A critical discourse analysis of president barack h obama’s address on cuba detente policy002

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULITY OF GRADUATE STUDIES  HOÀNG THỊ THẮM A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF U.S PRESIDENT BARACK H.OBAMA’S ADDRESS ON CUBA DETENTE POLICY (NGHIÊN CỨU BÀI PHÁT BIỂU CỦA TỔNG THỐNG BARACK H OBAMA VỀ CHÍNH SÁCH BÌNH THƯỜNG HĨA QUAN HỆ VỚI CUBA TỪ GĨC ĐỘ PHÂN TÍCH DIỄN NGÔN) Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Course: QHF.2014 Supervisor : Prof Nguyen Hoa - Hanoi, September 2017 - Abstract In my thesis, I employ Fairclough‟s approach of CDA and Halliday‟s Systemic Functional Grammar to analyze a case study which is a political speech named “Obama‟s address on Cuba détente policy” The study is to find out the relationship between language, ideologies and power hidden behind the discourse At the same time, linguistic strategies are also discussed to see how the ideologies are constructed and manifested in the speech The results indicate that CDA helps reveal the relationship between language, ideologies and power in the speech Language is a means to show ideologies and power; on the other hand, language is also to construct one‟s ideologies or his identity to some extent By analyzing this case study, it can be seen that Obama is of great intelligence in using language as a strategic tool to display his ideologies and power i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On the completion of this thesis, I am indebted to many people First and foremost, I wish to thank my supervisor, Prof Nguyen Hoa for his valuable and prompt advice and helps, without which, this thesis could not come into being Much gratitude also go to all my lecturers and officers from Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, who facilitated with the best possible conditions during my whole course of studying Last but not least, I express thanks to my family and friends, whose encouragement and assistance are of extreme importance during the course of my writing this paper Hanoi, September, 2017 Hoang Thi Tham ii TABLE OF CONTENT TABLE OF CONTENT .iii PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Scope of the study Purposes of the study Empirical Data Design of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: Literature Review 1.1 The history of CDA 1.2 Elements in CDA 1.2.1 CDA definition 1.2.2 CDA goals 1.2.3 Critical 1.2.4 Ideology 1.2.5 Power 1.2.6 Discourse 1.2.6.1 Discourse as a social practice 1.2.6.2 Type of power 1.2.6.3 Political discourse CHAPTER 2: Methodology 2.1 Data 2.2 Procedure 2.2.1 Fairclough‟s Three – Dimensional Approach 2.2.1.1 Description 2.2.1.2 Interpretation 2.2.1.3 Explanation 10 2.2.2 Halliday‟s Systemic Functional Linguistics .10 2.2.2.1 Transitivity system 10 2.2.2.2 Thematic system .11 CHAPTER 3: Findings and Discussion 13 iii 3.1.1 Experiential values 15 3.1.2 Relational values 18 3.1.3 Expressive values 19 3.1.4 Metaphors 19 3.2 Grammatical analysis .20 3.2.1 The use of personal pronouns „I‟, „we‟ and „you‟ .20 3.2.2 Nominalization and passivization .21 3.2.3 Modes of sentences 23 3.2.4 Modality analysis 23 3.2.5 Cohesive devices .24 3.2.6 Transitivity analysis 26 3.2.7 Thematic analysis 28 3.3 Textual analysis 29 3.4 Interpretation 29 3.4.1 Interpretation of institutional context and speech act 30 3.4.2 Interpretation of inter-textual context and presupposition .32 3.5 Explanation 33 PART III CONCLUSION 35 1) Summary and conclusion 35 2) Implications 37 REFERENCES 38 WEBSITE 38 Appendix I Obama‟s address on Cuba détente policy .I Appendix Transitivity analysis in detail IX Appendix Thematic analysis in detail XVII Appendix Content Analysis XXIII Appendix Thematic structure XXXI iv PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Regarded as a social phenomenon, the study of language in use helps discover many interests such as ideologies or power behind the language Recently, critical discourse analysis (henceforth CDA) has become very popular among linguists because of its purposes That is, the study of CDA is to find out the relationship between ideologies, power and language, and in turn to reveal ideologies and power hidden behind the discourse For that reason, I decide to apply CDA in my minor thesis In addition, as a learner of language but having a great interest in politics, I choose one political speech named “Obama‟s address on Cuba détente policy to analyze I make my mind up to vote for this speech because of several reasons First, with more than 2,000 words, it becomes a proper choice for a study of 10,000 words Second, it is an official speech which is delivered by a high-ranking politician (President Obama) Finally, the most important reason, I want to see what Obama‟s ideologies are constructed and how they are manifested linguistically in his speech Scope of the study In this study, I employ written