Tired of Nice People? An Appraisal-based Approach to Trump’s Dichotomies
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Abstract
Political discourse is rich in dichotomies, but there is considerable variation in the way this rhetorical strategy is used. This article explores the dichotomies in two of Donald Trump’s high-profile pre-election speeches, showing how the speaker uses a full range of attitudinal resources to exploit their persuasive effects. To ensure a systematic analysis, Appraisal theory is used, which proves productive to analyse political speeches on the different levels proposed, particularly when the regions of affect and judgement/appreciation are considered holistically.
El discurso político se sirve de las dicotomías, pero la aplicación concreta de esta estrategia ofrece una variación considerable. En este artículo se estudian las dicotomías que surgen en dos de los discursos más conocidos de la campaña electoral de Donald Trump, y se investiga cómo el hablante usa una amplia gama de recursos actitudinales para conseguir unos efectos persuasivos potentes. La teoría de la valoración, aplicada aquí para sistematizar el análisis de los textos, se demuestra fructífera para el abordaje de los discursos políticos en los distintos niveles propuestos, especialmente cuando se consideran de forma holística los niveles del afecto y del juicio/apreciación.
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