Abstract:
The work discusses the use of stylistic devices and other devices in presidential
campaign messages in Ghana. The author selects three of the 2008 presidential
campaign speeches of Prof. Atta Mills, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom and Nana Akuffo-
Addo the then presidential candidates of National Democratic Congress,
Conversion People’s Party, and New Patriotic Party respectively for the analysis.
The analysis is grounded on Fairclough’s (1995) in Critical Discourse Analysis,
claiming that there is a close link across text, discourse practice, and socio-cultural
practice. It also employs Walton’s (1997) observation in Propaganda Discourse
Analysis, which claims that propaganda discourse is indifferent to logical
reasoning. It employs one-sided argumentation, persuasive dialogue, emotive
language and persuasive definitions.
The work reveals that there is a link between the language (devices) employed by
the candidates, and socio-cultural practices of Ghanaians. It also reveals that
Ghanaian political campaign is audience-driven. The stylistic devices employed by
the candidates include historical allusion, metaphor, anaphora and repetition,
intertextuality, simile, personification, hyperbole and rhetorical question. The
other devices deployed by the candidates include actor description, use of virtue
words, polarization “We-They” categorization, vagueness, proof surrogate, ad
hominem, emotive expression, appeal to masses, number game rhetoric, national
self-glorification, downplayers, code-switching and promise. All the other devices
are propagandistic in nature except code-switching and promise.