aspects of the speech, but with the absence of spoken one despite my awareness of such an importance in comprehending the overall message Yet, with more than 20,000 words in the text, I think it is enough for a minor thesis to meet its requirements For such a reason, I put my emphasis on basic features such as vocabulary, grammar or textual ones to reveal hidden messages behind the discourse Purposes of the study Purposes of the study are to uncover the relationship between language, ideologies and power hidden behind the speech and to reveal how the ideologies are manifested linguistically and constructed in the discourse In order to reach these purposes, I answer the two research questions as following: 1) What are Obama‟s themes as constructed in his speech? 2) How are the themes manifested linguistically? Empirical Data The empirical data used in the paper comes from the website (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/newtop100speeches.htm) In particular, the data is a speech, which was delivered on December 17th, 2014 at Cabinet room, the White House and it is considered as a sudden, shocking and historic event The purpose of the speech is to restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba, ending the 54 -year - deep -freeze relation between the two nations The seeds of change were planted after Obama‟s 2012 reelection, when he huddled with advisers and asked them to „think big‟ about the second term agenda, including the possibilities of new starts with longstanding U.S foes such as Iran and Cuba Then the speech was the result of 18 months of hush-hush talks between the two nations, including secret meetings in Canada and the personal involvement of Pope Francis Such a condition helps create an important pave to divulge ideologies hidden behind the speech Design of the study This study consists of three main parts They are: Part I: Introduction It includes the rationale, the scope of the study, the aims of the study, data collecting and sampling, and the design of the study Part II: Development The development comprises three chapters Chapter named “Literature Review” provides the development process of critical discourse analysis and important features of its theory as well Chapter entitled “Methodology” shows clearly the analytical framework of the study I employ Fairclough‟s approach to analysis the speech because it is the most linguistic Chapter labeled “Findings and Discussion” talks about Obama‟s ideologies hidden behind the speech and strategies he resorted to get his ideologies across Part III: Conclusion This part summarizes findings; hence, being able to conclude what ideologies and power are constructed in the speech and how these ideologies are manifested linguistically Also, some recommendations for further study are presented as well PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: Literature Review 1.1 The history of CDA CDA is a domain of critical applied linguistics The 1970s saw the emergence of CDA Its development was credited with prominent works including Kress and Hodge (1979), Fowler et al (1979), van Dijk (1985), Fairclough (1989) and Wodak (1989) In particular, Fowler et al (1979-1996) made an important contribution to ascertain the early foundations of Critical Linguistics Then, from 1989 to 1999, Fairclough set out the social theories underpinning CDA as well as explained and elaborated on some advances in CDA, showing not only how the analytical framework for investigating language in relation to power and ideology developed, but also how CDA is useful in disclosing the discursive nature of much contemporary social and cultural change After that, van Dijk worked in text linguistics and discourse analysis, and considered the relevance of discourse to the study of language processing Also, he focused on developing a theoretical model that explained cognitive discourse processing mechanisms These famous linguists built up main assumptions, principles and procedures of what became Critical Linguistics By 1990s, it came into existence with this particular approach to linguistic analysis, showing how CDA was, by that time, emerging as a distinctive theory of language, a radical different kind of linguistics Noticeably, most studies of these famous linguists are drawn on Hallidayan systemic functional grammar This indicates that an understanding of the basic claims of Halliday‟s grammar and his approach to linguistic analysis is essential for an adequate understanding of CDA 1.2 Elements in CDA Concepts relating to „critical‟, „ideology‟, „power‟ and „discourse‟ are discussed as deeply as possible to make a proper understanding of CDA However, before talking about these elements, we should talk about CDA definition and its goals 1.2.1 CDA definition The notion of Critical Discourse Analysis is the principal issue for those who wish to research such an area It stays dissimilar