Critical Discourse Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Speech I Have a Dream and Malcom X’s Speech A Message to the Grassroots

Ibtesam Abdul Aziz Bajri^1, and Eelaf Othman¹

¹Department of English Language, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Cite this paper:
Ibtesam Abdul Aziz Bajri and Eelaf Othman. Critical Discourse Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Speech I Have a Dream and Malcom X’s Speech A Message to the Grassroots. Journal of Linguistics and Literature. 2020; 4(1):1-14. doi: 10.12691/jll-4-1-1

Abstract

This is a linguistic study which is grounded in the domain of critical discourse analysis. CDA is a kind of analysis that examines social and political discourse. It is concerned with the way power is exercised through language and the effect that kind of power can have on its intended audience. In the year 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. called for unity and integration in his speech I Have a Dream. In the same year, Malcolm X called instead for a revolution and segregation in his speech A Message to the Grassroots. In its examination of these two speeches, the study applies the 3D model of Fairclough [1] which is comprised of the following dimensions: text, discursive practice and social practice. By analyzing these three dimensions, the study aims to deconstruct both speeches in order to uncover and compare the linguistic tools that have been employed by the two speakers. The study finds that Fairclough’s model helps in deconstructing both speeches and in exposing the linguistic tools that are used. The study also finds out that the speakers use language in distinct ways in their attempts to influence and gain power over their respective audiences.

Keywords:
Critical discourse analysis (CDA) 3D Model Martin Luther King Jr. Malcolm X; equality and power

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and Social Change. (Vol. 10). Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
[2]	Glatthaar, J. T. (2001). The American Civil War: The War in the West 1863-1865. UK: Osprey.
[3]	Fairclough, N. (2013a). Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
[4]	Stubbs, M. (1983). Discourse Analysis: The Sociolinguistic Analysis of Natural Language (Vol. 4). Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.
[5]	Fairclough, N. (2013b). Language and Power (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
[6]	Gee, J. P. (2014). An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method (4th Ed.). London and New York: Routledge.
[7]	Wodak, R. (2002). ‘Aspects of Critical Discourse Analysis’, Zeitschrift für Angewandte Linguistik. 36 (10): 5-31.
[8]	van Dijk, T. A. (2001). ‘Critical Discourse Analysis’. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen, and H. Hamilton (Eds.), The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, (352-371). Oxford: Blackwell.
[9]	Frank, J. (1990). ‘You Call That a Rhetorical Question? Forms and Functions of Rhetorical Questions in Conversation’, Journal of Pragmatics. 14 (5): 723-738.
[10]	Pini, M. (2004). ‘The Discourses of Education Management Organizations: A Political Design’. In R. Rogers (Ed.), An Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis in Education, (267-291). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
[11]	Wilson, J. (2001). ‘Political Discourse’. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen, and H. Hamilton (Eds.), The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, (398-415). Oxford: Blackwell.
[12]	Woodside-Jiron, H. (2004). ‘Language, Power, and Participation: Using Critical Discourse Analysis to Make Sense of Public Policy’. In R. Rogers (Ed.). An Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis in Education, (173-205). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
[13]	van Dijk, T. A. (1995). ‘Aims of Critical Discourse Analysis’, Japanese Discourse. 1(1): 17-27.
[14]	Bayram, F. (2010). ‘Ideology and Political Discourse: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Erdogan's Political Speech’, Annual Review of Education, Communication and Language Sciences. 7: 23-40.
[15]	Sipra, M., & Rashid, A. (2013). ‘Critical Discourse Analysis of Martin Luther King's Speech in Socio-Political Perspective’, Advances in Language and Literary Studies 4 (1): 27-33.
[16]	D’Ambrosio. (2015). ‘The Language of Struggle: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Malcolm X’s Speeches’, (Unpublished Master’s Dissertation). University of Bari Aldo Moro, BA, Italy.
[17]	Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning. Baltimore: University Park Press.
[18]	Hussein, I. (2016) ‘Critical Discourse Analysis of the Political Speech of the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, at the New Suez Canal Inauguration Ceremony’,International Journal of Language and Literature 4 (1): 85-106.
[19]	Mettomäki, A. (2017). “Yes We Can” or “Make America Great again”: Comparison of Representations in Barack Obama and Donald Trump's Inaugural Addresses. (Unpublished Bachelor’s Thesis). University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
[20]	King, M. L. (1963). I Have a Dream, retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf.
[21]	Malcolm X (1963) A Message to the Grassroots, retrieved from http://malcolmxfiles.blogspot.ca/2013/06/a-message-to-grassroots-november-10- 1963.html.
[22]	McArthur, T. (Eds.). (1992). The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[23]	Fowler, R., Hedge, B., Kress, G. and Trew, T. (1979). Language and Control. London: Routledge.
[24]	Harris, R. A. (2017). Writing with Clarity and Style: A Guide to Rhetorical Devices for Contemporary Writers. New York, NY: Routledge.
[25]	Leech, G. N. (1969). A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry. New York, NY: Longman.
[26]	van Dijk, T. A. (2005). ‘Discourse Analysis as Ideology Analysis’. In C. Schäffner and A. Wenden (Eds.), Language and Peace, (41-58). New York, NY: Routledge.
[27]	Polyzou, A. (2015). ‘Presupposition in Discourse Theoretical and Methodological Issues’, Critical Discourse Studies 12 (2): 123-138.
[28]	Bajri, A. I. (2016). ‘Presupposition and the Implicit Display Theory’, English Linguistics Research 5 (4): 40-53.
[29]	Rogers, R. (2004). ‘An Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis in Education’. In R. Rogers (Ed.). An Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis in Education, (31-48). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.