1.1 Introduction
Stylistic is the study of variation of language, the properties of which positions that is, language in context, for example, the language of advertising, policies, religion and individual authors, etc. The language of a period in time, all being in a particular situation. Stylistic analysis in linguistics refers to the identification of pattern of usage in speech and writing. Stylistic may also be classified as a sub-branch of linguistics used to determine the correction between the form and effect within the variety of a particular language. Stylistics looks at what is going on in a particular context (Nagar, 2008:1). Style therefore may be personal or individual in nature. The concept of style as is predicated upon the fact that every phenomenon has many possible attentions. It may be a deviation from normal norm or regulation in the use of words.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Language use in political campaigns has certain characteristic features which differentiate it from other varieties of language use. Common as some of these features may be in everyday situation, they remain very unique with politicians and politics. The language of political campaign embodied in propaganda and rhetoric, is persuasive. Politicians adopt these linguistic devices to cajole the electorate to vote for them and their parties by presenting themselves as the only capable persons for the job.
This study is a synchronic stylistic analysis of the various political utterances used during the electioneering process in Nigeria based on 35 political campaign materials randomly collected from the print media (mainly from the southern part of the country) during the just concluded elections into the various offices in the 2007 general elections in the country. The different stylistic devices politicians used to achieve their aim are examined from the stylistic point of view. This is to say that different situations call for different language use.
According to Dadzie (2009), the concept of style dates back to the beginning of literary thoughts in Europe. There is a general feeding that style should be regarded as a part of the technique of persuasion, hence style came to be studied under oratory. In ancient Europe, rhetoric distinguishes between political, ceremonial and forensic oratory, each having its own distinctive and appropriate occasion and its own repertory devices.
Politics is the practice or the art of directing and administrating state or other political units. (Mclean 2009:13). Politics is one aspect of human activities that use by far the greatest amount of propaganda. The word is often associated with deceit because propagandists have seldom scruples to lie or to distort the truth in order to persuade and gather people behind them. In fact, propaganda can be honest or dishonest, while its purpose might be to elicit help or tarnish image. Propaganda is a fundamental instrument of the language of politics. It is used in moulding and changing opinion.
Therefore, in Akwa Ibom State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Stylistic Analysis of Selected Political Speeches.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed the use of language in political speech making and the way in which it is used so as to make the speech meaningful to the hearer is a very important enterprise that must be ventured into, and this reason has prompted the researcher into undertaking a pragmatic analysis of political speeches in Akwa Ibom State.
The effectiveness of a speech, especially political speech, depends on many factors, including the mood of the crowd, the ability of the orator, the situation the crowd confronts, the topic of the speech and especially the use of carefully crafted words. This makes political speeches a good breeding place for linguistic exploration and exploitation.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to carry out a stylistic analysis of selected political speeches in Akwa Ibom State. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To attempt a discussion on the function of language in the realm of politics;
- To give insight on the stylistic analysis of language of politics;
- To examine the stylistic features that characterizes the selected political speeches in Akwa Ibom State.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Do politicians have their own variant of language in the universality of language?
- How well do politicians use language in Akwa Ibom State?
- What are the features that differentiate language of politics from other languages?
- What are the stylistic features that characterize the selected political speeches in Akwa Ibom State?
1.6 Significance of Study
Politics has been a part of every society since the beginning of man’s civilization. Political activities are masterminded by man; hence, man is the master of politics. It is an important way of organizing and ordering so as to enhance these interactions, for the purpose of achieving the desired results of society.
This research will contribute meaningfully to scholarship because the results from the analysis will be of immense help to politicians, political analysts, political speech writers and even the common man (readers) who has some interest in political speeches.
Political analysts will benefit immensely from this work since it will further expose them to the divergent ways of generating implied meanings in political speeches. It will also be of immense value to political speech writers as they will get to know the intricacies of fusing pragmatic principles in their speech writing to achieve the desired effects.
Finally, it will give an insight to readers of the language of politics and the kinds of speeches made in the political process. It will also help researchers who intend to carry out an analysis of speeches as a good reference guide during the course of their research.
1.7 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Stylistic Analysis of Selected Political Speeches in Akwa Ibom State.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
