英国论坛
奥巴马演讲的修辞分析
The Rhetorical Analysis of Obama’s Speeches
Ⅰ.Introduction
In this era of globalization, communications between China and America are more frequent. It becomes significant for us to gain a deeper understanding of American presidents’ oratory. Obama serves as an example for us to study in this aspect.
Until now, most people have been studying his oratory mainly through either Chinese translations of his speeches or interpretations by the media. And these studies are conducted through perspectives which are by no means rhetorically informed. Considering the fact that what we are dealing with is political oratory, it is high time that the rhetorical perspective be introduced into the process of interpreting Obama’s political communication in its original context. Such a perspective will help us obtain a better approach to interpreting his oratory, and help us to understand history and culture of America.
Ⅱ. A Brief Introduction to Rhetoric
The choice of rhetoric is an important aspect of a speech. Rhetoric is the tools of the speaker’s craft. They have special uses, just like the tools of other professions. The choice of rhetoric has something to do with the speech style. Jonathan Swift said: use the right word in the right place. To use rhetoric correctly and exactly, one must analyze some important elements of rhetoric: the definition, the origination, the development, and the classification.
2.1. Definition of Rhetoric
The history of rhetoric is as long as the history of human civilization. Aristotle(384-322BC), the ancient Greek philosopher and esthetician considered to be the Hegel in the ancient world, wrote an epoch-making classical work Rhetoric expatiating on the art of rhetoric ,i.e. the art of influencing the thoughts of the audience and convincing the public in luxuriant language, or the art of delivering a successful speech. Rhetoric is not only the mark of the ancient Greek civilization, but also a fashion in the world today, an important segment inherited from generation by generation and inseparable from sociopolitical tussle, mercantile competition and daily communication.
The theory of rhetoric in English is rooted in the classical rhetoric in the ancient Rome and Greece. And THE RHETORIC by Aristotle is the most famous classic. Aristotle began his works with “The combination of rhetoric and dialectic… it’s used by almost everyone, because everyone attempts to discuss questions, to establish claim, to cover himself/herself, and to debate others”. The diversities of figures of speech make speech more impressive and moving.
2.2 Origination and Development
Language is one of the most important tools among human beings. When people are making social communication, they are not only make language clear, fluent, logical and grammatical, but also on the basis of these features, make language lively, accurate, laconic, vivid, incisive and touching, so that the effect can be expressed the best. Therefore, human beings make full use of all kinds of factors of language, also make them into effect, correctly choose language strategies, and keep an adjusting, manufacturing, and decorating. Thus, rhetoric devices come into being.
Rhetoric was at the center of the educational process in Western Europe for some 2000 years. Traditionally, rhetoric referred to the systematic study of oratory. It applied to the principles of training communicators of all kinds, especially orators for debate, in classical Greece and Rome. Therefore, it was also called “the art of persuasion” by Aristotle. Rhetoric was then taught to their citizens and was regarded as an important educational process. Every educated person was assumed to be able to use rhetoric as a skill. People with excellent performance of public speaking were usually revered. Among the classical orators in that era, Demosthenes (384-322B.C.) and Cicero (106-43B.C.) gained the greatest reputations.
Then, why is rhetoric used? Rhetoric in speech aims at increasing vividness of language. Vivid language can arouse the audience’s interest, hold their attention and enhance their comprehension with imagery and leave the audience with fresh impression.
2.3 Classification of Rhetoric
So, we know that rhetoric is a kind of art which deals with how to manipulate language effectively.
The scope of rhetoric is very large, so does the concerned thing that it leads to. There is a saying: There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes. So different people have different opinions of rhetoric. They can definite rhetoric from different angles, but they all reflect the essence of rhetoric. We know from those definitions above: rhetoric is the art, which takes advantage of language so effectively that it can express the meanings and feelings vividly.
It is difficult to classify something. Take the classification of rhetoric for example. There are a wide variety of rhetoric uses. Here, we mainly see two different types of rhetoric in larger sense, linguistic Rhetorical use and Non-linguistic Rhetorical use.
Linguistic rhetoric is the rhetoric of linguistic in traditional meaning, including: tropes, euphemism, hyperbole, understatement, pun, allusion, alliteration, repetition, parallelism, antithesis and so on. And non-linguistic rhetoric is something out of traditional meanings, but they still have the same function as the rhetoric of linguistic, that is to make words more vivid, decorate sentences more beautiful, and let your speeches more expressive and attractive. In larger sense, it contained a lot, for example, control of rhythm, decorating of clothes, personal charm, body language, gestures.
Ⅲ. Non-linguistic Rhetorical Analysis in Obama’s Speech
Throughout the history, oration is full of humor and wit. By reading exquisite speeches, we could hear Churchill calling on the people to fight Hitler’s invasion, and we could feel the solicitude to humanity at Kennedy Inaugural Address, and we could see the foot steps of humankind from bravery to sense and freedom at last. I will analyze non-linguistic rhetoric of Obama’s speeches through examples of well known political speeches in three different aspects: Obamacharm; Obamanism; technical rhetoric in his speeches.
