A critical discourse analysis of george bush’s speech on september 11 attacks

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VI THỊ BẢO THOA A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF GEORGE BUSH’S SPEECH ON SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS (PHÂN TÍCH DIỄN NGƠN PHÊ PHÁN BÀI PHÁT BIỂU CỦA TỔNG THỐNG MỸ GEORGE BUSH VỀ SỰ KIỆN NGÀY 11 THÁNG 9) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Hanoi, 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VI THỊ BẢO THOA A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF GEORGE BUSH’S SPEECH ON SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS (PHÂN TÍCH DIỄN NGƠN PHÊ PHÁN BÀI PHÁT BIỂU CỦA TỔNG THỐNG MỸ GEORGE BUSH VỀ SỰ KIỆN NGÀY 11 THÁNG 9) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Dr Huỳnh Anh Tuấn Hanoi, 2015 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I certify my authority of the study project report submitted entitled A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF GEORGE BUSH’S SPEECH ON SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Hanoi 2015 Vi Thi Bao Thoa i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I own great debt to all my teachers, my classmates, my family members and my friends in accomplishing this graduation thesis I would like to register my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Huynh Anh Tuan, for his enthusiastic instruction throughout the process, his great suggestions and comments from the title to every minor detail of my study, and his valuable materials, without which my study could not have been completed My most sincere thanks would also be sent to many lecturers and my classmates at the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, for their constant concerns, assistance and encouragement Lastly, I am greatly indebted to my family members who have provided me with continual spiritual support and care during my completion of the thesis ii ABSTRACT This study attempts to discover the relationship between power, ideology and discourse embraced in the speech delivered by President G.W Bush on the September 11, 2001, using the CDA framework suggested by Norman Fairclough The analysis is carried out in three separated phases namely description, interpretation, and explanation Major aspects selected for analysis include vocabulary, grammar, and macro-structure An analytical framework is also built up in order to specify goals and analytical units in each stage Following this framework, in-group and out-group lexicalization, voice, pronouns, large-scale structure and emotion techniques are investigated The findings show that ideology and power are expressed throughout the address in a number of ways Arousing the nation pride and heroism with tactful choices of vocabulary to construct two contrastive sides, exerting power and affirming utmost leader position with flexible uses of pronouns and voices, asserting ideology with shifts of focuses wellcombined with emotion techniques, Bush actually makes the speech his powerful weapon in political battles iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv PART A - INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Significance of the study Scope of the study Aims and objectives of the study Methodology Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW Definition of CDA Three principal approaches to CDA 2.1 The discourse – historical approach by Ruth Wodak 2.2 The socio-cognitive approach by Van Dijk 2.3 The Systemic Functional Grammar approach by Norman Fairclough Fairclough’s framework of CDA 10 Overview of previous studies 13 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 14 Research questions 14 Research approach 14 Research method 15 Description of the data 16 Analytical framework 16 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 19 Description 19 1.1 Description of vocabulary use 19 1.2 Description of grammatical features 20 1.2.1 The use of voice 20 iv 1.2.2 The use of personal pronouns 21 1.3 Description of macro-structure 22 1.3.1 Large-scale structure 22 1.3.2 Emotion techniques 23 Interpretation 24 2.2 Interpretation of grammatical features 26 2.2.1 The use of voice 26 2.2.2 The use of personal pronouns 28 3.3 Interpretation of macro-structure 28 3.3.1 Large-scale structure 28 3.3.2 Emotion techniques 30 Explanation 31 3.1 Explanation of vocabulary use 31 3.2 Explanation of grammatical features 33 3.2.1 The use of voice 33 3.2.2 The use of personal pronouns 33 Explanation of macro-structure 34 3.3.1 Large-scale structure 34 3.3.2 Emotion techniques 35 PART C: CONCLUSION 36 Summary of the main findings 36 Implications 38 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 39 REFERENCES 40 APPENDIX 1: LIST OF QUESTIONS AND SUB-QUESTIONS SUGGESTED BY NORMAN FAIRCLOUGH IN DOING CDA I APPENDIX 2: GEORE BUSH’S SPEECH ON THE SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS (ADDRESS TO THE NATION ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001) III APPENDIX 3: LIST OF QUESTIONS FOLOWING ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK VI APPENDIX 4: LIST OF LEXICAL ITEMS FOR IN-GROUP VII AND OUT-GROUP VII APPENDIX 5: LIST OF PRONOUNS OCCURENCES IX v PART A - INTRODUCTION Rationale Since its naisance, language has been used as an effective