1.

Introduction:

1.1. Statement of Purpose:

In public speeches such as Inaugural Addresses language always embody

important role in persuading people minds to accept political, social, or economical

policies. One of the examples of this Inaugural Address were language became great

strategy to manipulate and persuade citizens mind is Barrack Obama’s first Inaugural

Address of 2009. Therefore, this study analyzes language power of persuasions in

Obama first Inaugural Address of 2009.

1.2. Importance of this research:

This has great importance of many factors. First, this study analyzes one of the

famous Inaugural Address in the history of United State, delivered by the first Afro-

American president Barrack Hussein Obama in 2009. Second, this research differs

from previous research done in this field of analyzing obama’s first Inaugural

Address. It will focus on the use language and it serves Obama ideology and power

rather than focusing on the cultural perspective such as the history of Inaugural

Address and how it developed .Third, finding the formal features of Barrack Obama

speeches, how Obama speeches formed, and the key element he fallow in preparing

speech.

1.3. Research Aims:

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 The aims of this research are two. First, analyzes the different persuasive

strategies used by Barrack Obama in his Inaugural Address 2009. Second, analyze

how Barrack Obama transmits his ideology and power through language in the first

Inaugural Address in term transitivity and modality.

1.4. Research Question:

Q1: How did Obama use the language to persuade the American citizen his

future policies in the Inaugural Address 2009?

The sub-question:

Q1: To what extend this Inaugural Address helps Obama in his request to persuade

the American citizen to accept his presidential policies?

1.5. Definition of the Key Term:

1. The Inaugural Address: It is a ceremonial speech where the new elected president

delivers formal spoken communication to citizens.(Farlex, Free Dictionary)

2. Critical Discourse Analysis: Is type of discourse analytical research that studies how

power and ideology are abused, dominance, reproduced, and resisted within text and

talk in social and political context.( Junling Wang, 2010)

3. Systematic Functional Grammar: Also known as “Systematic Functional Grammar”, it

is international influential grammar model established by the Australian linguist

Michael Alexander Kirkwood Halliday It is the main foundation of Critical Discourse

Analysis as well as theories in pragmatics.( Junling Wang,255).

2. Literature Review:

2.1. Obama Inaugural Address of 2009:

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 In January, 20, 2009 Barrack Hussein Obama sworn the oath and became the fortieth

fourth president, as well as, the first Afro-American who hold this position in the history

of United State of America. In that glorious day Obama gives his first Inaugural Address

in front of almost two million people (CNN, 2013). Many journalist, researchers, and

previous researchers tackled this Inaugural Address from different point views such as

‘the language, the content, the ideas’.

2.2. Different point of views about Obama first Inaugural Address:

Many speechwriters argue that president Obama Inaugural Address was clear,

organized, and glorified the previous president. . According to William Safire, former

speech-writer for the president Richard Nixon, Obama’s first Inaugural Address was short,

respected, organized and well delivered similar to Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt,

Kennedy. Despite the time of crisis William Safire argue that Obama reminded the American

properly, with recalling different phrases from previous American president such as John

Fitzgerald Kennedy phrase “the torch has been passed” or former late president Roosevelt

phrase “Has a rendezvous with destiny”. He recalled the American citizen that each

generation face problems, and by high spirit they can and will overcome this problem.

Another speechwriter who analyzes this Inaugural Address is Clark Judge (2009) former

speechwriter for the late president Ronald Reagan. He said that Obama’s Inaugural Address

was deeply delivered when asked the American people to forget and put aside all their old

rivals and hostilities, this make the Americans back with their memories to Lincoln’s

Inaugural when he addresses the American citizen to forget their conflicts and stop the civil

war.

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 Walker (2009) point out that Obama’s speech was an ‘‘Average speech’’, yet

fantastic because he controlled his audience with his pauses, which was brilliantly planned,

even when he changes his pace, speed, tone and volume, it was like everything in Obama

from his spoken, body language, and even his style of delivering the speech was planed

perfectly. Walker said that Obama did a great effort to communicate with the masses, and

sometimes he use contradictory messages. He set out that the world is in extreme crisis,

people should made sacrifices, as well as, he set out extreme optimism that the world will

survive from this crisis. Furthermore, T J Walker point out that Obama through his Inaugural

Address was not afraid to suggest that this unlikable time will require difficult decisions.

Many researchers analyze Obama’s first Inaugural Address of 2009 from different

perspectives. For instance, Janling Wang (2010), Chinese scholar, wrote research under the

name of “A Critical Discourse Analysis of Barrack Obama’s Speeches” were he analyzes

Obama Inaugural Address from linguistic perspective and how language uses to persuade

American citizen to accept his policies. Juraj Horvath, Slovaquian researcher wrote research

under the name of “Critical Discourse Analysis of Obama Political Discourse”, where he

divided this Inaugural Address into two parts: thanking his predecessor, and acknowledging

the economic crisis. Another research under the name of “Discourse analysis of Obama

Inaugural speech from the Perspective of Culture” done by Yang Sheghua, analyzes

obama’s Inaugural Address from cultural perspectives, by recalling the history of the

Inaugural Address in United State of America, and how Inaugural Address developed

through time.

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 At last, most of previous speechwriters, researchers, and even journalist agreed that

Obama first Inaugural Address was clear, organized, well planed in term of ideas and

language.

