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A Functional-Semiotic Discourse Analysis of The Speech by the 7th Republican President of Zambia on The Official Opening of The Thirteenth National Assembly
Abstract
This study analyses the speech made by the Seventh Republican President of Zambia on the official opening of the first session of the Thirteenth National Assembly on 10th September, 2021. The study is informed by the functional-semiotic theory which is within the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) tradition. Data were generated from the full speech as delivered on 10th September, 2021. The data were analysed using the various aspects of Schematic Structure as analytical framework. These included Background Information (BI), Assessment (A), Greetings (G), Immediate and Future Planning (IP/FP), Finish (FINIS), Medial Address (MA) and Comment (C). The analysis takes into account the context in which the address is being made. To this effect, the context concerns the Field, that is, what is going on, Tenor, which refers to the social roles and relationships between the participants, and the Mode which focuses on the aspects of the channel of communication. The broad context of what was happening in Zambia politically, socially, culturally and psychologically, especially considering the atmosphere that prevailed between the Patriotic Front (PF) and the United Party for National Development (UPND) on one hand and the citizens on the other before elections, have been taken into account. The study concluded that while the discourse continues to be an effective platform for political struggles and power play, it also highlights the cultural, linguistic, and social factors which have a bearing on the language use of political actors in Zambia. Key words: political discourse, schematic structure, semiotics, systemic functional linguistics.
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