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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Dialogue drama in Kenyan political speeches and its pragmatic implications
Author:Habwe, John HamuISNI
Year:2010
Periodical:Nordic Journal of African Studies (ISSN 1459-9465)
Volume:19
Issue:3
Pages:165-180
Language:English
Geographic term:Kenya
Subjects:Swahili language
oratory
politics
External link:https://njas.fi/njas/article/view/201/192
Abstract:This paper uses the revised Gricean inferential model to discuss the pragmatic role of dialogue structures in Kenyan political harangues. Political speech animation in Kenya can be a complicated affair allowing both the speaker and the audience to equally participate. The audience could use the dialogue opportunity to re-direct what the speech topic should be thus assigning new topics or could even influence the direction of the ongoing speech topic. On the other hand, the speech animator uses dialogue as a gauging device of his ideas and his own popularity as a member of a political class, for control and coercion, engaging the audience that could otherwise feel bored and leave the rally, discussing stage managed topics, allowing the audience to lead directions in what could be an otherwise controversial topic. Dialogue structure in Kenya is arguably present in most speeches though to a lesser degree in formal speeches but to a greater extent in extemporaneous oral speeches. Success in speech making has got to do with mastering how to sustain both the expected monologue structure but also the dialogic structure where the audience is passive and active at the same time. The study is based on performance data collected between April and August 1995 from four politicians defined in Kenya as veteran with a noticeable political life span. The data were video recorded in the two main towns of Kenya, Nairobi and Mombasa, where Kiswahili is mostly spoken. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract, edited]
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