ISSN (Print): 2502-7069; ISSN (Online): 2620-8326

Critical Discourse Analysis of Barack Obama Speech

Dwi Martika, Mahyuni, Atri Dewi Azis*
English Education Study Program, FKIP, University of Mataram, Indonesia
*Corresponding Author: atridewi@unram.ac.id

Article History Abstract: Critical Discourse Analysis is often applied to analyze political
Received : May 09th, 2022 discourse including public speaking. The analysis of this thesis is based on a
Revised : May 26th, 2022 theory of CDA and its analysis methods which were represented by Thomas N.
Accepted : June 24th, 2022 Huckin. Whereas the discussion used the descriptive qualitative research method
which deals with data that are in the form of words, rather than statistics and
attempts to arrive at a rich description of something systematically. It starts by
analyzing some features in the text as a whole. Then, it is continued by analyzing
some features at sentence-level and word levels. Since it is a critical discourse,
therefore those features are analyzed critically. In a fact, it is found a deficiency
in analyzing each feature based on the speech of Obama. The last is by doing
contextual interpretation; it is summarized what language expression is used by
Obama to uncover power and ideology. The interpretation is also based on the
results from the two previous analyses. The result shows that CDA can explore
the relationships between language, power, and ideology. Through the language
used, it can be known the strength of power and the purpose of the speaker,
which the power is strongly felt, and the ideology is seen as well as
understandable.

Keywords: critical discourse analysis, ideology, language, power.

INTRODUCTION inauguration ceremony at the Washington DC

building. Barack Obama’s speech contains
Speech, or rather the use of oral language, several views related to the vision and mission in
is the main means by which we communicate, the next five years tenure. Therefore, Barack
create community, and promote diversity (Faiz, Obama‘s speech is very interesting to study in
2017). In giving speech, especially speeches terms of ideology and power. Based on the
delivered by political figures and head of states background, the purpose of this study is to find
like Obama, it is very conditional on interest, elements of ideology and power contained in
whether is personal interest, group or community Barack Obama’s speech through analysis of
interests. To make a speech means to produces language expression based on the theory of
language or discourse which can then be Thomas N. Huckin.
interpreted by the listeners. The language In essence, discourse is a study of
produce by Obama certainly has a function, language, both in the form of words, clauses,
which is more from the communicative function, phrases, sentence and even the discourse itself.
for example the persuasive function, because the The critical discourse analysis does not only look
language is neutral or not depends on who is the at the level of words, phrases, clauses, and
speaker. sentence, but rather at elements outside the
Discourse analysis in this study focuses on discourse itself. Critical discourse analysis is a
the text of Barack Obama’s speech which common approach in analysing written and
delivered at his second presidential inauguration. spoken texts, starting from critical linguistics,
Besides that, Barack Obama as president must critical semiotics and generally can be seen from
also be viewed as a ruler who has his own power socio-political studies which are investigated
and ideology. This is in line with what Fairclough through language, discourse and communication
(2003) says about the relationship between (Van Dijk, 1995). The critical discourse analysis
discourse and ideology and power. referred to Van Dijk does not only focus on
The focus of this study is to examine the analysis linguistic text but also in other aspect
ideology and power contained in the Barack such as social practices that shape the discourse.
Obama’s speech text delivered at his
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29303/jipp.v7i2c.659

