TABLE OF CONTENTS
Content Page
DECLARATION………………………………………………………………………………………………….. i
CERTIFICATION……………………………………………………………………………………………….. ii
DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………………………………………. iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………………………………………………………………. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………………………. v
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………………………… viii
CHAPTER ONE………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
- INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
CHAPTER TWO……………………………………………………………………………………………… 15
LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………………………………………. 15
DEVELOPMENT AND APPROACHES………………………………………………………….. 15
CHAPTER THREE………………………………………………………………………………………….. 27
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKAND METHODOLOGY…………………………………… 27
CHAPTER FOUR…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 50
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION…………………………………………………………….. 50
CHAPTER FIVE……………………………………………………………………………………………… 97
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION…………………………………………………….. 97
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………………… 103
APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 110
ABSTRACT
The research investigates some selected political speeches delivered by John Evans Atta Mills. The selected speeches span almost every sphere of his political life, including; a campaign speech (as an opposition leader in the run- up to the 2008 elections), an inaugural speech, an independent day speech, a republic day speech and a new year‟s eve message to the nation (all as president). The objective is to unravel the stylistically significant features prevalent in the selected speeches, find a possible relationship between the background of the speaker and the stylistic features, and ascertain whether or not the inherent stylistic features project him as a Man of Peace as he was acclaimed. Through an eclectic approach, the analysis encapsulates the metafunctions as postulated in Halliday‟s Systemic Functional Linguistics and Onah‟s Concept of Peace as perceived in the African Traditional culture as its framework. The analysis of the data is structured on Fairclough‟s three dimensional models which include; a textual analysis, a discursive analysis and a socio-cultural analysis (2001). The findings show that the speaker employed stylistic features such as positive self-projection, repetition, code switching, biblical allusions, historical allusions,lya ifmathagerery and the imagery of a preacher.
Also inherent in these stylistic features is the speaker‟s mental disposition, his world view and traces of his background. The manner in which these prevalent stylistic features were employed by the speaker with respect to the underlining socio-political, socio-cultural and religious situation of the country project him as a Man of Peace.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The practice of politics has over the years been replete with the tactful formulation of perceptions and beliefs about significant occurrences, of problems, of policy changes and most significantly of leaders.
Amidst this construction of beliefs are a clash of interests, persuasion and manipulation, imposition of opinions, definition of allies and opponents etc.
There is, therefore always, a linguistic, discursive and communicative dimension to the field of politics. Edelman (1985, p1) attests to this phenomenon when he comments thus,
„„While coercion and intimidation help to check resistance in all political systems, the key tactic must always be the evocation of meanings that legitimize favored courses of action and threaten or reassure people so
as to encourage them to be supportive or remain quiescent‟‟.
This evocation of meanings undoubtedly hinges on carefully crafted speeches which therefore become an integral component to the field of politics. This is due to their intended objective which is to persuade the audience to accept the stance of the speech maker. To this end, political speeches assume traits such as subtle mystification and distortion in their quest to persuade the audience to accept the stance of the speech maker, Edelman (1985). In the struggle for political power between those who seek to assert and maintain power and those who seek to resist it for instance, the ability of a political speech to mystify and distort becomes very crucial.
Fairclough‟s (1992), van Dijk (1996), and Obeng (2002) all assert that political speeches are embellished and foregrounded with a particular style which helps in conveying the intended message
According to Bell, (2001) the idea of style presupposes three things: firstly, there is the existence of regularities and patterns in speeches, secondly, there is also an alternative, a choice- a „that way‟ which could have been chosen instead of a „this way‟ and finally there is an I, an ego, or identity shrouded in speeches. Political speeches like every other speech exhibit these three characteristics of style.
Fordjour (2002), highlighting the role of political speeches in Ghana, asserts that even though the country has enjoyed a stable democracy since the re- introduction of constitutional democracy in 1992, the only thing that could derail this current democratic gain is hate speech, especially, by political actors. This gives credence to the crucial role speech plays in the practice of politics in Ghana.
These propositions have informed the research of some political speeches by the political actor; John Evans Atta Mills, a former president of the republic of Ghana.
