Description
Book SynopsisExploring speeches by public figures such as Emma Watson, Tony Blair, Donald Trump, Julia Gillard and Lady Gaga, this engaging textbook explains the ways in which political speeches can be analysed. It examines the role of language in speeches and how it can be used to challenge or reinforce prevailing social, cultural and political attitudes. Each chapter introduces a particular discourse approach and then applies this in a model analysis of a passage of text. The chosen texts concern issues of social, cultural and political importance that address topics of significant importance to the audience to which they were delivered. Students are encouraged to engage with the text and consider how approaches to text analysis, such as cohesion, context analysis and metaphor analysis, may be adapted to provide a more critical perspective. This text will be essential reading for students of English Language, Linguistics, Communication Studies and Politics on critical discourse and discourse a
Trade ReviewBoth ambitious and appealing, this truly innovative book is a must-read for students and scholars across the social sciences. * Ruth Wodak, Lancaster University, UK *
A masterly introduction to the critical linguistic analysis of political speeches and political discourse in general. * Andreas Musolff, University of East Anglia, UK *
Table of ContentsPreface PART I: TRADITIONAL APPROACHES TO RHETORIC, ORATORY AND DISCOURSE 1. Classical Rhetoric: Artistic Proofs and Arrangement 2. Classical Rhetoric – Style and Figures 3. Cohesion and Coherence in Discourse 4. Ad Hominem Arguments PART II: CRITICAL APPROACHES TO DISCOURSE 5. Critical Analysis: Context and Persuasion 6. Social Agency and Modality 7. The Discourse-Historical Approach PART III: CRITICAL METAPHOR ANALYSIS 8. Researching Metaphor in Public Communication 9. Critical Metaphor Methodology 10. Purposeful Metaphor and Social Cognition 11. Rounding up: David Cameron's European Union Speech Comments on Exercises/Further Reading and References Glossary.