There are some features of CDA such This sentence containing connotation can
notion as power, dominance, hegemony, be seen from the use of word “to bridge”, where
ideology, class, gender, race, discrimination, the word “to bridge” refers to figure of speech.
'social structure or social order. So the basic Why president Obama use the word “to bridge”?.
notion in CDA is differentiation or inequality. Based on the statement before “we hold these
CDA takes a particular interest in the relationship truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
between language and power (Fairclough, 1989; equal; that they are endowed by their Creator
Wodak, 2001). with certain unalienable rights; that among these
The assumption of Critical Discourse are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ The
Analysis (CDA) is language not just a tool of meaning of that sentence is that God gives us so
communication, but behind the language there is much grace for us as a provision to continuous
already ideology that language is used as an this life. How do we maintain the trust that has
instrument of power can even be a tool of been given by God for us to use it properly? The
oppression. Thus, language, power, and ideology expression “to bridge” is used by Obama is aimed
can be seen from the usage to the social problem to make the audience catch the meaning easily.
which is going on at that time and to the social Based on the speech quote above this study
power which is trying to influence the ideology focuses on analysing the language expression
of the community to become closer to something used in the speech of Barack Obama covering the
desire by the speaker. word choice the expression and the style of
As an illustration above, this study using language such as genre, framing, foregrounding,
Barack Obama’s speech, it shows that there are 3 modal, connotation, presupposition, omission,
elements that we should analyse that is language, insinuation, register, and modal to uncover power
power, and ideology, and then will be explained and ideology which contained in his speech
one by one through example. The following are through perspective of Critical Discourse
the example of analysis language, power, and, Analysis.
ideology of Barrack Obama’s inauguration
speech. The language is used by Obama is a type METHODS
of Argumentative text, he elaborates his view
about a problem, display a factual data to The analysis of this paper is based on the
convince the audience by way of analysing. The CDA theory and analysis method represented by
power is showed through the use of modal and Thomas N. Huckin. The discussion uses
tenor of register, for example such as the descriptive qualitative research methods, which
following Obama’s speech, “We must take hard deal with data in the form of words, rather than
choices to reduce the cost of health care and the statistical data, and try to systematically describe
size of our deficit”. This sentence contains the things in a rich manner. It first analyzes some
modal “must” which identify the strength of the features in the text as a whole. Then, continue to
sentence. analyze some features at the sentence level and
The word “must” denotes necessity and word level. Since it is a critical discourse, these
certainty. While Ideology can viewed from the characteristics are critically analyzed.
analysis of presupposition, insinuation, register The data of this thesis was in term of script
(field), and connotation. Ideology simply means which is taken place in Capitol Hill, American
a perspective for social subjects to perceive and Congress Building in Washington DC, January
interact with their immediate social environment 20, 2013. The script of the speech was in an
(Williamson, 1978). Here is the example of article which taken from a blog on the internet
ideology that contain in Barrack Obama’s named politico.com.
speech. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, In analyzing the data, the researcher used
that all men are created equal; that they are some steps according to Huckin’s theory. These
endowed by their Creator with certain steps were as follows:
unalienable rights; that among these are life, 1. Reading the Obama’s speech in The
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” Today we Politico.com about the second inaugural
continue a never-ending journey to bridge the address.
meaning of those words with the realities of our 2. Classifying the data indicating three CDA
time”. methods of Huckin.
3. Making a conclusion of the analysis

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29303/jipp.v7i2c.659

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION social function of Obama's speech can be

considered to be less explicit, because there is
1. Genre another goal in mind.
After reading the speech's text, it is clear Statement of position is the beginning
that the text is an argumentative text with a social process of the argumentative text's schematic
function of presenting a point of view regarding structure. In this part, we convey our viewpoint
the United States' future goal of equality, justice, and position in the text, as well as how we
and freedom. It may be seen more clearly in the approach the material we are analyzing. The
headline and a passage in Obama's speech text, thesis statement is outlined in the following
which reads as follows: paragraph, which is derived from Barack
Each time we gather to inaugurate a Obama's speech data:
President we bear witness to the enduring Each time we gather to inaugurate a
strength of our Constitution. We affirm the President we bear witness to the enduring
promise of our democracy. We recall that what strength of our Constitution. We affirm the
binds this nation together is not the colors of our promise of our democracy. We recall that what
skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our binds this nation together is not the colors of our
names. What makes us exceptional — what skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our
makes us American — is our allegiance to an idea names. What makes us exceptional — what
articulated in a declaration made more than two makes us American — is our allegiance to an idea
centuries ago:“We hold these truths to be self- articulated in a declaration made more than two
evident, that all men are created equal; that they centuries ago: “We hold these truths to be self-
are endowed by their Creator with certain evident, that all men are created equal; that they
unalienable rights; that among these are life, are endowed by their Creator with certain
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. unalienable rights; that among these are life,
The core subject of Obama's speech is to liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.
give a point of view regarding the United States' As shown in the previous sentence, that
vision for the future related to equality, justice, statement gave the people the impression that
and freedom by producing sustainable resources, they were gathered for a reason, and that possible
as shown by the headline of his speech above. explanation was highly important in that they
Obama continued his speech by greeting the were witnessing the president's inauguration.
audience as "fellow citizens" and telling them Furthermore, Barack Obama states in the
that they're well and listening to the issue; he previous sentence that what connects American
recognized the significance of their presence by citizens is not the colour of their skin, the beliefs
saying: "Each time we join to inaugurate a of their creed, or the origins of their names, but
President, we bear witness to the enduring rather the dedication to an idea that slowed more
strength of our Constitution". Obama was able to than two centuries ago. The first paragraphs of
gain the audience's attention and attention in this his speech cover a whole content of the
fashion back at the beginning of his speech. His inauguration speech. The overall Barack
statement conveyed to the audience that they Obama’s speech above is a main discussion or a
would have gathered for a goal, and that theme used as a basic to analyse the next speech.
explanation was very significant, as they were The second part of the argumentative text's
watching the president's inaugural. schematic structure is the argument. It is
Obama gave an inauguration speech as the sometimes supported by evidence. The
re-elected president, and according to text of part arguments are shown in most of President
of the speech above. He didn't need to offer a long Obama's speech's sentences, that are mentioned
introduction to get attention of the people and below. He presents a point of view about the
sympathize with him. He didn't need to vision of United States in the future that is he
appreciate the former president for his services. calls for equality, and freedom.
After reading his entire speech, Obama not only “Each time we gather to inaugurate a
gives his point of view on equality, justice, and President we bear witness to the enduring
freedom, but he also tries to convince all readers strength of our Constitution. We affirm the
and listeners, in this instance all Americans, to promise of our democracy. We recall that what
work together as a nation in order to continue the binds this nation together is not the colours of our
United States' growth. As a consequence, the skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29303/jipp.v7i2c.659