His emergence to the active fray of Ghanaian politics kick – started in 1996 when Jerry John Rawlings, president and flag bearer of the then ruling party the National Democratic Congress appointed him as his vice president. Hitherto, he had been a lay back law professor at the University of Ghana, Legon and the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. After serving as vice president, he ran for president on the ticket of the NDC for three consecutive times in the history of the party. John Evans Mills won the Presidency on the third successive attempt with a margin of less than one percent in the
2008 general elections with his campaign on CHANGE and the accolade Man of Peace or Asomdweehene (in the Akan language). He also stands out currently to be the only presidential aspirant in the fourth republic whose bid suffered two separate run – off elections, the first, during the 2000 presidential election, which he lost and the second, during the 2008 general elections which he won eventually.
What this research seeks to do is to investigate the stylistic features prevalent in some selected political speeches articulated by him in order to ascertain whether or not these stylistic features project him as a Man of Peace and whether there is a possible relationship between his background and his choice of words.
The research will exploit the theories expressed in Halliday‟s Systemic Functional Linguistics which, amongst other things, considers Language as a system of choices which presents its users with a network of choices to create a text, whether spoken or written. The meaning of a text is therefore dependent upon the choices made by the speaker from the options within the language system or, in some cases, from what is not chosen (Teo, 2000, p.24). Besides this, it also postulates that texts reflect three different but general and concomitant types of meaning known as: Experiential meaning, Interpersonal meaning and Textual meaning. By experiential meaning, a text or discourse provides readers with a view of the world as seen or understood by the writer or the speaker. The interpersonal meaning reveals that a text or discourse reflects the speaker‟s role in the speech situation, his interaction with others (Halliday, 1973).The textual meaning which doesn‟t form a part of the analysis is concerned with the creation of text; it expresses the structure of information and the relation of each part of the discourse to the whole and to the setting” (Halliday, 1973). Systemic Functional Linguistics,
furthermore, posits that a text is best understood when information about the context within which it was generated: the „context of situation‟ and the „context of culture‟ are available. Due to this Igwebuike Onah‟s (2006) concept of peace as perceived in the African setting will be integrated into the research since the research aims amongst other things to ascertain whether the stylistic features inherent in the selected political speeches project John Evans Mills as a Man of Peace. According to Onah, the African considers Peace in relation to the existence of order, harmony and equilibrium between the beings in the universe. This notion is undergirded by the fact that Peace is viewed both as a spiritual value and a moral value. As a spiritual value, Africans believe that God is the orchestrator of the harmony and equilibrium in the universe. Peace is considered as a moral value because human beings are obliged by God to ensure the continuous sustenance of the balance between the beings in the universe through the execution of good conduct. Emphasizing the role of speech in the attainment of harmonious living, Onah stressed that the maintenance of the integration and balance of the beings in the world is the overriding goal of communication.
It is the expectation of the researcher that this study when completed will unravel the stylistic features prevalent in the political speeches of John Evans Atta Mills and also enrich our ways of thinking about language and help readers become more persuasive in their writing and speaking.
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
A cursory look at Ghana‟s post-independence political history reveals that it has been dominated by the construction of beliefs about its political leaders.
These beliefs have been expressed in terms of accolades. During the struggle for independence, the title „Ghana‟s show boy‟ emerged. This title was used to describe the first president of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. In the heat of the political revolution in the 1980‟s the accolade „Junior Jesus‟ also became a household name in the country (former president, Jerry John Rawlings who was a dominant political actor during that era was identified by this title). Also in the era of the fourth republic, the compliment „Gentle Giant‟ became the order of the day in the political sphere of the country. Former president John Agyekum Kufuor was the recipient of this accolade.
Like all the other political elections and seasons, the 2008 presidential elections also saw the emergence of a catchphrase, namely „Man of Peace‟ (Asomdwee hene in the Akan language) to describe the then leader of the opposition party, John Evans Atta Mills by his campaign machinery. It however became more entrenched after he was elected president and it metamorphosed into a household name in Ghana.
But how do we ascertain the veracity or mendacity of this title? Was it just propaganda, a political gimmick or did the leader‟s personality merit this accolade?
Leech (1981) asserts that one‟s use of language or style of language is a sure way to ascertaining one‟s personality.
A study by Nicholas and Tal (2005) reveals that in the spoken form, language leaves residues of personality in the conversations we hold and the personal narratives we tell.
In the written forms as well, language leaves residues of personality in our poetry, essays and blogs.
Another interesting development which has surfaced in the job market also shows that most potential employers follow their prospective employees on social media platforms like Facebook, Tweeter etc. in order to have substantial information about their personality etc. based on their choice of words. This helps them, according to a research conducted by The Pitt News (2013), to determine the personality of their prospective employees.