among different scholars such as van Dijk (1998), Rebecca Roger (2004), Gilbert Weiss and Ruth Wodak (2003), Norman Fairclough (2001) or Theo Van Leuuwen (1993) However, I only mention some basic and famous definitions As stated by van Dijk (1998), CDA investigates the way „social power abuse, dominance and inequality which are enacted, reproduced and resisted by text and talk in the social and political context‟ Quite different from van Dijk, Norman Fairclough (2001) holds his attitude that CDA is considered as ideological analysis For the above opinions, CDA can be seen as an interdisciplinary approach to the study of discourse that views language as a social practice and its targets are to uncover hidden power and ideology behind discourses 1.2.2 CDA goals The main purpose of CDA as cited by (Litosseliti, 2006), is to understand social issues, inequalities, and ideologies, by exposing the subtle role of discourse in maintaining them Also, it is to develop more effective means against persecution in society (Rathzel, in Wodak, 1997) Toward deconstructing and reconstructing images of the other still represents other target of CDA (Rathzel in Wodak, 1997) (Schaffner, 1996) suggests that what CDA should act is to describe and explain, and if necessary criticize social and discursive practices, based on solid research 1.2.3 Critical The notion of „critical‟ which is inherent in CDA‟s program is also understood very differently For general understanding, as suggested by Oxford Dictionary, „critical‟ is to be understood as a way of thinking about and examining culture and literature by considering the social, historical and ideological forces The opinion of Wodak and Meyer (2002) is relatively different that „critical‟ is something keeping distance to the data, embedding the data in the social, taking a political stance explicitly and a concentration on self-reflection as scholars doing research With Corson (2000) (in Roger 2004), he holds his opinion about „critical‟ that it is often associated with researches in power relations By means of „critical‟ , linguists find it easier to uncover 128 To those who oppose the steps 129 The question 130 I 131 Moreover 132 It 133 Even if that 134 We 135 In that spirit 136 We 137 To the Cuban people 138 America 139 Some of you 140 We 141 Others 142 Today 143 I 144 We 145 Cubans 146 Today 147 The United States 148 To those who have supported these measures 149 I 150 The government of Canada 151 And 152 Finally 153 Our shift in policy towards Cuba 154 This April 155 We 156 But 157 We 158 And 159 I 160 A future of greater peace, security and democratic XXI 161 My fellow Americans 162 The city of Miami 163 Countless thousands of Cubans 164 Today 165 Miami 166 But 167 It 168 Change 169 And 170 But today 171 We 172 America 173 Thank you 174 God XXII Appendix Content Analysis No Good afternoon Today, the United States of America is changing its relationship with the people of Cuba In the most significant changes in our policy in mor than fifty years, we will end an outdated approach that, for decades, has failed to advance our interest and instead we will begin to normalize relation between our two countries Through these changes, we intend to create more opportunities for the American and Cuban people, and begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas There‟s a complicated history between the Unite States and Cuba I was born in 1961 – just over two years after Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, and just a few months after the Bay of Pigs invasion, which tried to overthrow his regime Over the next several decades, the relationship between our countries played out against the backdrop of the Cold War, and America‟s steadfast opposition to communism We are separated by just over 90 miles But year after year, an ideological an economic barrier hardened between our two countries Meanwhile, the Cuban exile community in the United States made enormous contributions to our country in politics and business, culture and spor America, even as they felt a painful yearning for th land and families they left behind All of this bound America and Cuba in a unique relationship, at once family and foe XXIII Proudly, the United States has supported democracy and human rights in Cuba through these five decade We have done so primarily through policies tha aimed to isolate the island, preventing the most bas travel and commerce that Americans can enjoy anyplace else And though this policy has been rooted in the best o intentions, no other nation joins us in imposing thes sanctions, and it has had little effect beyond providing the Cuban government with a rationale fo restrictions on its people Today, Cuba is still governed by the Castros and the Communist Party that came to power half a century ago Neither the American, nor Cuban people are well served by a rigid policy that is rooted in