names. What makes us exceptional — what conveys their ideas, feelings, attitudes, solutions,
makes us American — is our allegiance to an idea and arguments in a specific sentence. Another
articulated in a declaration made more than two statement below are related to equality and
centuries ago. “We hold these truths to be self- freedom
evident, that all men are created equal; that they We understand that outworn programs are
are endowed by their Creator with certain inadequate to the needs of our time. So we must
unalienable rights; that among these are life, harness new ideas and technology to remake our
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” government, revamp our tax code, reform our
We, the people, declare today that the most schools, and empower our citizens with the skills
evident of truths –- that all of us are created equal they need to work harder, learn more, reach
–is the star that guides us still; just as it guided higher. But while the means will change, our
our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort
and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and and determination of every single
women, sung and unsung, who left footprints American. That is what this moment
along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that requires. That is what will give real meaning to
we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim our creed
that our individual freedom is inextricably bound Obama also claims that the United States
to the freedom of every soul on Earth. will advance if the economy of middle-class
Based on the current paragraph above, the society greatly improves, if people's earnings are
historical analogy has been used to promote consistent with their hard work, and citizens are
Obama's arguments that every citizen was equipped with the necessary skills to work more
created equal, as they gained from their and study more. As can be seen throughout the
predecessors who were guided by historical previous sentence:
movements for women's equality, racial justice, For we, the people, understand that our
and equal sex rights. The audience could not country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do
reject the historical occurrences if they're well. very well and a growing many barely make it. We
It is now our generation’s task to carry on believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon
what those pioneers began. For our journey is not the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We
complete until our wives, our mothers and know that America thrives when every person
daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. can find independence and pride in their work;
Our journey is not complete until our gay when the wages of honest labour liberate families
brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else from the brink of hardship. We are true to our
under the law –- (applause) — for if we are truly creed when a little girl born into the bleakest
created equal, then surely the love we commit to poverty knows that she has the same chance to
one another must be equal as well. succeed as anybody else.
Additionally, throughout order to achieve Obama claimed that if there were more
these goals, the American people must work poor people than rich Americans, it would not be
together as an unit. Obama argues that in order to a developed country. When a child is born of the
build a modern economy, several components same hope and possibility for success as any
must be in existence, namely railroads and other.
roadways, schools and colleges, a free market So we must harness new ideas and
with fair laws, and a security guarantee for every technology to remake our government, revamp
American. our tax code, reform our schools, and empower
Together, we determined that a modern our citizens with the skills they need to work
economy requires railroads and highways to harder, learn more, reach higher.
speed travel and commerce, schools and colleges United States creating commitments
to train our workers. Together, we discovered through the creation of Medicare, Medicaid, and
that a free market only thrives when there are social security as a guarantee to the entire
rules to ensure competition and fair play. community. The commitments we make to each
Together, we resolved that a great nation must other through Medicare and Medicaid and Social
care for the vulnerable, and protect its people Security, these things do not sap our initiative,
from life’s worst hazards and misfortune. they strengthen us.
These words describe an argument that is The last stage of an argumentation text's
marked by the use of opinion when someone schematic form is summing up. Obama

