A Critical Discourse Analysis of two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* PHẠM THỊ TUẤN A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF TWO SPEECHES ON WOMEN BY HILLARY CLINTON IN 1995 AND 2013 Phân tích diễn ngôn phê phán hai phát biểu phụ nữ Hillary Clinton vào năm 1995 2013 M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Hanoi, 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* PHẠM THỊ TUẤN A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF TWO SPEECHES ON WOMEN BY HILLARY CLINTON IN 1995 AND 2013 Phân tích diễn ngôn phê phán hai phát biểu phụ nữ Hillary Clinton vào năm 1995 2013 M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Ngô Hữu Hoàng Hanoi, 2016 ` DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “A critical discourse analysis of two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees Hanoi, 2016 Phạm Thị Tuấn i ` ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Associate Professor Dr Ngô Hữu Hoàng for helping me complete this study This paper would not have been accomplished without his expert, constant and valuable guidance and encouragement His patience and helpful criticism helped me confidently express my ideas into this paper I also wish to express my sincere thanks to all my lecturers at the Faculty of Graduate and Postgraduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies for their valuable lectures which have helped me a great deal in gaining a lot of theoretical background as well as practical knowledge My special thanks also go to my friends and colleagues for their enthusiastic help and support with my teaching schedule at school which gave me precious time to deal with my thesis Finally, I would also like to express my deep gratitude and love to my family who gave me time and encouragement to overcome all obstacles during the completion of this study ii ` ABSTRACT This study attempts to discover the relationship between power, ideology and discourse embraced in two speeches delivered by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013, using the CDA framework suggested by Norman Fairclough (2001) The analysis is carried out in three separated phases namely Description, Interpretation, and Explanation Major aspects selected for analysis include vocabulary, grammar, and macro-structures Due to the limited time, the study focuses on analysis of lexical choice, voice, pronouns, and large-scale structures The findings show that ideology and power are expressed in a number of ways, and there is not much difference between two speeches The biggest difference lies on the situational context that exerts influences on exhibiting power and ideology While 1995 speech centers on depicting the reality of harsh treatment on women, 2013 speech offers a review of achievements and remains in fights for women advancement In general, both speeches serve as Clinton’s calls for actions on women rights violations iii ` LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CDA:Critical Discourse Analysis S: Sentence M: Macro - statement iv ` LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Tables Page Table 1: Frequency of pronoun “I” and “We” in 1995 and 2013 Speech 21 Table 2: Frequency of active and passive voice in 1993 and 1995 Speech 24 Figures Figure 1: Interpretation (Fairclough, 2001: 119) 11 Figure 2: Explanation (Fairclough, 2001: 136) 12 v ` TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi PART A: INTRODUCTION I Rationale I Aims of the study and Research Questions II 2.1 Aims of the study II 2.2 Research questions .II Scope of the study .II Design of the study III Significance of the study III PART B: DEVELOPMENT Error! Bookmark not defined CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW Error! Bookmark not defined An overview of CDA Error! Bookmark not defined 1.1 The development of CDA Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2 Definitions of CDA Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3 Some main directions in CDA Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.1 Van Dijk’s Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.2 Wodak’s Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.3 Fairclough’s Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.3.1 Description of the text Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.3.2 Interpretation of the text Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.3.3 Explanation of the text Error! Bookmark not defined CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOG Y OF THE STUDYError! Bookmark not defined vi ` Research questions restated Error! Bookmark not defined Methods of the study Error! Bookmark not defined Data of the study Error! Bookmark not defined Analysis procedure of the study Error! Bookmark not defined CHAPTER 3: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE TWO SPEECHES ON WOMEN BY HILLARY CLINTON IN 1995 AND 2013Error! Bookmark Description Error! Bookmark not defined 1.1 Description of vocabulary use Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2 Description of grammatical features Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2.1 The use of “I” and “we” pronouns Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2.2 The