Abstract:
This study is a critical discourse analysis of three selected speeches of President Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The analysis is situated in Fairclough’s triadic model for
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Thompson’s modes of ideology. A CDA of the
speeches revealed how the speeches reflect prevailing societal issues such as respect
for systems and structures of authority, responsibility, Pan- Africanism, total
independence, patriotism, the Ghanaian identity and rules and expectations of
government. Power relations were exhibited in the speeches through the use of modal
auxiliary verbs such as must, will, should and shall. The findings confirm language as
an embodiment of ideological dimensions and power relations. The study also reveals
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as reinforcing the ideologies of the New Patriotic
Party through the three speeches from various perspectives. The study recommends a
critical use of language as a form of power to assert a person’s ideologies through public
discourse.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Communication and Media Studies, Faculty
of Foreign Languages Education and Communication, submitted to the School of
Graduate Studies, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Communication and Media Studies)
in the University of Education, Winneba
JULY, 2020