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29303/jipp.v7i2c.659

acknowledged the responsibilities of his is also boosted. For the following four years, the
administration by taking an oath to God and American people will follow the government's
country. He stated, “And we must faithfully instructions and advice in order to attain the goal
execute that pledge during the duration of our of seeking assistance. This is a natural outcome.
services”. He informed the people that his To refer to previous actions or things, simple past
administration could not cure the ills of society and present perfect tenses are utilized. Their
alone by saying: “Through it all, we have never purpose is for the newly-elected president to
relinquished our scepticism of central authority, describe the country's or semester's successes, or
nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all to recall great or terrible experiences from the
society’s ills can be cured through government past, or to inspire the following habits. The verbs
alone”. that are commonly used in the speech to express
The major issue of the speech is assured in the opinion of President Obama are displayed
the statement above, which is that the people of and explained below.
America are the ones who have the responsibility “But know this, America – they will be
to care for, preserve, and safeguard their own met “. He encourages his audience to gain their
country, as they are meant to do for and from self-confidence to build their future as expressed
them. The linguistic features in the speech of in the directive illocutionary act: “ we must pick
president Obama are divided into some elements ourselves up, dust ourselves up, and begin again
which are mentioned and explained below; the work of remaking America”. We will act …”
Today we continue a never-ending journey to ; “We will build the roads and bridges ”; “We will
bridge the meaning of those words with the restore science to its rightful place”; “We will
realities of our time. harness the sun and the winds and the soils to fuel
It is natural that simple present tense ranks our cars and run our factories, and we will
with top priority since the addresses are to transform our schools and colleges and
present the domestic and worldwide situations universities to meet the demand of a new age. All
ranging from political, economic and cultural this we can do. And all this we will do.
fields at present. Through blood drawn by lash This shows that the next President believes
and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no he and his incoming administration are powerful
union founded on the principles of liberty and enough to do whatever they want. The aiding
equality could survive half-slave and half- verb "will" demonstrates his steadfast
free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to determinations, which he intends to manifest in
move forward together. his administration. This shows that the next
Simple past and present perfect tenses are President believes he and his incoming
used to refer to the actions or things in the past. administration are powerful enough to do
As can be seen from the bold sentence “we whatever they want.
learned”, Their function lies in that the newly A passive form is sentences or clauses
elected presidents usually state the achievements which the subject is being given of an action, in
in the founding of the country or in the last term other words it is the opposite of the active form.
or recall the positive or negative experiences in Form of the passive is be + past participle. As the
the past as basis or incentive of his following example, it can be seen from the following
actions. Because these addresses are expected to sentences of president Obama’s speech, “but
introduce current domestic and foreign political, generation after generation has shown that it can
economic, and cultural fields, the simple present always be perfected” (Passive verb). “Unless we
tense takes precedence. The use of tense helps to perfect our union by understanding that we may
develop a close link between the president and have different stories, but we hold common
the audience, and the reality of the arguments hopes“ (active verb).
made in the speech is easy to detect and accept. Examples and illustrate verbal: the former
The tense aids the president in planning for in the passive and the latter in the active, with a
the president or his government to promote finite form combined with the 1st person
national construction during his time of office, as pronoun, which is used once again
well as the resulting changes or outcomes in the metonymically, so that everyone becomes an
future. The government's goals are mirrored in active participant in Obama’s message of change.
this manner, while the audience's confidence in Obama used the words "I," "you," "us,"
the prospects for a better and wealthy future life and "them" throughout his speech. By using the

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29303/jipp.v7i2c.659

words "you and I," he is implying a dialogic employed to persuade the public that citizens had
correspondence relationship, whereas "we and the authority to correct the country's trajectory.
they" is a different form of correspondence He was the citizen of the American as they were
relationship that reflects between himself and the the citizens. By taking oath as the president did
listener. He/she is referred to by the term "I.” not make him any different from the rest of the
“They” as way to suggest human, people in American citizens.
general, but other pronouns are “I”, “you” and
“we” are used only to suggest human. It can be 2. Framing
seen from the following quotation, as follows; Framing refers to how the substance of a
“For us, they packed up their few worldly speech script is presented, as well as the speaker's
possessions and traveled across oceans in search point of view. The perspective is captured by
of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops combining all of the information into a coherent
and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip whole. The sensory experience captures a human
and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought point of view on reality called perspective. Vice
and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, members of
Normandy and KheSahn”. the United States Congress, distinguished guests,
Data compiled gives us the clear and fellow citizens:
implication that Obama needs cooperative work, President Barack Obama began his speech
sympathy and closeness assigning himself (as a by expressing gratitude. Obama conveys his
team (world) leader that the rest has to believe, humility in the face of the presidency, his
follow and worship him. He would like to figure gratitude for the American people's trust in him,
out cooperation from the youth and male (the He, and his recollection of his predecessors'
generation. Generally, Obama speaks the “I” and sacrifices.
”We” ideology believing himself as the Each time we gather to inaugurate a
“architect” and “leader” of the New World President we bear witness to the enduring
Order, Neoliberalism/New Capitalism, strength of our Constitution. We affirm the
Democracy and Freedom and seeking others to promise of our democracy. We recall that what
cooperate with him. He would like to address the binds this nation together is not the colors of our
rest within the mass like “They” and “You”. So skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our
he would like to give the “wine and the bread” if names. What makes us exceptional — what
“peace and security” remain unchanged, kept makes us American — is our allegiance to an idea
constant. articulated in a declaration made more than two
Together, we discovered that a free market centuries ago. “We hold these truths to be self-
only thrives when there are rules to ensure evident, that all men are created equal; that they
competition and fair play. We, the people, still are endowed by their Creator with certain
believe that enduring security and lasting peace unalienable rights; that among these are life,
do not require perpetual war. The first-person liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
pronoun "we," for example, is used to bridge the Today we continue a never-ending journey
gap between the speaker and the audience, to bridge the meaning of those words with the
regardless of age, socioeconomic rank, or realities of our time. For history tells us that
occupation. The stage, so that the audience may while these truths may be self-evident, they’ve
sense the speaker's proximity and point of view. never been self-executing; that while freedom is
They are the words of citizens and they a gift from God, it must be secured by His people
represent our greatest hope. You and I, as here on Earth. (Applause.) The patriots of 1776
citizens, have the power to set this country’s did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with
course. You and I, as citizens, have the the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They
obligation to shape the debates of our time — not gave to us a republic, a government of, and by,
only with the votes we cast, but with the voices and for the people, entrusting each generation to
we lift in defense of our most ancient values and keep safe our founding creed.
enduring ideals. The greeting by historical knots was
The first person "I" and the second person resumed by President Obama. Obama attempted
"you" are used in the final section of the speech to tie together the forty-four presidential oaths
to give the impression that the president is taken by his predecessors, including his own.
speaking directly to them. This strategy was These are also related throughout American