2.3. Research Structure:

This research will structured as fallow, it analyze Obama’s first Inaugural Address of

2009 from linguistic point view. This study investigate the use of language in serving

obama’s ideology and power, and how it becomes a mean of persuading the American citizen

to accept Obama future presidential policies .

3. Methodology:

3.1. Data Analysis:

This thesis will be analyzed by specific approach known Systematic Functional

Grammar one of the theories of the Critical Discourse Analysis.

3.1.1. Critical Discourse Analysis:

Critical Discourse Analysis it first established in Britain in 1980s when the work of

language and control was published. Define as the studies of discourse were language seen as

form of social practice. It object is the study of public speech, official document, newspaper,

political propaganda; it aims to explore and study the relationship between language,

ideology and power (Junling Wang: P1). Also defines as:

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a type of discourse analytical research that

primarily studies the way social power abuse, dominance, and inequality are enacted,

reproduced, and resisted by text and talk in the social and political context. With such

dissident research, critical discourse analysts take explicit position, and thus want to

understand, expose, and ultimately resist social equality (Van Dijk, 1985).

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 3.1.2. Systematic Functional Grammar:

Also is known by other name “Systematic Functional Linguistic (SFL)”, it is

international influential grammar model established by an Australian linguist Michael

Alexander Kirkwood Halliday in UK during 1960s. Systematic Functional Grammar the

basic foundation of Critical Discourse Analysis.

This study analyzes Obama’s first Inaugural Address of 2009 by applying Halliday’s

theory of Systematic Functional Grammar, in term of three meta-functions: Ideational

function, Interpersonal function, and Textual function. This theory aims to explore the

relationship among language, ideology, and power and to find out how to use power of

speeches to persuade people to accept Obama future policies.

According to Halliday Systematic functional grammar is usually considered the main

foundation of Critical Discourse Analysis. Halliday divide this theory into two components:

Systematic Function aims to explain the internal relation in language as system network, or

meaning potential. Second component, Functional Grammar aims to reveal that language is

mean of social interaction, based on the position that language system and the form is

determined by the users or the function they serve. Halliday thinks that the stylistic analysis

can be divided three order phrases: Analysis, Interpretation, and Evaluation. The unlimited

practical functions can be generalized by highly coded or abstract functions or meta-

functions, which are inherent in every language. Halliday ideas of meta-function includes:

the Ideational Function, the Interpersonal Function, and Textual Function.

3.1.3. Importance of the Approach:

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 This approach has great importance in this research for many reasons. First, it the

only approach analyzes political discourses such as Obama’s Inaugural Address in term of

investigating the language used by Obama. Second, this approach helps us to analyze the

power of language in convincing people to fallow and accept particular ideology. Third, this

approach will study Obama’s ideology, and power was transmitted by language, not only

Oratory style but body language too. At last, this approach through analyzing Obama

Inaugural Address will gives the reader formal features of political speeches.

3.4. Data Collection:

This study will be done by analyzing different data and sources. As primary sources,

this thesis focus first on Obama Inaugural Address printed version by Macon Philips

(2009).The Secondary sources, the study analyze the journals that printed in the day of

Inaugural Address such as The New York Times blog (2009) “The Speech: The Expert

Critic. The thesis will relies on Halliday book “Halliday’s Introduction to Functional

Grammar” were he speaks in details about Systematic Functional Grammar, principals, and

branches. Furthermore, this study will base on previous studies analyzed Obama Inaugural

Address for example: Janling Wang study of “Critical Discourse Analysis of Barrack

Obama‘s Political Speeches”. Another Study made by Juraj Horvath under the name of

“Critical Discourse Analysis of Obama Political Discourses”.

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4. Conclusion:

Obama’s first Inaugural Address of 2009 was one of the most significant events in the

history of United State, not only he was the first Afro-American president of United State,

yet he did great effort to persuade the American citizen to accept his new ideology specially

in the that time of the economical crisis. Therefore, this research will analyze Obama first

Inaugural Address of 2009 to investigate the language uses by Obama to persuade people.

The approach applied in this study Halliday’s theory of Critical Discourse Analysis known as

Systematic Functional Grammar. This research aims to investigate the use of language as

persuasive element in persuading people mind in Obama first Inaugural Address, and find out

impact of this Inaugural Address on the American citizen, moreover, the reader will find out

the formal features for political speeches.

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 5. References:

1. Halliday, M.A.K. Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar. 4th ed. Routledge Pub.

2014.

2. Junling, Wang. “A Critical Discourse Analysis of Barrack Obama’s Speeches”. School of

Foreign Languages, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, China. Journal of Language

Teaching and Research, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 254-261, May 2010.

3. Juraj Horvath. Critical Discourse Analysis of Obama Political Discourse. University of

Presov, Faculty of Art. P 45:56.

4. Miller Center of Public Affair. Barrack Obama Campaign and Election. University of

Virginia. Accessed December 4, 2016.

http://millercenter.org/president/biography/obama-campaigns-and-elections

5. The New York Time. The Speech: The Expert Critic. Room for Debate. January 21, 2009.

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6. Macon, Philips (2009). President Barrack Obama’s Inaugural Address .The white House

Barrack Obama. January 21, 2009.

7. Walker, T.J. Analysis of Obama Inaugural Address .January, 21, 2009.

8. Farlex .The Free Dictionary. Webmaster. Access in 8, December, 2016.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/17/politics/btn-presidential-inaugurations/

9. Caitlin, Stark. By the Numbers: Presidential Inaugurations. CNN Politics Library. January

22, 2013.

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