Towards modelling the linguistic execution of communicative goals of political persuasion in selected presidential Covid-19 related speeches

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic triggered a significant surge in speeches from political leaders, aimed at persuading the public to adhere to strict social distancing measures to mitigate the spread of the virus. This study was designed to comprehensively model the linguistic execution of communicative goals of political persuasion in selected presidential Covid-19 related speeches. In this study, persuasion was analysed from communicative, linguistic, and pragmatic perspectives. The study aimed to shed light on how language was strategically employed during the pandemic to influence public behaviours and perspectives concerning Covid-19 as well as compliance with the recommended protocols. The primary focus of this study centred on the speeches delivered by three presidents: Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China, Donald Trump of the United States of America, and Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa. To achieve a comprehensive understanding of persuasion, the study employed theory triangulation, incorporating Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday, 1965) as the central framework operationalised through the Goals-Plans-Actions theory (Dillard, 1989), Speech Act theory (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1969), and Linguistic Propaganda Identification model (Maritz, 2009). Theory triangulation enabled a thorough comprehension of the communicative goals, elements of persuasion, and strategies of persuasion used by the three presidents in their Covid-19 related speeches. In addition, it highlighted that persuasion is multi-faceted. Therefore, exploring it accordingly from an interdisciplinary theoretical framework brings to the fore a tapestry of interlinked components; one weave reinforcing the other. Modelling this intricate interplay of goals, elements and strategies set this thesis apart from other studies conducted on persuasion, Covid-19 related communication and presidential speech styles. The study’s methodology embraced an interpretivist qualitative paradigm, amalgamating theory triangulation and discourse-textual analysis. Data for the study was drawn from purposively sampled fifteen (15) speeches, to map the linguistic traits of persuasion while striving for data saturation through an inductive logical approach. The data analysis process involved a thorough two-staged examination of the sampled speeches, employing a manual close-reading and ATLAS.ti software analysis techniques. During the analysis, a provisional model specifically designed for this study served as a comprehensive checklist for identifying communicative goals, elements of persuasion, and strategies of persuasion. This model was developed based on an extensive review of the literature pertaining to persuasion in the context of political discourse. Stringent ethical considerations were accurately addressed, including requisite approvals from pertinent committees. The central finding of the study spotlights the prevalence of primary and secondary communicative goals within presidential Covid-19 speeches, accentuating calculated endeavours to achieve persuasive outcomes. These goals were strategically deployed to sway public attitudes and conduct towards Covid-19, thereby manifesting a nuanced interplay between primary and secondary goals, and their consequential impact on the elements and strategies of persuasion. This implies that primary goals guide cognitive processes in encoding and retrieval, while secondary goals set boundaries for linguistic and communicative choices to initiate and maintain social action. Subsequent in-depth analyses revealed a comprehensive spectrum of communicative, linguistic, and pragmatic elements of persuasion that were adroitly harnessed by the three presidents to mold public perceptions and attitudes during the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, communicative strategies of persuasion emerged as particularly conspicuous, succeeded by pragmatic and linguistic strategies of persuasion. Ultimately, the study culminated in the reconstruction of the provisional model, resulting in the development of a comprehensive model that guides the linguistic execution of communicative goals in the context of political persuasion. The resultant comprehensive model integrates six intricate categories: message, elements of persuasion, strategies of persuasion, communicative goals, goal influence factors, and the theoretical properties of persuasion. This model augments the comprehension of how linguistic constituents were wielded in the domain of political persuasion against the backdrop of Covid-19-related presidential speeches. The study underscores the perpetual significance of the message as the central conduit for persuasion, encompassing linguistic tools to mold attitudes, convictions, and behaviours of the targeted audience. While acknowledging its groundbreaking contributions, the resultant comprehensive model is acknowledged to be context-bound, bearing limitations concerning its extensibility to disparate political contexts and communicators. The study advocates adopting longitudinal approaches, comparative analyses, and quantitative methodologies to broaden the model’s scope and applicability. In its entirety, this thesis has advanced the boundaries of knowledge in linguistics, political communication, and crisis management, with practical implications for public health communication and governance during pandemics.