Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches

Li Fengjie; Ren Jia; Zhang Yingying

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11

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Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches

Li Fengjie, Ren Jia, Zhang Yingying

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 4, Issue 4)

Received: 26 May 2016 Accepted: 14 June 2016 Published: 15 July 2016

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Abstract

A successful speech can not only spur loud applause of the audience but also enlighten them. Public speech is made to exert much influence on the public in a short time, thus achieving the speech-maker’s aim. Being one of the most powerful Presidents in the history of the United States, Obama has been asserting himself among the American people via his enthusiastic and infectious speech. There are many factors attributing to Obama’s success in speech, one of which is that he skillfully applies a variety of rhetorical devices in his various speeches. Therefore, it’s needed to analyze rhetorical devices and their effects in some of his speeches to provide reference for the people who want to make a brilliant speech. With language rhetoric of Neo-Aristotle rhetoric as the theoretical framework, this paper will study four of Obama’s speeches from the perspective of lexical devices, phonological devices and syntactical devices in order to explore the functions of applying these three categories of rhetorical devices. Seven rhetorical devices are to be discussed with regard to their applications and effects in Obama’s speeches. They are alliteration, simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, antithesis and parallelism. Finally, some suggestions on speech and rhetoric devices will be offered.

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 4, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11
Page(s)	141-146
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Public Speeches, Language Rhetoric, Semantic Device, Phonological Device, Syntactical Device

References

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[2]	Corbett, E. P. (1971). ‘Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student (2nd edition)’. New York: Oxford University Press.
[3]	Daniel, C. Sabine, K. Edward, J. S. John, et al. (2010). Start-up Rhetoric in Eight Speeches of Barack Obama. Journal of Psycho-linguistic Research, 395.
[4]	Funk and Wagnalls. (2014). "Pearl Harbor". Funk and Wagnalls new world encyclopedia.
[5]	Gove. (1981). Webster's Third New International Dictionary. The USA: G. & C. Merriam, 01.
[6]	Walter, D. (1913). "Parallelism". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
[7]	M. H. A, Geoffrey H. (1981). A Glossary of Literary Terms. Wadsworth Publishing.
[8]	N, R. C. (1983). ‘Oxford English Dictionary- synecdoche’, University of Pennsylvania: 2303-2304.
[9]	Sweet, Furnivall, Murray. (1989). The Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed. 1989. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[10]	Random, H. (2001). Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. Thunder Bay Press: 1509-1510.
[11]	Winterowd. (1965). W. R. Rhetoric and Writing. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
[12]	Huang Ren, An Introduction to English Rhetoric [M], Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Education Press, 1999.
[13]	Li Xiao, A Stylistic Analysis on Obama’s Victory Speech [J], The Journal of Hubei Economics Institute (Humanities and Social Sciences), 2009, 09: 122-123.
[14]	Zhang Li & Hu Mingxia, The Stylistic Analysis on the data retrieval to Obama’s Inaugural Speech [J], The Journal of Baicheng Normal Institute, 2009, 04: 48-52.
[15]	Zheng Lingling, The Analysis on Obama’s Two Inaugural Speeches from the Perspective of Neo-Aristotle’s Rhetoric, [D], An Hui University, 2014.

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APA Style

Li Fengjie, Ren Jia, Zhang Yingying. (2016). Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 4(4), 141-146. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11

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ACS Style

Li Fengjie; Ren Jia; Zhang Yingying. Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2016, 4(4), 141-146. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11

