Discourse analysis of Swahili Political speeches

Abstract

This study attempted an understanding of political language in Kenya. It specifically focused on the problems Cohesion ,coherence and pragmatic meaning in selected texts of Swahili political speeches. To handle these disparate problems of Swahili discourse , we used the eclectic approach that comprised of Cohesion approach by Halliday and Hasan (1976) Topic Framework approach by Brown and Yule (1983) and the Implicative approach by Paul Grice (1975).This thesis is organized into six chapters. The first chapter is an introductory chapter. It treats introductory elements of this study i.e. introduction, statement of the problem, aims, rationale of the study, hypotheses, scope, literature review and finally methodology. The second chapter which deals with pragmatic meaning focuses on two rhetorical devices i.e. metaphor and rhetorical question. Although these two devices, metaphor and rhetorical question have been traditionally treated as figures of speech, we re-refocused on them as bases for pragmatic implicatures in specific discourse situations. The third chapter like the second chapter, deals with aspects of meaning. Some of the aspects treated include, dialogue, truth, politeness, honorifics etc. It has been demonstrated, in this chapter, that meaning in political speeches goes beyond the usual linguistic properties of an utterance in a context of situation. Politicians twist meanings to fit situations, their own expectations and the assumed needs of the audience. In this language game, politicians maintain a unique working relationship with not just the government of the day but also satisfy the emotional, and affective needs of their audiences. Meaning looks somewhat blurred and eclipsed but strong implications and undercurrents are expressed which the audience, given their contextual knowledge and cultural dispositions interpret easily. The f6tth chapter handles the question of topic coherence. The subtle concept of topic is treated to understand how topic functions as a coherence principle of Swahili texts in specific discourse domains. Utterances of various kind in a speech, it has been shown, are a strang to a fragment in a way that is highly principled and fairly predictable. Political speeches in Kenya show a high sense of topic coherence and signaling as speakers move from one par atone to another. The topic is therefore interpreted as a complex entity having a number of topic related elements contributing to . it. The fifth chapter treats cohesion from a Holidaying perspective. Aspects like substitution, ellipsis, reference, lexical and conjunction cohesion are investigated. In using cohesion approach to account for connectivity and linking it was evident that lexical cohesion and reference cohesion were the most salient and prevalent types in rally political speeches in Kenya. Lexical cohesion was more prevalent because of its clarity. Reference cohesion on the other hand was more favoured by speech animators because of economy in referring to other elements in a textual world. Cohesive elements in chaining both inter-sentential and intra-sentential elements create a configuration that expresses a clear semantic meaning. The last chapter is a conclusion. It offers a summary of this thesis and suggestion for further research. This study was field based. It used filmed data that was recorded by audio-visual equipment and was finally transcribed and analyzed focusing on specific aims.