tool of communication, serving mankind in communicating to one another and reflecting both physical outside, and mental inside worlds Language, by this way, is also addressed as a social phenomenon It reflects the world, and expresses the way we apprehend and perceive the world Therefore, any study of language should be the study of language in use Only by this way can the exact nature of the intended messages be revealed This understanding has paved the way for my choice of investigating the selected speech under the perspective of CDA As a part of society, language can be regarded as a social, and a socially conditioned process (Fairclough, 1989) According to Wareing (2004), the affective function of language is concerned with who is allowed to say what to whom, and which is ‘deeply tied up with power and social status’ (Wareing, 2004, p.9) In other words, how individuals choose and use different language systems varies according to who the speakers are, how they perceive themselves and what identity they want to project Language use also varies according to whether the situation is public or private, formal or informal, who is being addressed and who might be able to overhear Likewise, Meyerhoff (2006) points out that we draw very powerful inferences about people from the way they talk Among various fields, politics appears to be leading the way in employing this advantage of language, with numerous applications in linguistic practice of world most famous leaders throughout the history In the hands of tactful politicians, language is sharpened as a powerful weapon in order to best serve political purposes One example of this is political speeches The function of these formal pieces of language is not barely the delivering of the information, but also carrying embedded ideology and expressions of power which normally are not displayed straightforwardly, but tactically hidden behind the choice of words and expressions Therefore, recognizing and understanding these hidden messages require in-depth analysis and consideration CDA, as Fairclough (1996, p.287) claims, is ‘a perspective which is concerned with showing up often opaque connections between language and other aspects of society and culture’ In addition, Van Dijk (1993) suggests examining the style, rhetoric or meaning of texts for strategies that aim at the concealment of social power relations and the exercise of power In order to obtain certain ideologies that the group with power wants to construct, the circumstances of text construction such as who, when, where, and how, and a deep analysis of the texts themselves cannot be ignored, as CDA suggests (Van Dijk, 1993) It can be inferred from above implications that doing discourse analysis involves not merely analyzing texts, processes of production and interpretation, but also analyzing the relationship between texts, processes, and their social conditions, or in other terms, the relationship between texts, interactions, and contexts CDA is critical in the sense that it shows connections and causes which are hidden such as the connection between language, power and ideology, the problems of inequality and racism, through discourse analysis To clarify it clearly, CDA is critical when it explicitly addresses social problems and seeks to solve social problems through the analysis of accompanying social and political actions The intention of analysts in this view of ‘critical’ is explicitly oriented toward locating social problems and analyzing how discourse operates to construct and historically constructed by such issues They must work from the analysis of texts to the social and political context in which the texts emerge CDA, thus, can be considered a very practical form of discourse analysis It seeks not only to describe language but also to offer critical resources to those wishing to resist various forms of power Significance of the study In Vietnam, CDA has received increasing attention within the last decade although, generally speaking, it is still a quite new research area Among official publications, the book written by Professor Nguyen Hoa in 2006 on CDA has contributed greatly to the popularization of CDA in Vietnam Nevertheless, the number of studies on CDA among Vietnamese researcher remains restricted Therefore, this study is intended to, though at the minimum scale, enhance the consciousness of how power and ideology are embedded in language in particular, and the relation between language and society in general Through the study, furthermore, the researcher hopes to raise a voice in approval of applying and advancing CDA in doing linguistic research This study is also expected to make certain contribution to English language education It is a popular challenge for Vietnamese learners to fully comprehend authentic discourses due to their failure to interpret the author’s underlying assumptions, which can be overcome once the learners are aware of the ideology driving the discourse Scope of the study The analysis of Bush’s speech after the September 11 attacks is confined to verbal aspects of the speech and the social context when the speech was delivered Nevertheless, the limitations of time and the author’s capacity preclude it from discovering all the features available in the data Instead, only