Tag Archives: inaugural address

Trump’s Inaugural Address

Figurative Language, Media, Metaphors, Politics, Rhetoric, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States this past weekend.   He delivered a short 16-minute speech. It was not the normal inaugural address. Most new presidents make efforts to unite the country and outline the goals of their term.   These addresses also normally include some soaring rhetoric rich in metaphors to try to inspire the American public to follow the president’s new agenda. This address was surprisingly negative in tone. I looked back at Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention in July of 2016. That speech was much longer and was more positive in tone. This speech was apparently written largely by two of Trumps closest advisors, Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, who are known for their conservative approaches to politics. Most journalists were surprised and confused at how negative the speech was. George Lakoff published a very unflattering summary of the speech and Donald Trump’s politics on his blog at georgelakoff.com.  You can read the transcript of the speech here.

In any case, the speech is very interesting in its rhetorical style and the limited numbers of metaphors that were used. First, allow me to summarize some of the rhetorical strategies used in the speech. The speechwriters included a dystopian background, hyperbolic descriptions and deliberate repetition. As always, the examples below are taken directly from the speech. Some quotes are repeated if they contain more than one examples of a rhetorical style or a metaphor. Italics are mine.

RHETORIC

Hyperbole

Trump provides a very grim description of the United States, and uses words and phrases normally associated with violence, crime and death. He talks about people being trapped like animals, empty factories looking like tombstones, with gangs and drugs stealing lives and robbing people of their potential. Meanwhile, our infrastructure fallen into decay, and the wealth of the middle class is ripped from their homes. He also describes other countries as ravaging our borders, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs.

Example: “But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.”

An abandoned factory outside Duluth, Minnesota

Example: “… America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay.”

Example: “The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed across the entire world.”

Example: “We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs.”

Dystopia

Needless to say, these types of hyperbolic descriptions do not paint a picture of a successful society. Rather, these terms describe a dystopian society on the road to ruin. In the middle of these descriptions, Trump summarized the society as “American carnage.” The term carnage is an especially violent connotation. The word is derived from the Latin word for flesh or meat. The word carnage literally means the slaughter of animals, and is most commonly used to describe a scene of many people being killed such as soldiers on a battlefield, or victims of a bombing. George Lakoff provides even more details about this term in his recent blog post. Nonetheless, Trump tries to explain how he can stop the carnage and provide a “glorious destiny” for all Americans.

The carnage after the Battle of Gettysburg

Example: “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. We are one nation — and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny.”

Repetition

President Trump uses repetition of words and phrases very effectively to emphasize some of his main points. He claims that Americas have one heart, one home and one destiny. In his line about American carnage, instead of saying “the carnage stops right here and now” he repeats the word stop for effect. In another example, instead of saying he will bring back our jobs, borders, wealth and our dreams, he repeats the phrase bring back. Finally, to finish the speech with a bang, he repeats the phrase “We will make America _________ again” filling in the blank with many different adjectives describing the new country he hopes to create.

Example: “We are one nation — and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny.”

Example: “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”

Example: “We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.”

Example: “Together, We will make America strong again.

We will make America wealthy again.

We will make America proud again.

We will make America safe again.

And yes, together, we will make America great again. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America.”

METAPHORS

In addition to these rhetorical strategies, President Trump uses a few metaphorical expressions to explain some of his goals for the country.

Personification

As mentioned many times in my blog posts, it is very common for politicians to describe the United States as a person, as if the country is one person, or if all the American citizens collectively are one person. Other countries act as a single person as well. So other countries are described as stealing our companies and destroying our jobs. At the same time, the United States will face challenges and confront hardships. Trump also claims that we share one heart and one home, and we will seek friendships with other countries.   In the end, America will be strong again.

stealing, destroying

Example: “We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.”

face, confront

Example: “Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come.

We will face challenges. We will confront hardships.”

heart, home

Example: “We are one nation — and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny.”

friendship

Example: “We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world — but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first.”

strong

Example: “Together, We will make America strong again.”

Taking

Following the logic of the personification metaphors, if a country steals something from the United States, the obvious question is if we can get it back. In a previous post on Donald Trump’s Streetball Rhetoric, I found that Trump sometimes thinks of politics as a street basketball game. In some cases, the person who brought the basketball to the game goes home and takes the ball with him. In those cases, the remaining players are hoping that the person can bring the ball back so they can continue the game. Similarly, Trump claims he can bring back what was taken from us, such as bringing back our jobs, our borders, our wealth and our dreams.

bring back

Example: “We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.”

Death

I do not believe I have ever had to explain a metaphor of death. In a strangely dark simile, Donald Trump compares abandoned factories to tombstones.

tombstones

Example: “But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation…”

Building

I have also mentioned many times that politicians use metaphors of building a new America. However, I could only find one example of this type of metaphor in Trump’s speech. In this example, we find a serendipitous pairing of the literal meaning of building with the metaphorical building. Enjoy!

rebuilding

Example: “We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work — rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.”

Vision

Politicians also talk about having a vision for the future when they give important speeches.   I could only find two brief examples of these vision metaphors, looking to the future and having a new vision to govern the country.

looking

Example: “But that is the past. And now we are looking only to the future. We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power.”

vision

Example: “From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land.”