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29303/jipp.v7i2c.659

history, in both good and bad times. It was not The major theme of Obama's inaugural
only because of individuals in positions of power, speech can be defined as the speech's uniting
but also because of the people. The following theme about the kind of life that may be expected
paragraphs are the closing utterances by for all Americans. The theme is a recurring
president Obama where he concluded his speech element in the speech as a unifying idea. For that
and said the closing remarks. purpose, Obama’s inauguration speech
My fellow Americans, the oath I have repeatedly drew examples from the American
sworn before you today, like the one recited by historical backgrounds as the theme reinforces
others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to among other things, as stated by Obama: “The
God and country, not party or faction. And we time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to
must faithfully execute that pledge during the choose our better history; to carry forward that
duration of our service. But the words I spoke precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from
today are not so different from the oath that is generation to generation”. He also strongly
taken each time a soldier signs up for duty or an encourages all Americans to return to their old
immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so historical values as stated toward the end of the
different from the pledge we all make to the flag speech:
that waves above and that fills our hearts with “But those values upon which our success
pride. depends - hard work and honesty, courage and
Let us, each of us, now embrace with fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and
solemn duty and awesome joy what is our lasting patriotism - these things are old. These things are
birthright. With common effort and common true. They have been the quiet force of progress
purpose, with passion and dedication, let us throughout our history. What is demanded then is
answer the call of history and carry into an a return to these truths.”
uncertain future that precious light of freedom. Central to the unifying thought of
Thank you. God bless you, and may He Obama’s speech is a statement that America is in
forever bless these United States of America. the midst of crisis. Serious and many though the
Obama brilliantly draws a link between the challenges are, Obama convinces his people that
military and ordinary citizens in terms of America will be able to overcome them: “All this
embodying the spirit of service that will we can do. And all this we will do”. Therefore,
determine his administration's success. He is so he pleads his people to “… begin again the work
amazing at rallying his people to such a cause. of remaking America”. As normally expected
Obama's citation of the American Revolutionary from such an inauguration speech, Obama also
War's positive attitude reflects the expectation expresses his new attitudes to the world affairs
that their country must continue to improve, and both for the cause of peace, security, and welfare.
it also serves as a wonderful way to end his Therefore, the main idea of Obama’s
inauguration speech. inauguration speech may be highlighted as
Finally, in the last paragraph of the speech, “Americans with the enduring strength of their
Obama used the metaphor of "prosperity is a heritage are capable of remaking the nation and
building" because this building is built bit by bit the world”.
and must start from a solid foundation, which can Here other examples of Forgrounding in
be Build or just restore it. This is our chance to Obama’s Victory’s speech: “a party founded on
answer that call. This is our moment. This is our the values of self-reliance and individual liberty
time – to put our people back to work and open and national unity”. And that cannot happen if we
doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore go back to the way things were. It cannot happen
prosperity and promote the cause of peace. without you, without a new spirit of service, a
new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new
3. Foregrounding spirit of patriotism, of responsibility where each
The suppression of specific notions from of us resolves to work harder and look after not
the text is referred to by these phrases. The term only ourselves, but each other. Tonight we
"concept" refers to the overall notion. As a result, proved once more that the strength of our nation
the researcher considers Foreground to be the comes not from the might of our arms or the scale
speaker's stated broad notion. As may be seen of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our
from the subsequent debate, it has begun to ideals-democracy, liberty, opportunity and
discuss the foreground. unyielding hope.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29303/jipp.v7i2c.659