salient features relevant to the aims of the thesis are given focus on The paper also excludes paralinguistic (intonation, speed, loudness, etc.) and extra-linguistic (facial expression, eye contact, etc.) factors although the author is fully aware that they are important in conveying the speaker’s ideology This is a pure linguistic study and for academic purposes only The author does not express her own political view; nor is this study for or against any parties or to change any one’s political viewpoint subjects Therefore, analysts, with different subjects, should modify, or if possible, build, analytical frameworks to best fit with their research goals Implications The first implication is about the important role of CDA in social life Its increasing crucial role is marked with the employment of mass media in spreading the information in social, political and economic contexts When investigating the political discourse, critical awareness of the readers is required in order to understand the socio-political and historical context Critical attitude will be of benefit in order to demystify the presuppositions of the speaker, thus facilitating and shortening the process of profoundly grasping the discourse Another implication is that doing a CDA actually entails possessing a right to make judgment as to one’s own relationship dominant modes of social practice, whether one wishes to conform it or not The widespread understanding of critical language analysis and the power relations hidden in the language can contribute considerably to a more informed, critical awareness of the realities of the social order, which eventually helps bring a more equal society Besides, as stated earlier, one of my desires when carrying out this study is to draw out some useful applications of CDA in English education, and in language education in general First of all, the teaching of language awareness should be paid at least equal attention as the teaching of language itself The language education should focus more on raising the learners’ awareness of language’s role in discovering the dominance of some people shaped by power relations, since this awareness is the essential key to the steps to resist and change existing unequal social situations 38 Another implications is, as Fairclough (2001) states, there is an intimate relationship between the development of people critical awareness of language and the development of their own language capabilities and practices, such reflexive work would involve learners and teachers in analysis of and possibly change their own practices, as speakers and listeners (and viewers), writers and readers Therefore, as an effective way of improving language capacities, doing critical analysis (critical thinking, critical reading, and critical writing) should be employed and taken advantages of Limitations and suggestions for further studies In addition to the research’s unavoidable subjectivity mentioned previously, due to the researcher’s limited ability and time, many potential aspects of the speech remain under cover To gain a thorough comprehension of all ideology and power hidden in the speech, deeper and broader analysis is required This study modestly serves as a novel exploration into the case, and follow are some suggestions for further studies First, researchers can analyze the speech in light of its connection with the speech series that Bush has made on the issue of September 11 attacks Comparison and contrast of these speeches potentially reveal interesting things about strategies used, and ideology and power implied by the speaker Another recommendation is the investigation into other textual aspects of the speech, such as transitivity and thematization, in connections with nonverbal cues like voice, tone, and facial expressions 39 REFERENCES Corson, D (2000) Emancipatory leadership: International Journal of Leadership in Education, (2), 93-120 Fairclough, Norman (1989) Language and Power London: Longman Fairclough, N (1995) Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language New York: Longman Fairclough, N (1998) The Conversationalisation of Political Discourse: A Comparative View In J Blommaert and C Bulcaen (eds) Political linguistics, 89121 Fairclough, N (2001) Language and Power (2nd edition) London: Longman Fairclough, N., & Wodak, R (1997) Critical discourse analysis In T van Dijk (ed.) Discourse as social interaction London: Sage, 258-284 Fowler, R and B Hodge (1979) Critical linguistics In R Fowler et al (eds.) Language and Control London: Routledge and Keegan Paul, 185-213 Graauwmans, V (2001) Geopolitical discourses of the Bush administration after 9/11 Nijmegen: Radboud University Halliday, M.A.K (1985) Introduction to Functional Grammar London: Edward Arnold 10 Hall, S (1977) Culture, the Media and the Ideological Effect In Mass Communication and Society London: Edward Arnol, 321-322 11 Hsieh, H F., & Shannon, S E (2005) Three approaches to qualitative content analysis In Qualitative health research.15 (9), 1277-1288 12 Hymes, D.H (1972) On Communicative Competence In J.B Pride and J Holmes (eds) Sociolinguistics: Selected Readings Harmondsworth: Penguin, 269-293 13 Kress, G (1990) Critical Discourse Analysis In Annual Review of Anthropology Vol.11, 84-97 14 