Persuasive Language in Political Speeches

Luca Beln Martnez

Absolutes: They consist in any totalizing statement is likely to result in a fallacy.

But words like "don't" and "must" creep in and can give a writer's statements and
indisputable air.10

Repetition: There are different types of repetition: Antanaclasis is the repetition of

a word or phrase to affect a different meaning; Epizeuxis or palilogia is the
repetition of a single word, with no other words in between. This is from the Greek
words; Conduplicatio is the repetition of a word in various places throughout a
paragraph; Anadiplosis is the repetition of the last word of a preceding clause. The
word is used at the end of a sentence and then used again at the beginning of the
next sentence; Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of
every clause; Epistrophe is the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of every
clause.; Mesodiplosis is the repetition of a word or phrase at the middle of every
clause; Diaphora is the repetition of a name, first to signify the person or persons it
describes, then to signify its meaning; Epanalepsis is the repetition of the initial
word or words of a clause or sentence at the end; Diacope is a rhetorical term
meaning uninterrupted repetition of a word, or repetition with only one or two
words between each repeated phrase. 11

DISCOURSE ANALISYS
In this section of the paper I will analyze two Margaret Thatchers discourses; one
she gave at the beginning of her career and the other one she gave once in power, thus I
will be able to spot the different persuasive techniques she employed. Both discourses are
about similar subjects and were given to similar audiences to facilitate the comparison.
The use of anecdotes is frequent in Margaret Thatchers discourses as we can see in
the first line of Text 1:

10

Persuasive words, Logical fallacies and Intent signals, Gene Myers., [Online] Available at:
http://faculty.wwu.edu/gmyers/esssa/rhetoric.html [Accessed 10 November 7:14 p.m.]
11
Wikipedia the free Enciclopedia (2012) Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. [Online] Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetition_%28rhetorical_device%29 [Accessed 10 November 2012 7:02 p.m.]

Persuasive Language in Political Speeches

Luca Beln Martnez

discourse (e.g. Bill Clintons welfare reform, G.W.Bushs compassionate

conservatism) or as is evidenced in political campaigns, one can attempt to silence
ones opponents by attacking their positions. If physical coercion is the chosen
strategy, those with opposing representations may suffer imprisonment or loss of
life (e.g. poisoning, car accidents.). When one mode of representation prevails, a
hierarchy is formed among the competing representations with the winners being
given primacy as a way of framing a particular issue (Mehan and Wills, 1988), and
taking into account the acknowledged power of discourse as a principle of social
action, in the selection of social actions taken to deal with it.7
This essay is not aimed at analyzing the effect of the political discourse in society,
given that would require a deep socio-cultural analysis, but it is focused to analyze how a
politician can change his/her discourse depending on the context given the proper training.
The elements that will be analyzed in this essay are the following:
-

Anecdotes, Stories, Metaphors: An anecdote is a tale involving real life events, a

true story. Such stories can be used by writers as evidence to back their claims. To
support a contention, and to make themselves appear more credible, writers often
use personal anecdotes.8 These cast an issue in a favorable or unfavorable light, or
can highlight or suppress certain aspects. They work by suggesting a likeness
between a character and the listener, or a situation and the listener's. What is
emphasized or suppressed is a key factor.

Double-bind: This strategy consists in offering something the person does not
want, but in contrast with what is available, it does not look so bad.

Contingency: This works by getting the recipient to accept both parts of a

statement because of how they are linked; one part might be reasonable enough by
itself, but the other one may be logically poor.

"The politics of representation: a critical discourse analysis of an Aljazeera Special Report, Anita
L. Welden. [Online] Available at: http://es.scribd.com/doc/46420965/The-Politics-of-RepresentationCritical-Discourse-Analysis [Accessed 5 November 2012 12:02 p.m.]
8

Persuasive Language Techniques (2009) Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority,

[Online] Available at vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au [Accessed 5 November 2012 12:30 p.m.]

Persuasive Language in Political Speeches

Luca Beln Martnez

INTRODUCTION
There is always an aim for producing an utterance and many times language is
employed to influence someones opinion. One of the resources a speaker can use to do so
is language and the persuasive elements of it. To grasp the meaning of persuasion, we
could cite some definitions from dictionaries. To persuade is to induce, urge, or prevail
upon successfully1 or to cause to believe; convince 2 it can also mean to move by
argument, entreaty, or expostulation to a belief, position, or course of action3. In other
words, it means induce (someone) to do something through reasoning or argument 4.
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, persuasion is the act of
persuading someone to do something or a particular type of belief, especially a political
or religious one5. This last definition provides a hint of what this analysis will be about.
In order to conduct a further analysis of political discourse, rhetoric should be taken
into account. To understand what rhetoric is, we first need to define it. According to the
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, rhetoric is the language that is used to
persuade or influence people, especially language that sounds impressive but is not
actually sincere or useful6. Politicians have a reputation of making promises they will
never fulfill, this is why rhetoric will be a central part of this analysis. Observing other
definitions, we can see how difficult it is to define the concept: according to The Collins
English Dictionary rhetoric is the art of using speech to persuade, influence, or please;
oratory, excessive use of ornamentation and contrivance in spoken or written discourse;
1

The Collins English Dictionary, (2012) Collins Publishers Limited. Virginia, Glasgow, Scotland
[Online], Available at: http://www.collinsdictionary.com [Accessed 5 of November 2012 11:28 a.m.]
2

Op. Sit. The Collins English Dictionary

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, (2012) Merriam-Webster Incorporated. Springfield, MA,

USA [Online] Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com [Accessed 5 November 2012 11:10 a.m.]
4

Oxford Dictionaries (2012) Oxford University Press, England [Online], available at:
http://oxforddictionaries.com [Accessed 4 of November 2012 10:42 a.m.]
5

The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, (2012) Pearson Education Limited.

Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex, UK [Online] Available at: http://www.ldoceonline.com [Accessed 4
November 2012 10:50 a.m.]
6

Op. Sit. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

REFERENCES
The Collins English Dictionary, (2012) Collins Publishers Limited. Virginia,
Glasgow, Scotland [Online] Available at: http://www.collinsdictionary.com
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, (2012) Merriam-Webster Incorporated.,
Springfield, MA, USA [Online] Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com
Oxford Dictionaries (2012) Oxford University Press, England [Online] Available
at: http://oxforddictionaries.com
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, (2012) Pearson Education
Limited. Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex, UK [Online] Available at:
http://www.ldoceonline.com
"The politics of representation: a critical discourse analysis of an Aljazeera Special
Report, Anita L. Welden. [Online] Available at: http://es.scribd.com/doc/46420965/ThePolitics-of-Representation-Critical-Discourse-Analysis
Persuasive Language Techniques, Victorian Curriculum and Assessment
Authority (2009), [Online] Available at http://www.vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au
Language of Persuasion (2012), Media Literacy Project, NE, Albuquerque, USA.
[Online] Available at: http://medialiteracyproject.org/language-persuasion
Persuasive words, Logical fallacies and Intent signals, Gene Myers., [Online]
Available at: http://faculty.wwu.edu/gmyers/esssa/rhetoric.html
Wikipedia the free Encyclopedia (2012), Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. [Online],
available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetition_%28rhetorical_device%29 [Accessed
10 November 2012 7:02 p.m.]
Speech to Conservative Party Conference (1975), Margaret Thatcher, [Online]
Available at: http://www.margaretthatcher.org/102777
Speech to Conservative Party Conference ('the lady's not for turning') [The
Reason Why] (1980), Margaret Thatcher, [Online] Available at:
http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104431