Obama displayed his patriotism and solid “I know that political campaigns can sometimes
confidence in the American dream, and he seem small, even silly. And that provides plenty
exploited it to promote national unity and boost of fodder for the cynics that tell us that politics is
public morale. The need of patriotism, sense of nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain
duty, self-reliance, and national unity in forging of special interests. But if you ever get the chance
a more affluent future was then underlined by to talk to folks who turned out at our rallies and
him. He also underlined the need of faith and crowded along a rope line in a high school gym,
steadfast hope in igniting popular excitement. or saw folks working late in a campaign office in
Finally, as the president of a superpower, he some tiny county far away from home, you'll
demonstrated his superiority. He demonstrated discover something else.” “(Obama Victory
that the United States serves as a lighthouse for speech).
other countries across the world, and that the He goes on to give many more examples
American democratic system is a good model for from folks like a young field organizer or a
others to follow. military spouse in this section. The presumption
of discourse's ideological role has been employed
4. Presupposition in this case. Obama assumed the election season
A speaker's presumption is anything he or would be difficult. He used digital games as a
she believes to be true before making a statement. discourse approach to find a purpose for this
Speakers have presuppositions, not sentences. complicated, noisy, and chaotic scenario. He
Presupposition has been linked to the use of a pointed out that “in our country with a
wide variety of words, phrases, and structures in population of 300 million democracies can
studies of how speakers convey their become noisy, chaotic, and complicated.
preconceptions. Through the sentences and In the following section, there are some
paragraphs following, the researcher tries to examples of presupposition. Obama choice of
mention and discuss it: comparative structure may indicate that he is
During conveying his inaugural speech, already a good president. He said the following
there are some words are mentioned by Obama sentence ―”...you've made me a better president
indicating his characteristics terms such as ...” “I return to the White House more determined
“nation, America, people, generation, now, and more inspired than ever...” “They might be
today, time, spirit, crisis, peace, Americans and an appraisal for the people, but they also mean
journeys”. On the basis of the frequency counts, that he has the qualifications of a very strong
it turned out that 880 different words were used president.”
in the speech with 2400 token words. Out of these In the utterance ―What makes America
880 words, basic words (verbs) such as ‘carry’, exceptional are the bonds that hold together the
‘remain’ and ‘meet’ were repeatedly used to most diverse nation on earth.” Positive self-
make his speech lucid. ‘America’ and image, negative other representation, and
‘Americans’ are among the ‘buzz words’ presupposition are examples of discursive tactics.
frequently used in U.S. presidential inaugural He seeks to reach a consensus that they should
speeches. ‘Buzz words’ mean “the terms which stick together so they may be one, while also
arouse U.S. citizens’ patriotism” (Matsuo 2002). assuming that there is a bond that binds all
Other examples of such expressions are ‘peace’, Americans together and that all other nations lack
‘hero’, ‘unity’, ‘believe’ and so on. Obama uses that bond: the word "special" leads us to this
a larger number of buzz words usually in his conclusion. This also shows that America is on
speeches (notably, the 2008 election campaign the positive side, but the others are on the
slogan was ‘change we can believe in’). But in negative side.
this inaugural address, he used few buzz words.
Instead, he managed to arouse patriotic feelings Analysing the Text in the sentence and word
in context and with the strategic usage of level
pronouns.
Obama might also try to bring people Topicalization
together by acting as a role model for them. As a Topicalization is focusing more closely at
result, his goal is to demonstration that his acts the individual sentence which has a sentence
are both reasonable and legal. The following line topic. Sentence topic is what the sentence said by
makes it plain that he is looking for compromise.

