Lecture Seven public speech公共演讲.docx

Lecture Seven Public Speech Oral genres: - daily conversation (unprepared, casual) - spontaneous commentary (unprepared) - oral debate (half-prepared) - oral stories (prepared, informal) - public speech (well-prepared, formal) - oral report (prepared, formal) - oral lecture (prepared, formal) 7.1 Public Speech According to the field of discourse, public speech can be further divided into preaches, lectures, rally speeches, inaugural addresses, etc. Though belonging to oral genres, public speeches differ greatly from daily conversations and share more similarities in stylistic features with texts of written genres. This is largely because public speech is usually delivered with a script written beforehand A general analysis based on contextual factors of field, mode and tenorField: variedMode: written to be spokenTenor: formal, well-prepared, highly rhetorical/ intend to explain to, reason with, persuade, stimulate or stir the audience. Text structure salutation: greeting the audience a short introduction to the main issue or topics concerned the listing, reasoning, and explainingconclusionA case analysis: Inaugural Address by J. F. Kennedy Field: Inauguration address concerning politics Mode: written to be spoken Tenor: personal tenor: to all American people, as well as people in the world who are of different educational, economic, political and racial background. Distant personal relations Functional tenor: highly rhetorical and emotionally appealing so as to persuade, stimulate and stir the audience, to arouse their enthusiasm to support his idea and doctrine, to make them feel he is reliable, intimate and on the same side in political ideas. 1. Text structure/text pattern 1). Para. 1: a short introduction to the occasion and issue - a time to celebrate the election of a new president. 2). Para.2-4: the declaration of ones attitude and stand- the world situation and the role of American people: to safeguard liberty 3). Para.5-26: listing, reasoning and explaining- addressing respectively to allies, friends, UN and enemies, calling upon people in the US and in the world to fight against common enemies of mankind. 4) conclusion: end the address conventionally by asking Gods blessings 2. Syntactic Features 1) sentence structure: sentences are usually longer than usual and more complex than usual so as to lend solemnity (e.g. para. 22). But there are more loose sentences to achieve easy understanding of the audience. E.g. Of the total 48 sentences in the speech, 30 are of long and complex sentence structure, accounting for 62.5%. of 27 paragraphs, 12 ( para.1,4,10,11,13,15,16,18,19, 22, 25 and 26 ) are one-sentence paragraphs, containing over 30 words each. Loose sentences: We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedomsymbolizing an end as well as a beginningsignifying renewal as well as change. 20）To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support一to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invectiveto strengthen its shield of the new and the weakand to enlarge the area in which its writ may run. 23）But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present courseboth sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankinds final war. 2) short sentences: there are also short sentences to achieve special emphasis, especially followed immediately a long sentence and to avoid of being monotonous. Sometimes, a long sentence is divided deliberately into two sentences in order to emphasize or for the easy understanding of the audience. E.g. in para.20, the speaker use a short sentence “Let us begin.” to show his strong determination and emphasis. E.g. in para. 1 We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedomsymbolizing an end as well as a beginningsignifying renewal as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago. The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. 3) verbal groups: verbal groups are simple, with mostly simple present tense, and some past tense and future tense. E.g. There are only two sentences in future tense: In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Will you join in that historic effort? Past tense is only found in adverbial clauses The rest are all in simple present tense or present perfect tense 4) Noun phrases: there are few pre-modifiers, but more post-modifiers such as relative clauses or participles to give detailed and accurate description and at the same time, easy for the audience to follow. E.g. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globethe belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americansborn in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritageand unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. 5) Sentence types: the majority sentences are complete and integral sentences. There are only a few minor sentences for the purpose of emphasis. There are a number of imperative sentences祈使句(Let) and interrogative sentences疑问句 to call upon the action or response from the addressee or audience. E.g. imperative sentences in para. 3, 4, 9, 14-20, 25-27 Interrogative sentences in para. 23 6) emphatic sentence pattern: there are many “not.but” sentence pattern for emphasis. E.g. not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved. All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. 34）But let us begin. 7) active voice: most sentences are active in voice, to reflect the personal and emotional nature of speech 3. Lexical Features 1. Latinate and biblical words: Due to the serious topic and formal occasion, the address employs many Latinate words and some biblical words to achieve the solemn effect. E.g. Latinate words: pledge(promise); a century and three-quarters years(175 years) Foe/ adversary( enemy); Split asunder( fall apart) Ventures (course); endeavor(effort) Sovereign; belabor; summon; embattle; command Biblical terminology: almighty god; rejoice; tribulation; undo; Isaiah 2. many terms of political jargon and demagogy are used to appeal to audiences political stand. E.g. freedom/free; revolutionary belief; rights of man (human rights); peace; liberty; tyranny; misery/poverty; progress; arm control; cooperation; 4. Phonological /graphological Features 1. The speech is very readable and rhythmic. Phonological devices such as intonation, stress, repetition, and prosodic features (i.e. rhythm and rhyming) are fully explored to make the speech emotional and appealing. E.g. symbolizingsignifying; friend and foe; whether it wishes us well or ill we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. 2. All words are completely pronounced and there are fewer swallowed sounds, compressed sounds and contracted words. 3. dash is employed in most paragraphs (18 out of 27) to add extra information or provide details or give explanation or emphasis. E.g. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americansborn in this century, and unwilling to witness (extra information) This much we pledgeand more. (emphasis) Divided, there is little we can dofor we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder. (explanation) we renew our pledge of supportto prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invectiveto strengthen its shield of the new and the weakand to enlarge the area in which its writ may run. (details) 5. Semantic Features 1. reference: the dominant personal references in the speech are first person, i.e. “we”, “us” and “our” to draw the audience closer. Sometimes, “I” and “you” are used to show personal stand and invoke the response from the audience. The third person references are rarely found. “we” 30 times, “us” 11 times, “our” 20 times “I” (and mine) 5 times, “you” and “your” 7 times 2. rhetorical devices In this speech, various rhetorical devices are employed to achieve special effect. 1. at phonological level: alliteration, rhyme 2. at lexical level: Metaphor: tiger (para.7); beachhead and jungle (para.19); fire (para.24) ; the master of its own house; the prey of hostile powers metonymy: the hand of mankinds final war 3. at syntactic level:Anaphora: to those to those to those tototo those let both sides let both sideslet both sides let both sides le