![]() | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract language of politics is the language of the power of influencing thought, trolling people’s attitudes, getting the audience to the side of the speaker or en manipulating people through the employment of different linguistic tegies (Jucker, 1997, p. 121). Presupposition and inference are considered e basic tools of pragmatics and they have long been used as the outstanding features of language to impinge the audience ideology. They can be employed as a verbal tool of influence in the communication process between the speaker and the listener and understanding events. Presupposition can be employed for the purpose of persuasion or manipulation and inference for rhetorical goals (Levinson, 1983, p.29). So the present study is concerned with analyzing the linguistic constructions of presupposition (presupposition triggers) and inference pinpointing their function in nine political speeches delivered by Barack Obama, the former U.S. president during the period of his presidential term 200912016 to find out whether he employed them for persuasive or manipulative goals. The study adopts the quantitative analytical approach. The analysis of presupposition has been conducted within the framework of Levinson’s Model of Presupposition and Deictic Inference (1983). On the translation assessment level, the source texts have been analyzed within the framework of Nord’s Model of Functional Translation (1997). The results of the study show that existential presupposition triggers are the most frequently used type in Obama’s political speeches followed by the lexical type. Both types have been employed for the purpose of persuasion rather than manipulation. Also, the results display that inference has been used to achieve rhetorical goals. Furthermore, it was found that the translator has adopted the strategy of direct translation and he has managed to translate the unstated meanings of the source text into the target text. So, it can be concluded that direct translation is suitable for the translation of political speeches. Key Words: presupposition, inference, Obama’s speeches. |