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AMA Style

Li Fengjie, Ren Jia, Zhang Yingying. Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches. Int J Lang Linguist. 2016;4(4):141-146. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11,
  author = {Li Fengjie and Ren Jia and Zhang Yingying},
  title = {Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {4},
  number = {4},
  pages = {141-146},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20160404.11},
  abstract = {A successful speech can not only spur loud applause of the audience but also enlighten them. Public speech is made to exert much influence on the public in a short time, thus achieving the speech-maker’s aim. Being one of the most powerful Presidents in the history of the United States, Obama has been asserting himself among the American people via his enthusiastic and infectious speech. There are many factors attributing to Obama’s success in speech, one of which is that he skillfully applies a variety of rhetorical devices in his various speeches. Therefore, it’s needed to analyze rhetorical devices and their effects in some of his speeches to provide reference for the people who want to make a brilliant speech. With language rhetoric of Neo-Aristotle rhetoric as the theoretical framework, this paper will study four of Obama’s speeches from the perspective of lexical devices, phonological devices and syntactical devices in order to explore the functions of applying these three categories of rhetorical devices. Seven rhetorical devices are to be discussed with regard to their applications and effects in Obama’s speeches. They are alliteration, simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, antithesis and parallelism. Finally, some suggestions on speech and rhetoric devices will be offered.},
 year = {2016}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches
AU  - Li Fengjie
AU  - Ren Jia
AU  - Zhang Yingying
Y1  - 2016/07/15
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 141
EP  - 146
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11
AB  - A successful speech can not only spur loud applause of the audience but also enlighten them. Public speech is made to exert much influence on the public in a short time, thus achieving the speech-maker’s aim. Being one of the most powerful Presidents in the history of the United States, Obama has been asserting himself among the American people via his enthusiastic and infectious speech. There are many factors attributing to Obama’s success in speech, one of which is that he skillfully applies a variety of rhetorical devices in his various speeches. Therefore, it’s needed to analyze rhetorical devices and their effects in some of his speeches to provide reference for the people who want to make a brilliant speech. With language rhetoric of Neo-Aristotle rhetoric as the theoretical framework, this paper will study four of Obama’s speeches from the perspective of lexical devices, phonological devices and syntactical devices in order to explore the functions of applying these three categories of rhetorical devices. Seven rhetorical devices are to be discussed with regard to their applications and effects in Obama’s speeches. They are alliteration, simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, antithesis and parallelism. Finally, some suggestions on speech and rhetoric devices will be offered.
VL  - 4
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Li Fengjie

Foreign Languages Department, School of Humanities, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, Tianjin, China
Ren Jia

The Department of Linguistics and Translation, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Zhang Yingying

Foreign Languages Department, School of Humanities, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, Tianjin, China

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Li Fengjie, Ren Jia, Zhang Yingying. (2016). Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 4(4), 141-146. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11

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ACS Style

Li Fengjie; Ren Jia; Zhang Yingying. Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2016, 4(4), 141-146. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Li Fengjie, Ren Jia, Zhang Yingying. Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches. Int J Lang Linguist. 2016;4(4):141-146. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11,
  author = {Li Fengjie and Ren Jia and Zhang Yingying},
  title = {Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {4},
  number = {4},
  pages = {141-146},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20160404.11},
  abstract = {A successful speech can not only spur loud applause of the audience but also enlighten them. Public speech is made to exert much influence on the public in a short time, thus achieving the speech-maker’s aim. Being one of the most powerful Presidents in the history of the United States, Obama has been asserting himself among the American people via his enthusiastic and infectious speech. There are many factors attributing to Obama’s success in speech, one of which is that he skillfully applies a variety of rhetorical devices in his various speeches. Therefore, it’s needed to analyze rhetorical devices and their effects in some of his speeches to provide reference for the people who want to make a brilliant speech. With language rhetoric of Neo-Aristotle rhetoric as the theoretical framework, this paper will study four of Obama’s speeches from the perspective of lexical devices, phonological devices and syntactical devices in order to explore the functions of applying these three categories of rhetorical devices. Seven rhetorical devices are to be discussed with regard to their applications and effects in Obama’s speeches. They are alliteration, simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, antithesis and parallelism. Finally, some suggestions on speech and rhetoric devices will be offered.},
 year = {2016}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Analysis of the Rhetorical Devices in Obama’s Public Speeches
AU  - Li Fengjie
AU  - Ren Jia
AU  - Zhang Yingying
Y1  - 2016/07/15
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 141
EP  - 146
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160404.11
AB  - A successful speech can not only spur loud applause of the audience but also enlighten them. Public speech is made to exert much influence on the public in a short time, thus achieving the speech-maker’s aim. Being one of the most powerful Presidents in the history of the United States, Obama has been asserting himself among the American people via his enthusiastic and infectious speech. There are many factors attributing to Obama’s success in speech, one of which is that he skillfully applies a variety of rhetorical devices in his various speeches. Therefore, it’s needed to analyze rhetorical devices and their effects in some of his speeches to provide reference for the people who want to make a brilliant speech. With language rhetoric of Neo-Aristotle rhetoric as the theoretical framework, this paper will study four of Obama’s speeches from the perspective of lexical devices, phonological devices and syntactical devices in order to explore the functions of applying these three categories of rhetorical devices. Seven rhetorical devices are to be discussed with regard to their applications and effects in Obama’s speeches. They are alliteration, simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, antithesis and parallelism. Finally, some suggestions on speech and rhetoric devices will be offered.
VL  - 4
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download