Obama Speech Analysis

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Introduction: 3-5 sentences Who is the audience of Obama’s speech, and what is its purpose? Therefore, in what context does he deliver this speech? How much control does Obama have when adjusting his spoken language? -Aimed to persuade people to vote for him. - Initially an underdog - Aimed to connect with audience while still remaining authoritative - Controls figurative message through use of spoken language techniques Barack Obama delivered this speech during his election campaign to persuade voters that a vote for him would lead to positive and lasting change. Although he was initially an underdog, he used this to connect with his audience while remaining authoritative and presidential. In this particular speech he is able to use spoken language techniques to control a variety of figurative message that centre around his anthem of ‘Yes We Can.’ Analysis: 5 paragraphs, each at least 5 sentences You need to pick out points thematically. That is, you need not progress chronologically through the speech (although it might be useful for some.) Also, you should avoid merely analysing a different technique in each paragraph. Yes, you must analyse different techniques particular to spoken language – this is always rooted in the context of the language, though. What I mean by ‘rooted in the context’ is that the technique must specifically be applied to what is being said. Therefore, repetition doesn’t just emphasise what is being said – the repetition of ‘yes we can’ creates a positive anthem that sustains the examples of how negative situations have been overcome, for example. 1) Extract begins with how Obama takes the audience into his confidence (although this was not the beginning of the speech) – refers to personal pronoun “we know” and audience interaction. - Obama infers how party are underdogs - Why use militaristic language? - eye

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