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the speaker talks about. Thus, it creates speaker’s My fellow citizens, I stand here today
perspective that influences reader’s perception. humbled by the task before us, grateful for the
Obama began his address to gain the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices
attention of audience by calling them “fellow borne by our ancestors. Those are deletion or
citizens” and to make them well-disposed and omission which is found in Obama’s speech.
receptive to the issue; he acknowledged the Overall, it is an additional form of nominal
importance of their attendance by saying: “Each phrases in order to assert something which refers
time we gather to inaugurate a President we bear to the context. The absence of that addition will
witness to the enduring strength of our not affect the meaning to be delivered. In fact
Constitution” there are still many criticism found on it. It shows
In this way, Obama managed to gain the that the speaker in this case Obama still has a
sympathy and attention of the audience at very deficiency in the use of language, especially in
beginning of his address. His statement gave the the case of deletion or omission.
people understanding that they were gathered for
a purpose and that purpose was very significant Insinuation
in which they witnessed the president Insinuation is comments that are slyly
inaugurating. suggestive. It typically has double meanings and
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, if challenged, the writer or the speaker can claim
that all men are created equal; that they are innocence, pretending to have only one of these
endowed by their Creator with certain two meanings in mind.
unalienable rights; that among these are life, The following example below describes
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. Obama insinuation found in Barack Obama speech. It
addressed some of the most controversial issues can be seen in the excerpt below: ”Islam must be
of societies: gender equality, gay rights, and based on what it is, not what it isn‘t”. A discourse
immigration and made the people understand that use insinuation shown leads to believe that
their journey was not complete until every citizen Obama gives the highest concern of
got equal rights. protection/security for the Jews/Jewish religion
America fought two wars on terror in followers-Israelites, advise the Islam/Muslims
alliance with other nations. He stressed upon the not to be hostile to them and the Christians.
importance of unity among the nations beyond
boundaries by saying: “For the America people Connotation
can no more meet the demands of today’s world Connotation is the meaning of a word or
by acting alone...”. Obama showed his group of words based on feelings or thoughts that
satisfaction on the American alliance with other arise in the speaker. A word is called has
nations by saying: “American will remain the connotative meaning if it has "sense of value",
anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the both positive and negative. Positive and negative
globe”. the sense of values sometimes also occurred as a
The topicalization of the speech was result of the use its reference as the word symbol.
confined due to the fact that Obama made an On this day, we gather because we have chosen
inaugural speech as the re-elected president. He hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and
did not need to give a detailed introduction to discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end
gain attention and sympathy. He did not need to to the petty grievances and false promises, the
acknowledge the services of the former recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far
president. too long have strangled our politics.
The use of words that are opposite in their
Deletion/omission meaning such as "hope" and "fear" not only are
In this sentence level analysis, deletion or used to emphasize the sentence but also to make
omission deals with the agent. Agent-deletion the public think about what the speaker is saying.
occurs most often through nominalization and the In this case they are opposing terms with positive
use of passive verbs. In this part of analysis, connotations like “hope” or “unity of purpose”
readers or listeners are forced to guess this. versus terms with negative connotations like
Instead, the speaker probably assumed that “fear”, “conflict or “discord”. However, Obama
readers or listeners could easily infer this. makes clear to the audience that with him as a

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president only takes place positive things like the unity of the president with the American
hope or unity. Other examples as follows: people (e.g. „ourselves‟, „our‟, „us‟, „fellow
The question we ask today is not whether citizens‟). Taking a closer look at the use of the
our government is too big or too small, but pronoun „our‟, the analysis shows that the most
whether it works - whether it helps families find frequent collocation with „our‟ are „our people‟
jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a (50 times), „our country‟ (47 times), „our
retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is government‟ (21 times), “our nation‟ (20 times),
yes, we intend to move forward. Where the “our fellow citizens‟ and “in our history‟.
answer is no, programs will end. And those of us
who manage the public's dollars will be held to Register (Field)
account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and Register is defined as ‘variation according
do our business in the light of day - because only to use’ that is, it typically use certain
then can we restore the vital trust between a recognizable configurations of linguistic
people and their government. resources in certain contexts (Halliday and
Obama portrays himself as a forward- Hasan, 1985).
looking politician who clearly has his goal to The following example describes register
make progress in the nation. With this metaphor found in Barack Obama victory speech. It can be
Obama simply makes explicit that to progress seen in the excerpt below: Who waited three
one has to move forward and not backward and hours and four hours, many for the first time in
at the same time he reinforces his image. Here their lives?
clearly “forward” indicates progress, a better It can be seen in the excerpt above that the
future, definitely a good thing. “Forward” is good verb “waited” is treated as the material process in
also has its opposite version which is “backward” that clause. It indicates that there is a process of
is bad, although it does not appear throughout doing. Based on the clause, it is found that the
this speech. verb “waited” refers to the people of the United
States of America who wait for the glory of their
Modal country. The researcher notices that the verb
Interesting to see is also the frequent use of “waited” expresses the notion that an entity
modal verbs, especially „must‟, „should‟, „can‟ physically does something, so that verb has a
and „will‟, in connection with the pronoun „we‟. process of doing. The entity refers to the people
This indicates that „we‟ is often used in who attend Barack Obama victory speech and the
connection of what has to and should be done by word “who” are treated as the actor of the clause.
the American people and the president. Then, it can be seen in the excerpt 2 above
The tasks and the responsibilities of all that mood of that clause is declarative. The
American citizens therefore also play a major excerpt above shows that Barack Obama told to
part in the inaugural address. Thus, President his people who attend his speech that they will
Obama, for instance, when he talks about the not wait any longer since he becomes their
plans he has for his country encourages his fellow president and he will help his people by making
citizens with the following words: their dreams come true.
Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, Thus, it can be seen that the textual pattern
dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of in the excerpt 2 above is topical. The word “who”
remaking America. For everywhere we look, is treated as the topical theme since it refers to the
there is work to be done. The state of our people who attend the president speech and have
economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we waited for a long time to feel the glory of the new
will act. We will build the roads. And digital lines era. The word “who” here describes that Barack
that feed our commerce and binds us together. Obama has declared that he convinces his people.
We will restore science to its rightful place. We He as the new president, will decrease the
will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to poverty and make people’s live better.
fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will The following excerpt below is another
transform our schools and colleges and example of register produced by the President of
universities to meet the demands of a new age. Barack Obama in his victory speech. That
All this we can do. All this we will do. America is a place. In the excerpt above, the
The quotes above also show the high use relational attributive processes were giving
of other personal pronouns which again indicate

