Abstract:
One of the unique features associated with Kofi Annan, a global icon, is his
language use. By adopting a systemic functional linguistic approach, this study
investigated the interpersonal language choices in his diplomatic speeches.
The study, specifically investigated mood, modality and polarity, and personal
pronouns and vocative address. To accomplish this purpose, the first speech he
delivered when he was elected into office as the Secretary-General (SG) and
his final speech he delivered to end his tenure in office as SG were selected
from the reliable website of the United Nations. Employing qualitative
document analysis, specifically the directed and summative approaches, the
study provided three key findings. The first key finding concerned the
dominant use of Declarative Mood choice as a system for information
dissemination. The second key finding concerned the use of modal verbs and
negative polar markers to mainly indicate the speaker‘s commitment to the
truth value of propositions. The third key finding concerned the use of the first
and second person personal pronouns (in both the singular and plural forms) to
indicate the speaker/addressee roles in the speech situations; and vocative
addresses expressed observation of diplomatic protocols as well. The study
provides empirical support for SFL theory and equally has implications for the
scholarship on interpersonality and diplomatic practice.