3.1 Obamacharm
In modern society, the blacks play a more and more important role, they contribute to the American history in every aspect, and there are a lot outstanding blacks, such as Condoleezza Rice, Michael Jordan, and Toni Morrison. Now, American president Obama is an outstanding one.
A lot of movies, mostly American movies, have such a scene: Aiming to set up a new and ideal life in the United States, people of various colors who came all the way from Europe and other parts of the world burst into exhilaration and excitement at the sight of the Statue of Liberty or World Trade Center Towers.
Obama is really a good example, featuring the maximum of individual freedom, the most advanced materials and the most fair and equal opportunities for everyone to succeed, to some degree, was a worldwide dream once for some time.
It is acknowledged that the United States is a country of immigrants, also a “Melting Pot” of immigrants’ culture. Obama’s father is a black from Kenya and his mother is a white from Kansas. Obama spent his childhood in Indonesia and juvenile in Hawaii. He graduated from Columbia University studying international political relations. After graduating from undergraduate, his first job was an organizer in the poorest communities in Chicago. And then he was admitted to the Harvard law school and became the first African-American editor-in-chief of “Harvard Law Review” in American history.
Obama is the first African-American president, and his success is strongly affected by American belief and American dream. It is true that, currently, the American Dream is seldom heard and mentioned through media, no matter at home or abroad. However, occasionally as we refer to it by chance, we might recall its glory as well as its holy history of the past days unselfconsciously with a strong admiration rising from the bottom of our hearts.
Then, what is Obamacharm? No money, no power, only a full heart of serving people and a smart mind can make his career as a politician become an asset in the future. His African ancestry made him have more sense of responsibility and allowed him to be more concerned about the blacks and the disadvantaged groups of society.
Obama is young and talented. What is more, his excellent eloquence has attracted many supporters. His speeches are so inspiring that every time they listened the audiences become aroused.
It is Obama’s unusual international background that becomes a part of his appeal. We can learn his background from Obama’s autobiography. Obama has crossed the “race” and “borders”, with the elements of international people. Some of his unique charm comes from different ethnics and cultures which are blending in his blood. As we know, Obama’s mother is a white from Kansas and his father is a black Muslim from Kenya, so he was born of mixed blood at the crossroads of Hawaii culture. He spent his childhood four years at his stepfather’s hometown Indonesia and received elite education in the United States. He first studied in Columbia University in New York and then in Harvard University and got a Doctor’s degree of laws. He used to be the first African-American editor-in-chief of the famous “Harvard Laws Review” and meanwhile the social worker and the street organizer of the most unstable community in Chicago. A series of complex contradictories brought Obama the characteristics of the blacks and the whites and mixed the influence of a few of cultures and deeply rooted the different ideas of the Christianity and Islam on him.
Obamacharm reveals his strong spirit of “American belief”. Barack Obama can get American voters pro-gaze withered extraordinary personal charm, the important point is perhaps people from whom he realized the true spirit of “American belief”, can see the “Obamacharm”. At the same time, he also claims, regardless of race and factions, emphasizes on the ethnic solidarity, mutual efforts to achieve his personal success. Also, humility is an absolutely necessary part in Obamacharm, during the campaign; Obama gave people the feeling of being affable.
For hundreds of years, by continuous efforts, African-Americans have more and more influence on the United States society. As an old saying goes: Heroes come from turbulence time. Obama with his magical personal charm, become a lucky dog. If it were not for his self-effort without good luck, we are afraid that there is no way for him to the White House. Obama can be elected when the president of Bush was unpopular, as well as his personal charm.
In a word, Obama won the election by his talent, eloquence, as well as the influence of social environment and Obamacharm.
3.2 Obamanism
The 2008 United States presidential election ended. Obama became the first African-American president in the United States history. It reflected the United States being changing. This is a different time and meanings on history of American election. It will have profound effect on domestic politics and foreign policy in the United States. Some experts considered that Obama’s success is reasonable because he made a perfect weld between Obamanism and American belief. The American belief, a cultural phenomenon and heritage, ever was regarded as Americans’ never-dried-up spiritual resources by any standard. Thereby, it cultivated American ancestors’ excellent characteristics and mighty spirit. Also, the American Dream is a summation of the values and national spirit of the United States. Besides, it has a time-honored history and various meanings and it refers to every aspect of American policy, economy, culture, etc.
There were three most pressing problems waiting for the new president:
First, the economic depression is caused by the financial crisis in the U.S.
Second, how to improve the international image of the United States.
Third, how to answer the tough question and solve problem about two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The majority think that unipolar world has been or is being over. America must confront with the fact that some superpowers are arising and adopt appropriate coping strategies and decisions. With a “change” slogan, he made the results of the successful capture of a lot of supporters.
