Unveiling Power Dynamics in Mandela's Speech: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

Political speeches are an effective tool to shape ideologies and educate people about prevailing societal issues. Nelson Mandela was a prominent figure who was anti-apartheid and brought a revolution in African’s people lives. He used speeches as a powerful tool to fight against racial discrimination. The research aims to investigate two powerful speeches of Mandela, one is Inaugural Address (1994) and the other is Congressional Address (1994). In this study linguistic features and the language usage in Mandela’s speeches have been analyzed. Mandela’s language usage aligns with a particular culture and social context for a specific purpose which is to fight for the rights of “Blacks” and to end the racial discrimination that is hindering the way towards unity among White and Black Americans. This is qualitative research and the non-probability purposive sampling technique has been employed to analyze the data. Fairclough’s 3-Dimensional Framework (2003) has been applied to investigate the linguistic features and social and discursive practices in the great leader Mandela's speeches. The research is crucial as it opens the way for other researchers to analyze the other speeches of different leaders. The findings of the research show the eloquent use of linguistic devices to emphasize the main concern of Mandela: that is to end discrimination and to build reconciliation among people. The tone of the speaker is quite optimistic despite difficult circumstances. This research also highlights the historical and political climate of that time.