use of voice Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3 Description of macro-structures Error! Bookmark not defined Interpretation Error! Bookmark not defined 2.1 Interpretation of situational context Error! Bookmark not defined 2.2 Interpretation of inter-textual context Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3 Interpretation of language use Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.1 Interpretation of vocabulary use Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.2 Interpretation of grammatical features Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.2.1 The use of pronouns “I” and “we” Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.2.2 The use of voice Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.3 Interpretation of macro-structures Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.3.1 Macrostructures in 1995 speech Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.3.2 Macrostructures in 2013 speech Error! Bookmark not defined Explanation Error! Bookmark not defined 3.1 Explanation of 1995 speech Error! Bookmark not defined 3.2 Explanation of 2013 speech Error! Bookmark not defined PART C: CONCLUSION Error! Bookmark not defined Summary of findings Error! Bookmark not defined Limitations of the study and Recommendations for further studyError! Bookmark no vii ` REFERENCES V APPENDIX Error! Bookmark not defined viii ` PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale There has been much written about Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in recent years It is noticeably noted that not only does CDA seek to describe language but it also offers critical resources to those wishing to resist various forms of power With its success in discerning the relationship between language and power in a wide range of contexts, CDA is attracting growing interest of numerous worldwide language researchers Language is one of the greatest inventions that human have ever made It has been long considered a communication tool that people use to express their wills, their feelings and their attitudes towards the world By this way, language is a social phenomenon From CDA’s perspective, language is said a part of society, social practice and a socially-conditioned process (Fairclough, 2001) As a part of society, language is taken advantage of by different specialists from various fields, in which politics is included It is often said that politics is about power, and language serves as a useful weapon that country leaders use to achieve their political purposes From that, there is no doubt for the close relationship between language and politics; in other words, between language and power Political speeches are striking examples for the application of linguistic practice to show power Generally speaking, as a speech is given, not only are the messages delivered, but the speaker’s ideology and power are also embedded CDA approaches the study and critique of social inequality by focusing on the role of discourse in the production and reproduction of dominance, which is defined as the exercise of social power by elites, institutions or groups, that results in social inequality, including political, cultural, class, ethic, racial, and gender inequality (van Dijk, 1993, p 249-250) One important social issue that be examined in any given culture in terms of dominance and inequality is gender I ` That women rights violation is a pressing world problem leads to the delivery of numerous speeches The speaker, Hillary Clinton, also made a number of remarks on the issue, in which 1995 speech is the most outstanding ever 2013 speech is also chosen for analysis for it is the review of 1995 one and also gains some important popularity To my best knowledge, there have been quite a variety of researchers working on language and power connection through the analysis of political speech However, most of them tended to study a single speech, and this remains a slot for me to fill here Hence, in this thesis, I maybe have a look at the same matter, yet with the investigation of two speeches at the same time All reasons mentioned above lead me to the choice of these two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton as the data of the study for analysis from the viewpoint of CDA Aims of the study and Research Questions 2.1 Aims of the study The study aims to: - Provide a critical analysis of two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013 based on Fairclough’s framework to find out the way hidden power and ideologies are shown in two speeches - Find out changes in the way power and ideologies are shown in two speeches 2.2 Research questions To achieve the aims of the study, the following research questions have been posed: How are ideologies and power lexically, syntactically and macro -structurally shown in two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013 ? Are there any changes in the way ideologies and power are shown in two speeches? If yes, what changes are they? Scope of the study II ` In this critical discourse analysis, the researcher is confined to the written aspects of two speeches and some concerned situational contexts as a kind of background knowledge This thesis is