Analyses of Two Speeches by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Applying Interpersonal Metafunction of Systemic Functional Grammar

Abstract

This paper examines two speeches of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, applying Halliday‟s Interpersonal Metafunction of Systemic Functional Grammar. The two speeches are Dr. Kwame Nkrumah‟s Independence Declaration Speech from British colonial rule on March 6, 1957 and a selected speech from his radio broadcasts to the people of Ghana, after the coup d'état of 1966, collectively dubbed “Voice From Conakry”. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana‟s first Prime Minister and President, was notable for his prolific speeches and writings by which he expounded to his subjects his vision and plan of action in building the then new nation, Ghana. Many books and articles from both his critics and sycophants have contributed to his fame in the contemporary Ghana, Africa and the world at large. It is in view of this that this study sought to look at the man from language perspective in spite of the numerous books/articles about him. After subjecting both speeches to Halliday‟s Interpersonal Metafunction of Systemic Functional Grammar, it was revealed that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah per the MOOD analyses of Systemic Functional Grammar employed more declaratives in both speeches to convey much information to his audience. Again in both speeches, Dr. Nkrumah preferred using positive polarity as opposed to negative polarity attesting that as a good speaker, Dr. Nkrumah was assertive and confident in delivering his political messages. Moreover, the highest occurrences of present tenses in both speeches as against the future tenses confirm Dr. Nkrumah‟s speech as being definite, explicit and captivating enough to arrest his audience‟s attention. From the analyses, it is seen that he equally employs low and median modals so as to come to the level of everyone and not to frequently use high modals like must to command them and this shortens the distance between him and his listeners. Notwithstanding this, the man‟s speech is such that he ends up earning the trust, respect and confidence of his people as he is able to manipulate his use of pronouns appropriately. He uses I many times to foreground his authority yet he could find ways of using we to identify himself with his people. And that is leadership; knowing when to say what and Dr. Nkrumah proved he had it all. Despite his consistency in his use of declaratives, present tenses, and polarity in both speeches, few variations could be deduced in his use of vocatives and modals between low and median modals as he manipulates them to suit the occasions of both speeches. According to Halliday and Matthiessen (2004), we use language to enact our personal and social relationships (the interpersonal Metafunction), and that is exactly what Dr. Nkrumah did during both circumstances of his speech. Thus in both speeches, Dr. Nkrumah found ways of achieving the purpose of his speech.