terms of three rhetorical appeals.Show less
