Discorso politico (Political Speech) struttura e punti chiave

Political Speeches Structure

1. Generally starts with an introduction, the speaker intends to attract the audience's attention, by:

• making clear the purpose of the speech
• mentioning the topic and by emphasising its importance
• beginning with a question (interrogative sentence) or a little story
• Taking care about the phonology, sound, rhythm (a speech is meant to be heard)
• The tone is important (provocative, ironic, contemptuous, mocking)
• showing or referring to something related to the topic, such as an object, a photo, statistics, etc.

2. In the main part of the speech, the speaker tries to maintain the audience's attention, for instance by:

• forming rather short and clear sentences
• the lexicon can be simple or elevated according to the topic and audience
• If the sentences follow the natural order or inverted order
• developing his/her thoughts and main points step by step
• backing up his/her main ideas/points with facts and background

1. At the end of his/her speech the speaker may appeal again to the audience's intellect and/or emotions, for example by:
• summing up his/her main ideas/arguments in one or two sentences
• briefly mentioning what the outlook might be
• asking the audience to support his view, ideas, programme, etc.
2. Function and manner of political language
• Informative function (referential function)
• Persuasive function (conative function)
• Rhetorical function
3. Usually formal manner, formulaic expressions
• ex. hon. (honorar), Ladies and gentlemen..
4. Aspects for the analysis of political speeches
• Close reading of the text, with special attention to
• key words and

a) phrases

b) clusters (a series of words that are related to each other in meaning)

c) oppositions (e.g. negative/positive; near/distant; familiar/alien)

d) the use of key symbols, slogans, stereotypes;

e) abstractions and generalisations versus the presentation of specific issues or events;

f) metaphors, analogies, illustrations;

g) other characteristic features of style (choice of words and syntax);

h) the use of personal pronouns (e.g. 'I', 'us', 'we', 'you', 'they' etc.) and the meaning of these pronouns in the context of the speech

i) patterns: -who is 'we' and who does the speaker refer to by 'they'?

Stylistic devices

(1) Analogy

Analogy means resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike.

Example: There is an analogy between the branches of a tree and those of a family. Both simile and metaphor are based on analogy!

(2) Simile

A simile is a figure of speech in which two things are compared

because they have something in common although they are different in all other respects.

Its general purpose is to make the description more vivid and more striking.

In a simile the comparison is explicitly stated with the help of as or like.

Example: My love is like a red rose. (Robert Burns)

I wandered lonely as a cloud. (William Wordsworth)