a linguistic study rather than a political or social one It is actually based on political speeches to approach and to a linguistic research for an academic purpose Design of the study The study consists of three parts illustrated as follows: Part A is the INTRODUCTION of the study which presents the rationale, scope, aims, methodology, and design of the study Part B is the DEVELOPMENT which is made up of three chapters Chapter 1: Theoretical background and literature review This chapter gives an overview of CDA – its history, role, concepts, and procedure Chapter 2: Methodology of the study This chapter provides a detailed description of the methodology, which includes research methods applied for data collection, the types of the data, and the analysis procedure of the study Chapter 3: A critical discourse analysis of two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013 The CDA procedure addressed by Fairclough (2001) is applied to analyze two speeches to find out the relationship between power, ideology and language, and simultaneously explore the similarities and differences in how power and ideology are reflected in two speeches Part C is the CONCLUSION which summarizes the major findings of the study, draws important conclusions, and offers suggestions for further research Significance of the study III ` Theoretically, this study provides a support to CDA theories From an objective view as linguists when approaching texts, CDA analysts can find out ideology and power hidden behind words Practically, this study is submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements of my degree of Master in English Linguistics Moreover, with the investigation of two speeches at the same time, it may provide the researcher another approach to political speech analysis from CDA viewpoint IV ` REFERENCES Books and Articles Chaudhry, H., and Naz, A (2011) Developing Gender Equality: An Analytical Study of Socio-Political and Economic Constraints in Women’s Empowerment in Pakhtun Society of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing, 2(1), 259-266 Chomsky, N (1957) Syntactic Structures The Hague: Mouton Cooray, A (2012) Suffrage, Democracy and Gender Equality in Education Oxford Development Studies, 40(1), 21-47 Fairclough, N (1995a) Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language London: Longman Fairclough, N (1995b) Media Discourse London: Edward Arnold Fairclough, N.; Wodak, R (1997) Critical Discourse Analysis In T Van Dijk (Hg.): Discourse Studies: A Multidisciplinary Introduction , 2, 258-284 London: SAGE Publications Fairclough, N (2001) Critical Discourse Analysis as A Method In Social Scientific Research In R Wodak and M Meyer (Hg.): Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis London: SAGE Publications, 121-138 Fikree, F F., and Pasha, O (2004) Role of gender in health disparity: the South Asian context Kress, G., and Hodge, R (1979) Language as Ideology London: Routledge 10 Lee, F L F (2004) Constructing Perfect Women: the Portrayal of Female Officials in Hong Kong Newspapers SAGE Journals: Media, Culture and Society, 26 (2), 207 – 225 11 Rogers, R (2004) An Introduction to Critical Discourse in Education London, Mahawah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers 12 van Dijk T A (1985) Handbook of Discourse Analysis Orlando: Academic Press V ` 13 van Dijk T A (1987b) News analysis: Case studies in international and tuitional news Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 14 van Dijk, T (1988) News as discourse Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum 15 van Dijk, T.A (1993) Principles of critical discourse analysis In: Discourse & Society, (2), 249-83 16 van Dijk, T.A (1998) Ideology: A Multidisciplinary Study London: SAGE Publications 17 van Leeuwen, Theo (1993) Genre and field in critical discourse analysis Discourse and Society, (2), 193-223 18 Wodak, R & Ludwig, Ch (Eds.) (1999) Challenges in a changing world: Issues in Critical Discourse Analysis Vienna: Passagenverlag 19 Wodak, R., and Meyer, M (2001) Methods of Critical Analysis London: SAGE Publications 20 Wodak, R (2002) Aspects of Critical Discourse Analysis Zeitschrift fur Angewandte Linguistik, 36, 5-31 Websites Hillary Rodham Clinton: Remarks to the U.N 4th World Conference on Women Plenary Session Retrieved from http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/hillaryclintonbeijingspeech.htm Hillary Clinton: Helping women isn’t a “nice” thing to Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/04/05/hillary-clinton-helpingwomen-isn-t-just-a-nice-thing-to-do.html VI ... viewpoint of CDA Aims of the study and Research Questions 2.1 Aims of the study The study aims to: - Provide a critical analysis of two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013 based on. .. Chapter 3: A critical discourse analysis of two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013 The CDA procedure addressed by Fairclough (2001) is applied to analyze two speeches to find out... and remains in fights for women advancement In general, both speeches serve as Clinton s calls for actions on women rights violations iii ` LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CDA :Critical Discourse Analysis