Then what is the Obamanism? It means a lot: change, peace, courage, democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope. Just like Obama answered on the beginning in his victory speech: if there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. Obama run the country to promote his ideas and political strategy, as well as freedom, equality, fraternity spirit. By winning the Nobel Peace Prize, he often referred to democracy, freedom, opportunity, unyielding hope, a new era of patriotism and a new sense of responsibility.
3.3 Technical Rhetoric
To convey his message, concepts and proposals, the President Obama is in want of using personal-pronouns as another property of speech words. The most frequently used personal pronouns are the first personal pronouns such as I (me) and we (us). Accurately speaking, the speakers repeat the first personal pronouns like we (us) and I (me) as constantly as possible to identify the speaker with the audience. The use of the first person pronoun is to shorten the distance between Obama and his fellow citizens, regardless of their disparity in age, social status and professions etc. So, the proper use of personal pronouns can obviously influence achievements of speech.
Obama’s speech video is full of body language. Body language is also called Kinesics, including gestures，body movements, facial expressions, touching, eye contact, and physical distance, etc. Getting body language is a very helpful way to communicate, especially for the communication between president and audience. For example:
Our financial institutions remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business as well. (Obama’s selected speech)
All of these statements were made to assure the audience that there was no need for them to be panic-stricken, and just trusted the government that would help them out. Besides, the deep-rooted beliefs of the Americans were also repeated, such as “freedom, opportunity, power, and peace”. (Obama’s selected speech)
From the video, we can see Obama made the audience ascertain that the Nation was still powerful, and asserted their cherished beliefs as well from the employment of body language.
Another tool Obama used is diplomatic language with integrity. It is very specific knowledge. We should learn how to distinguish and deal with it. We must be trustworthy if we hope our audience listen to and accept our speech. Of course, the trust on us comes from our reputation of reliability or integrity. So integrity is an essential quality for a good speaker. It is even more important than certain communication skills. A speaker, though eloquent, can not gain the audience’s positive response if he or she is doubtful. For example, a boastful speaker can not be believed even though he or she knows how to appeal to people’s emotions. In belief, public speeches should be based on morality; a successful speaker is supposed to be an honest person first. Let’s see sentences about diplomatic language in his speech:
However, the U.S. ties with that country can be traced back more distant past, dating back to the early American, George Washington organized the launching ceremony of the Queen, the ship successfully to the Qing Dynasty, Washington would like to see the boat go over the to forge new ties with China. Hope that China will open up new horizons, create new partnerships. In the subsequent two centuries, the history of our bilateral relations to a torrent in many different directions, but even in the most turbulent in the direction of our two peoples to build deep, and even dramatic ties, such as the Americans will never forget that during World War II, U.S. pilots shot down over China, the local people for their hospitality, Chinese citizens risked the danger of losing everything covered with them. (The President’s Town Hall in Shanghai)
The last technical rhetoric we should learn in Obama’s speech is: rhetorical sensitivity and understanding human diversity. Rhetorical sensitivity refers to speaker’s attitude toward or concern about their listeners. Successful speakers try to understand and respect their audience and cultivate strong sensitivity to the audience’s needs. In order to commit themselves to the audience, successful speakers try all means to center on the audience. For instance, speakers try to recognize the different backgrounds of the audience adjust their language and message according to the audience’s feedback, and so on. In doing this, however, they do not loose themselves. They would actively adapt themselves to the audience, rather than be passively subject to them. For example:
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it’s been done in America for 221 years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
Then how to understand human diversity? In principle, public speeches should be used by and for all people. They should not be a privilege of some population only. It serves people of different genders, races, nationalities, religions and so on. To be good public speakers necessitates the awareness of the diversity of human beings and tolerance of differences. As a speaker, we may find such awareness and tolerance helpful in deciding the purposes of our speech though it is easy said than done. So you should both consider your friends and enemies with your listeners.
Ⅳ. Rhetorical Analysis in Obama’s speech
There are many aspects for speakers to learn to make successful speeches in public, such as content, artistry, language, voice, fluency and gestures. The employment of rhetoric of speech can make the language more attractive and meaningful. However, the speaker must use them properly and correctly. It means we have to use proper rhetoric of speech in proper situations at proper time. In different situations, we have to use different rhetoric of speech to express our emotions and produce expected effects.
4.1 Tropes and Euphemism
Tropes mainly include simile and metaphor. Simile and metaphor are excellent ways to brighten the speech, to make the abstract ideas concrete, to clarity the unknown, and to express feelings and emotion.
Some examples of metaphors are as follows in Obama’s speech:
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can. She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can. A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, and a world was connected by our own science and imagination.
Comparing “bombs fell on our harbor” to “second world war when America was deliberately attacked by Japanese on Pearl Harbor”