Critical Discourse Analysis of Political Speeches: A Case Study of Obama's and Rouhani's Speeches at UN

Abstract

—The aim of this paper is to survey the art of linguistic spin in Obama's and Rouhani's political speeches at UN in September 2013 based on Halliday's systematic functional linguistics. The analysis is mainly performed through the transitivity system and modality to represent how two presidents' language can incorporate both ideology and power in their political speeches. In other words, they can manifest their power, capabilities, and policies through language; furthermore, the political implications of these speeches can be perceived better by common people.