Kress, G., & Hodge, R (1979) Language as Ideology London: Routledge & Kegan Paul 15 Labov, W (1972) Language in the Inner City Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press 40 16 Meyerhoff, M (2006) Introducing Sociolinguistics London and New York: Routledge 17 Meyer, M.; Wodak, R (2001) Methods of text and discourse analysis London: Sage 18 Peker, E (2006) Following 9/11: George W Bush Discursive Re-Articulation of American Social Identity Sweden: University of Linkoping 19 Reyes Rodríguez, A (2006) Speeches and declarations: a war of words Revista alicantina de estudios ingleses, 365-86 20 Sarfo, E., & Krampa, E A (2013) Language at War: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Speeches of Bush and Obama on Terrorism International J Soc Sci & Education, 21 Scollon, R (2001) Mediated Discourse: The Nexus of Practice London: Routledge 22 Simpson, P (1993) Language, Ideology, and Point of view London: Routledge 23 Zheng, T (2000) Characteristics of Australian Political Language Rhetoric: Tactics of gaining public support and shirking responsibility Australia: University of Tasmania 24 Viberg, B (2011) In the Name of Freedom-A Critical Discourse Analysis of the political discourse in the inaugural speeches of George W Bush and Barack H Obama from a postcolonial perspective Rapport nr SPL kandidatuppsats i engelska SPL, 2011-052 25 Van Dijk, T.A (1977) Text and context Explorations in the semantics and pragmatics of discourse London: Longman 26 Van Dijk, T.A (1993) Principles of critical discourse analysis In Discourse & Society London: Sage, 249-283 27 Van Dijk , T.A (1985) Prejudice in Discourse Amsterdam: Benjamins 28 Van Dijk, T.A (1998) Ideology: A multidisciplinary study London: Sage 29 Van Dijk, T.A (1998b) Opinions and Ideologies in the Press In Bell, Allan and Peter Garrett (Eds.) Approaches to Media Discourse Oxford: Blackwell, 61-63 30 Van Dijk, T.A (2003) Multidisciplinary CDA: a plea for diversity In Wodak, Ruth (Ed.) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis London: Sage, 96 41 31 Wareing, S (2004) What is language and what does it do? In L, Thomas (eds), Language, society, and power New York: Routledge, 8-16 32 Webber, J (1992) Critical Analysis of Fiction: Essays in Discourse Stylistics Amsterdam: Rodopi 33 Whitney, G (2003) September 11 & George W Bush: The drama of the presidency Retrieved from National Review website: http://www.nationalreview.com 34 Widdowson, H G (1995) Discourse analysis: a critical view Language and Literature (3), 157-72 35 Wodak, R (2001) The discourse-historical approach In R.Wodak; M.Meyer (eds.) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis London: Sage, 63-94 36 Wodak, R (2002) Critical Discourse Analysis In D, Schiffrin (eds) Handbook in Discourse Analysis Oxford: Blackwells, 352-371 37 Wodak, R & Ludwig, Ch (ed.) (1999) Challenges in a changing world: Issues in Critical Discourse Analysis Vienna: Passagenverlag 38 Wodak, Ruth (Ed.) (2002) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis London: Sage, 96 42 APPENDIX 1: LIST OF QUESTIONS AND SUB-QUESTIONS SUGGESTED BY NORMAN FAIRCLOUGH IN DOING CDA A Vocabulary What experiential values words have? What classification schemes are drawn upon? Are there words which are ideologically contested? Is there rewording or overwording? What ideologically significant meaning relations (synonymy, hyponymy, and antonymy) are there between words? What relational values words have? Are there euphemistic expressions? Are there markedly formal or informal words? What expressive values words have? What metaphors are used? B Grammar What experiential values grammatical features have? What types of process and participants predominate? Is agency unclear? Are processes what they seem? Are normalizations used? Are sentences active or passive? Are sentences positive or negative? What relational values grammatical features have? What modes (declarative, grammatical question, imperative) are used? Are there important features of relational modality? Are the pronouns we and you used and if so, how? I What expressive values grammatical features have? Are there important features of expressive modality? How are (simple) sentences linked together? What logical connectors are used? Are complex sentences characterized by coordination or/ subordination? What means are used for referring inside and outside the text? C Textual structures What interactional conventions are used? Are there ways in which one participant controls the turns of others? 