Language, power and ideology: a critical discourse analysis of Jerry John Rawlings’ June 4 speeches

Abstract

With the insight from critical discourse analysis (CDA), there have been many attempts at revealing the ideology and power that reside in many discourses. As a result, there has been a keen interest in the study of political discourse, particularly presidential speeches. This study is intended to contribute to those studies in political discourse, specifically presidential speeches, by using CDA and Halliday’s transitivity to explore Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings’ June 4 speeches. The study has two objectives. The first objective is to explore the transitivity patterns of the June 4 speeches. The second objective examines the transitivity patterns associated with the key participants and how Rawlings uses that to enact power and ideology. The study shows that with respect to the transitivity patterns of the June 4 speeches, the material processes predominate. This indicates that presidential speeches reflect the actions and events of the political actors. As regards the ideology and power of the key participants, the patterns of transitivity demonstrate that the President exercises constitutional and legal powers while the opposition possesses destructive power that is detrimental to the state. The study demonstrates that the use of CDA and Halliday’s transitivity is able to reveal power and ideology that reside in texts. The study has implications for further research in Rawlings’ other speeches. ©University of Cape Coast