events that took place before most of us were born Consider th for more than 35 years, we‟ve had relations wi China a far larger country also governed by Communist Party Nearly two decades ago, we reestablished relations with Vietnam, where we fought a war that claimed more Americans than any Cold War confrontation That‟s why when I came into office I promised to re-examine our Cuba policy As a start, we lifted restrictions for Cuban Americans to travel and send remittances to their families in Cuba These change once controversial, now seem obvious Cuban Americans have been reunited with their familie and are the best possible ambassadors for our values And through these exchanges, a younge generation of Cuban Americans has increasingly questioned an approach that does more to keep Cub closed off from an interconnected world XXIV While I have been prepared to take additional steps for some time, a major obstacle stood in our way -the wrongful imprisonment, in Cuba, of a U.S citizen and USAID sub-contractor Alan Gross for five years Over many months, my administration has held Solution discussions with the Cuban government about Alan‟s case, and other aspects of our relationship His Holiness Pope Francis issued a personal appeal to me, and to Cuba‟s President Raul Castro, urging us to resolve Alan‟s case, and to address Cuba‟s interest in the release of three Cuban agents who have been jailed in the United States for over 15 years 10 Today, Alan returned home reunited with his family at long last Alan was released by the Cuban government on humanitarian grounds Separately, in exchange for the three Cuban agents, Cuba today released one of the most important intelligence agents that the United States has ever had in Cuba, and who has been imprisoned for nearly two decades This man, whose sacrifice has been known to only a few, provided America with the information that allowed us to arrest the network of Cuban agents that included the men transferred to Cuba today, as well as other spies in the United States This man is now safely on our shores 11 Having recovered these two men who sacrificed for Condition for changes our country, I‟m now taking steps to place the interests of the people of both countries at the heart of our policy XXV 12 First, I‟ve instructed Secretary Kerry to immediate begin discussions with Cuba to reestablish diplomatic relations that have been severed sinc January of 1961 Going forward, the United States will reestablish an embassy in Havana, and hig ranking officials will visit Cuba 13 Where we can advance shared interests, we will on issues like health, migration, counterterrorism drug trafficking and disaster response Indeed, we‟v seen the benefits of cooperation between our countries before It was a Cuban, Carlos Finlay, wh discovered that mosquitoes carry yellow fever; his work helped Walter Reed fight it Cuba has sen hundreds of health care workers to Africa to fight Ebola, and I believe American and Cuban health ca workers should work side by side to stop the spread of this deadly disease 14 Now, where we disagree, we will raise those Difficulties of changes differences directly as we will continue to on issues related to democracy and human rights in Cuba But I believe that we can more to support the Cuban people and promote our values through engagement After all, these 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked It‟s time for a new approach 15Second, I‟ve instructed Secretary Kerry to review Cuba‟s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism This review will be guided by the facts and the law Terrorism has changed in the last several decades A a time when we are focused on threats from al Qaed to ISIL, a nation that meets our conditions and renounces the use of terrorism should not face this sanction XXVI 16 Third, we are taking steps to increase travel, Plan and steps commerce, and the flow of information to and from Cuba This is fundamentally about freedom and openness, and also expresses my belief in the power of people-to-people engagement With the changes I‟m announcing today, it will be easier for Americans to travel to Cuba, and Americans will be able to use American credit and debit cards on the island Nobody represents America‟s values better than the American people, and I believe this contact will ultimately more to empower the Cuban people 17I also believe that more resources should be able to reach the Cuban people So we‟re significantly increasing the amount of money that can be sent to Cuba, and removing limits on remittances that support humanitarian projects, the Cuban people, an the emerging Cuban private sector 18I believe that American businesses should not be put at a disadvantage, and that increased commerce is good Americans and for Cubans So we will facilitat authorized transactions between the United States an Cuba U.S financial institutions will be allowed