A speech act analysis of selected presidential inaugural addresses in the 4th republic of Ghana

Abstract

With the establishment of democratic cultures in Africa, the need for a deeper appreciation and application of the communicative functions (as the fundamental principles of rhetoric) which the linguistic choices of a political speaker are able to generate within a particular social context is not only essential but also critical. This study explores the illocutionary acts performed in Presidential Inaugural Addresses (PIAs) by some Ghanaian presidents of the 4th republic and their intended communicative effects on the audience. It also investigates the indicators that give rise to these acts. This is a qualitative study which adopts an exploratory design. The sample speeches used are President J. E. A. Mills’ 2009 inaugural speech and President Mahama’s 2013 inaugural speech. Rooted in Austin’s (1962) and Searle’s (1969) Speech Act Theory, four out of the five classes of illocutionary speech acts delineated by Searle are significant in the speeches. They include assertives (60.89%), commissives (20.51%), expressives (11.54%) and directives (7.05%) of the total data. The study concludes that Presidential Inaugural Speeches (PIAs) are characterized by dominant performing of assertives and no declaratives. These illocutionary acts are used to depict past, present and future situations in the country and to inspire public confidence in the governments. The acts are indicated by the interplay of the time, the mood and the subject of the verb phrase of the proposition and the use of performative verbs. The study has implications for literature on African political speeches in general and particularly, presidential speeches. It also has implications for the Speech Act Theory.