10 What larger scale structures does the text have? II APPENDIX 2: GEORE BUSH’S SPEECH ON THE SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS (ADDRESS TO THE NATION ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001) (1)Good evening (2)Today our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts (3)The victims were in airplanes or in their offices: secretaries, business men and women, military and Federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors (4)Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror (5)The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger (6)These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our Nation into chaos and retreat, but they have failed (7)Our country is strong (8)A great people has been moved to defend a great nation (9)Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America (10)These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve (11)America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world (12)And no one will keep that light from shining (13)Today our Nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature (14)And we responded with the best of America, with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could (15)Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our Government's emergency response plans (16)Our military is powerful, and it's prepared (17)Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington, DC, to help with local rescue efforts III (18)Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks (19)The functions of our Government continue without interruption (20)Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening for essential personnel tonight and will be open for business tomorrow (21)Our financial institutions remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business as well (22)The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts (23)I've directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice (24)We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them (25)I appreciate so very much the Members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks (26)And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and assistance (27)America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism (28)Tonight I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened (29)And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me" (30)This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace (31)America has stood down enemies before, and we will IV so this time (32)None of us will ever forget this day (33)Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world (34)Thank you Good night, and God bless America V APPENDIX 3: LIST OF QUESTIONS FOLOWING ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK I VOCABULARY What power and ideology the author tried to express through the use of the lexical terms (the construction of in-group and out-group)? How the use of lexical items (the construction of in-group and out-group) reveals author’s power and ideology? II GRAMMAR How are voices used in the speech? Are there more active or passive voice sentences in the speech? In which cases each voice are used In case of passive voice is used, is there any hidden agents? How are personal pronouns used in the speech? What are the personal pronouns used in the speech? For what purposes are these pronouns used? Is there any indirect reference of the personal pronouns used in the speech? III MACROSTRUCTURE What larger scale structure does the text have? Is there any technique used by the author to regulate the way his targeted audience receive ideas in the speech? VI APPENDIX 4: LIST OF LEXICAL ITEMS FOR IN-GROUP AND OUT-GROUP IN-GROUP LINE OUT-GROUP LINE unyielding A series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts Strong, a great people, a great nation 9, 10 Evil, despicable acts of terror Foundation of America 11 Acts of mass murder Steel of American resolve 12 failed The brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world 13 cannot 12 Light, shining 14 Evil, the very worst of human nature 15 The best of America, daring, caring, give blood and helps 16, 17 Evil acts 28 strong 27 terrorists 31 USES OF ‘I’ LINE RELATED CONTENTS I implemented 19 Mention the prompt reactions to the attacks 32 Thank the world leaders and the Congress I’ve directed I appreciate VII me 33 On behalf of American people, I thank 34 I ask for your prayers 37 And I pray 39 In quotation :I walk through…, I fear no evil 40, 41 Call for solidarity and prayers for the victims VIII APPENDIX 5: LIST OF PRONOUNS OCCURENCES USES OF ‘WE’ & REFERENCES OF ‘WE’ LINE Our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom Filled us with disbelief Our Nation, Our country, Our biggest buildings 8,9, 10 America 11 America resolve, America 12 Our Nation, we 15 America, our rescue workers 16 Our Government’s emergency response plan, our military, our emergency team, our first priority 19,20 Our Government 24 Our financial institutions 26 American economy 27 Full resources of our intelligent 29 We will make no distinction 30 Declare the doctrine toward terrorism America and our friends and allies, we 35,36 Thanks the Congress and world leaders Americans from every walk of 42 Call for solidarity and show RELATED CONTENTS Address the issue: the construction of in-group and out-group List reactions of the Government towards the attacks IX life determination America, we 43 None of us, we 44 America 46 X ...VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VI THỊ BẢO THOA A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF GEORGE BUSH’S SPEECH ON SEPTEMBER. .. negative? What relational values grammatical features have? What modes (declarative, grammatical question, imperative) are used? Are there important features of relational modality? Are the pronouns... macro-structurally, realized in Bush’s speech after September 11 attacks? Research approach This paper draws on Critical Discourse Analytical framework This resolve is made in consideration of CDA’s concern