A critical discourse analysis of “Finest hour” speech of Sir Winston Churchill = Phân tích diễn ngôn phê phán bài phát biểu "Finest hour" của Sir Winston Churchill

Tóm tắt

Politicians and orators employ words as weapons in order to exert
 ideological control and make an audience believe something in an ostensive way. In
 this regard, this study attempted to discover the connection between language,
 power embraced in “Finest hour” speech by Sir Winston Churchill on June 18th
 ,
 1940, a crucial period for the outcome of the Second World War. Based on a brief
 overview of critical discourse analysis provided by Norman Fairclough, the study
 followed a framework with three stages: Description, Interpretation, and
 Explanation. It focused on the analysis of language features, the relationship
 between situational and intertextual context, and the discourse process and social
 process. The results obtained support the idea that Churchill's skillful use of
 language is closely connected with his overall political goals of instilling courage,
 inspiring confidence and spark the national pride in his fellow countrymen in such
 difficult times for Britain as those of war against powerful Nazi Germany, and the
 fascism in general.