to op accounts at Cuban financial institutions And it will be easier for U.S exporters to sell goods Cuba 19 I believe in the free flow of information Difficulties of changes Unfortunately, our sanctions on Cuba have denied Cubans access to technology that has empowered individuals around the globe So I‟ve authorized increased telecommunications connections between the United States and Cuba Businesses will be able to sell goods that enable Cubans to communicate with the United States and other countries XXVII 20 These are the steps that I can take as President to change this policy The embargo that‟s been impos for decades is now codified in legislation As these changes unfold, I look forward to engaging Congres an honest and serious debate about lifting the embar 21 Yesterday, I spoke with Raul Castro to finalize A Gross‟s release and the exchange of prisoners, and describe how we will move forward I made clear m strong belief that Cuban society is constrained restrictions on its citizens In addition to the return of A Gross and the release of our intelligence agent, we welco Cuba‟s decision to release a substantial number of prison whose cases were directly raised with the Cuba government by my team We welcome Cuba‟s decision provide more access to the Internet for its citizens, and continue increasing engagement with internatio institutions like the United Nations and the Internatio Committee of the Red Cross that promote universal valu 22 But I‟m under no illusion about the continued barriers to freed that remain for ordinary Cubans The United States believes t no Cubans should face harassment or arrest or beatings sim because they‟re exercising a universal right to have their voi heard, and we will continue to support civil society the While Cuba has made reforms to gradually open up economy, we continue to believe that Cuban worke should be free to form unions, just as their citizens sho be free to participate in the political process 23 Moreover, given Cuba‟s history, I expect it wil continue to pursue foreign policies that will at time be sharply at odds with American interests I not expect the changes I am announcing today to bring about a transformation of Cuban society overnight But I am convinced that through a policy of engagement, we can more effectively stand up for our values and help the Cuban people help themselves as they move into the 21st century XXVIII 24 To those who oppose the steps I‟m announcing today, let me say that I respect your passion and share your commitment to liberty and democracy The question is how we uphold that commitment I not believe we can keep doing the same thing for over five decades and expect a different result Moreover, it does not serve America‟s interests, or the Cuban people, to try to push Cuba toward collapse Even if that worked and it hasn‟t for 50 years we know from hardearned experience that countries are more likely to enjoy lasting transformation if their people are not subjected to chaos We are calling on Cuba to unleash the potential of 11 million Cubans by ending unnecessary restrictions on their political, social, and economic activities In that spirit, we should not allow U.S sanctions to add to the burden of Cuban citizens that we seek to help 25 To the Cuban people, America extends a hand of friendship Hope Some of you have looked to us as a source of hope, and we will continue to shine a light of freedom Others have seen us as a former colonizer intent on controlling your future.José Martí once said, “Liberty is the right of every man to be honest.” Today, I am being honest with you We can never erase the history between us, but we believe that you should be empowered to live with dignity and self-determination Cubans have a saying about daily life: “No es facil” it‟s not easy Today, the United States wants to be a partner in making the lives of ordinary Cubans a little bit easier, more free, more prosperous 26 To those who have supported these measures, I thank you fo being partners in our efforts In particular, I want to thank His Holiness Pope Franc whose moral example shows us the importance of purs the world as it should be, rather than simply settling fo world as it is; the government of Canada, which hosted discussions with the Cuban government; and a bipartis group of congressmen who have worked tirelessly for A Gross‟s release, and for a new approach to advancing o interests and values in Cuba XXIX 27 Finally, our shift in policy towards Cuba comes at a moment of renewed leadership in the Americas This April, we are prepared to have Cuba join the other nations of the hemisphere at the Summit of th Americas But we will insist that civil society join u so that citizens, not just leaders, are shaping ou future And I call on all of my fellow leaders to give meaning to the commitment to democracy and human rights at the heart of the Inter-American Charter Let