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29303/jipp.v7i2c.659

identification about what is being talked by the the message to be conveyed in the speech.
United States President Barack Obama. Language can be observed in more detail from
The phrase “that America” is treated as the the discourse patterns in register analysis.
theme of the clause in the excerpt above because In explaining about the relationship
it refers to the people who attend the president between language and power. As we all know,
speech and in this case, the president Barack Obama expressed his language about the
Obama gives his people information that living importance of democracy and independence in
in America is safe and they can live without any his speech to all the people of America. It is their
trouble. duty to defend democracy. The use of language
in the speech can describe or reflect a power, in
Analysing the Text in Contextual which case it may be the strong or the weak. Vice
Interpretation versa, the power of power can be seen in the
Analysis at this stage can be used to language used.
answer questions about how language, power and In addition of that, it also needs to be
ideology that are contained in the Obama’s known that Obama is the President which
Inaugural speech. In fact there are some aspects certainly has powers, especially the power in the
in the process of identifying the language used in case of language use. Basically what is said by
the speech these aspects can be seen clearly someone who has the authority such as Obama in
through the analysis of genre, framing, this regard, the language that is used by him
foregrounding and background, deletion and should contain a strong power as well.
omission, insinuation, and register. By analyzing the relationship between
In its identification process, power is language and ideology, basically, ideology deals
clearly seen in the analysis of the background, with language that tells something or a problem.
but it can also be seen in the analysis of the In this case, President Obama said in his speech.
register, and insinuation. On the analysis the Through the language in his speech, it makes
background, power is clearly viewed, from the people's thoughts have a certain meaning. In
background the implicit meaning can be known other words, the speaker has a specific purpose or
well. It is said to have power when the speaker implicit purpose through speech.
believes with what he says, whereas does not As we all know, Obama's speech in the
have power or less power when he is no sure. context of power and ideology cannot be
separated. It can be seen that words containing
The Relation of language, power, and ideology powerful power and ideology will also be
In this part of discussion, the researcher obvious. In other words, if the ideology of speech
tries to interpret the relationship between can be realized, it can be said that what is said has
language, power, and ideology in advance so that power. These are interpretations of language,
it can be known an overview of it. In order to power, and ideology as a whole, both
reveal the language, power, and ideology individually and in relation to each other. Based
contained in Obama’s speech, these three things on these explanations, it can be concluded that
were described in detail by referring to several these three things are a unified whole and are
previous analyses. The first is language. In fact, closely related to each other.
there are some aspects in the process of
recognizing the language used in the entire CONCLUSION
speech.
These aspects can be clearly seen through Based on the analysis explained in the
the analysis of genre, framing, deletion and previous page, it can be concluded that the
omission, and register. In this type, it is known language used by President Obama is to convey
whether the language is formal or less formal, information. Otherwise, the delivery of
and it is also possible to know whether the information will be less coherent, which will
language used conforms to the actual make the information less obvious, so the message
composition rules of speech. It can be seen from captured by the address is not optimal. In addition,
the analysis of the framework that the clarity and the language used by President Obama can be
precision of the language are used. The deletions reflected in the language characteristics of the
and omissions reflect the emphasis on the process type and genre, and the language
language used. It aims to enhance the meaning of characteristics can be reflected in the past tense,

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29303/jipp.v7i2c.659

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