us leave behind the legacy of both colonization and communism, the tyranny of drug cartels, dictators and sham elections A future o greater peace, security and democratic developmen is possible if we work together not to maintain power, not to secure vested interest, but instead to advance the dreams of our citizens 28 My fellow Americans, the city of Miami is only 200 miles so from Havana Countless thousands of Cubans have co to Miami on planes and makeshift rafts; some with little the shirt on their back and hope in their hearts Today, Mia is often referred to as the capital of Latin America But i also a profoundly American city a place that reminds that ideals matter more than the color of our skin, or circumstances of our birth; a demonstration of what Cuban people can achieve, and the openness of the Uni States to our family to the South 29 Todos somos Americanos Change is hard in our own lives, and in the lives nations And change is even harder when we carry the heavy weight of history on our shoulders But today we are making these changes because it is the right thing to Today, America chooses to cut loose the shackles o the past so as to reach for a better future for the Cuban people, for the American people, for our 30 entire hemisphere, and for the world Thank you God bless you and God bless the United States of America XXX Appendix Thematic structure Background: Make a case for changes  Failure for the prior policy despite its best intentions o Receive no support by other nations “No other nation joins us in imposing these sanctions, and it has had little effect…” (Line 2627) o American and Cuba people are not well served “Neither American, nor Cuban people are well served by a rigid policy.” (Line 31-32) “It does not serve America’s interests, or the Cuban people, to try to push Cuban toward collapse.” (Line 147) o “Isolate the island, preventing the most basic travel and commerce that Americans can enjoy anyplace else.” (Line 24) The isolation has not worked “These 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked.”(Line 82) Need for changes:  Steps for changes o First: reestablish diplomatic relations “First, I‟ve instructed Secretary Kerry to …reestablish diplomatic relations” (Line 66-67) o Second: review Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism “Second, I‟ve instructed Secretary Kerry to review Cuba‟s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism” (Line 84-85) o Third: increase travel, commerce, and the flow of information to and from Cuba “Third, we are taking steps to increase travel, commerce, and the flow of information to and from Cuba” (Line 90-91) o Finally: renew leadership in the Americas “Finally, our shift in policy towards Cuba comes at a moment of renewed leadership in the Americas” (Line 175-176)  Benefits for changes o o o o Solutions for difficulties: Discussion with Cuban government about Alan’case, and other aspects of two nations’s relationship Cuban Americans can travel and send remittances to their families in Cuba “We lifted restrictions for Cuban Americans to travel and send remittances to their families in Cuba” (Line 38-39) Americans will be easier to travel to Cuba, and Americans will be able to use American credit and debit cards on the island (Line 94) It will be easier for U.S exporters to sell goods in Cuba (Line 106) Cubans enable to communicate with the United States and other countries o “Over many months, my administration has held discussions with the Cuba government….” (Line 49) o Continue to on issues related to democracy and human rights in Cuba “We will continue to on issues related to democracy and human rights in Cuba.” (Line 78) “We will continue to support civil society there.” (Line 132) Difficulties for changes: Wrongful imprisonment “A major obstacle stood in our way—the wrongful imprisonment.”(Line 47) o Issues related to democracy and human rights in Cuba “But I‟m under no illusion about the continued barriers to freedom that remain for ordinary Cubans.” (Line 128) o Opposed people “To those who oppose the steps” (Line 142) “Change is hard—in our own lives, and in the lives of nations” (Line 196) o Acknowledgment: o Thank you for being partners in our efforts ( Line 167)    Holiness Pope Francis The government of Canada A bipartisan group of congressmen XXXI ... from what has been said, what is implied by what has been said Formulations are used for such purpose as reaching an agreed characterization of what has transpired in the speech Despite a great... Grammar What experiential values grammatical features have? What relational values grammatical features have? What expressive values grammatical feature have? How are sentences linked together?... the audience get a clear vision about Obama‟s policy 3.1.2 Relational values A formal feature with relational value is a trace of and a cue to the social relationships which are enacted via the