Sailing

Metaphors of sailing boats or ships are very colorful and powerful in a political speech. They have a sense of grandeur, great movement, and global implications. Trump uses two clever examples of sailing metaphors including saying that our factories have left our shores and our confidence has disappeared over the horizon as if they were large ships that recently set sail around the world. Instead, he wants to determine the course of America as if he is starting on a new sailing journey.

our shores

Example: “One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind.”

Sunset Evening Cancun

horizon

Example: “We’ve made other countries rich while the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has disappeared over the horizon.”

 

 

course

Example: “Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come.”

Journey

Finally, another of the most powerful political metaphors are journey metaphors. These metaphors also connote movement, power and progress. Strangely, there were not many examples of these metaphors, only one negative example and one positive example. Trump contends that many American workers have been left behind, as if the country has gone on a journey without them. And yet, he also maintains that America is unstoppable as if it is a powerful train.

left behind

Example: “One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind.”

unstoppable

Example: “When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.”

*******

It is difficult to judge the rhetorical and metaphorical power of a speech that only lasted 16 minutes. Clearly, President Trump is going to speak and act completely differently than any previous president. I am looking forward to more detailed speeches from Donald Trump where we can learn more of his policies and vision for the future and, if the United States is truly in a dystopian condition, he can lead us to a brighter future.

 

Flashback: Obama’s 1st Inaugural Address

Media, Metaphors, Politics, Rhetoric, Uncategorized, , , ,

I have had several requests from linguists and graduate students around the world in the past few months to have more analyses of President Obama’s speeches. Previously, I analyzed his 2nd Inaugural Address from January 2013 among other speeches. Today I would like to an analysis of his 1st Inaugural Address from January 2009.   Although it may seem like ancient history, this important speech reveals the energy and optimism of his record-setting campaign and election. President Obama uses a wide variety of metaphors in his speech including those from nature, farming, personification, theater, machines and tools, buildings, food, fragile objects, physical forces and journeys.

As always, the examples below are taken directly from the transcript of the speech. I have italicized the metaphors in question. Some examples are repeated if they contain multiple metaphors.

 

Nature

We commonly use metaphors of nature to describe political events or historical conditions. In one extended passage, President Obama speaks of rising tides, still waters, gathering clouds and raging storms. In other cases, he also speaks of our national confidence being reduced like the sap of a tree, while political changes are compared to earthquakes or shifting ground and American ideals are seen as lighting the world like the sun.

Example: “Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.  The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace.  Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.”

blog - nature - still water

blog - nature - rainstorm

 

 

 

 

 

Example: “Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.”

Example: “What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.”

Example: “Our Founding Fathers — (applause) — our Founding Fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man — a charter expanded by the blood of generations.  Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience sake.”  (Applause.)

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

Farming

Our close relationship to nature includes our thousands of years of farming practices. In one case, terrorists are compared to farmers who sow conflict instead of seeds.

Example: “To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.”

 

Personification

Politicians commonly refer to countries or political movements as people.   Thus, Obama refers to America as a friend of other nations, while earlier generations faced down fascism. Additionally, he speaks of dogmas as having the power to strangle our politics. Most famously, he described terrorists as a group of people to whom he would like to extend and hand if they would unclench their fists.

blog - personification - handshakeExample: “And so, to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation, and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity.”

Example: “Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.”

Example: “On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.”

blog - personification - Clenched_human_fistExample: “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

Theater

In addition to metaphors of personification, we also commonly compare countries to actors playing on stage or in a movie. Thus, President Obama claims that American must play a role in establishing peace around the world and that we must consider our role in keeping our military personnel safe in overseas engagements.

Example: “…and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

Example: “As we consider the role that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who at this very hour patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.”

 

Buildings

It is also common that politicians speak of governmental progress as building a new structure. Thus, we find an example of President Obama describing his goals in 2009 to lay a new foundation for economic growth. He also describes terrorists as those who would not only build societies but also destroy them.

Example: “For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.  The state of our economy calls for action, bold and swift.  And we will act, not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.”

Example: “To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.”

 

Machines and Tools

We have used animals and machines for hundreds of years to make our lives easier. We put harnesses on domesticated animals to make them do work on our farms. We can also use tools to fix a machine or try not to lose control of its power. Thus Obama speaks of harnessing the sun, wind and earth for fuel. He also speaks of using instruments to meet new challenges, and watching the stock market so that it does not spin out of control.

blog - machines - harness horses
Example: “We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.”

Example: “Our challenges may be new.  The instruments with which we meet them may be new.”

blog - machines - spinning topExample: “But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control.”

 

Food 

We all have experiences eating food. We may describe the taste of food as something that is salty or sweet, sour or bitter, fresh or stale. Unpleasant events may be compared to a bitter taste, while old political strategies may be compared to stale bread. With a nod to the rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Jr., President Obama claims that we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation while stale political arguments are no longer applicable to modern societies.

blog - food - Stale_breadExample: “We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation…”

Example: “What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.”

 

Fragile Objects

We compare the strength of people, political movements or personal motivation to fragile objects like glass vases. President Obama uses a popular metaphor to describe the American spirit as something that is not fragile and thus cannot be broken.

Example: “And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken — you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”

 

Physical Forces

We can also control objects and our environment by shaping them as if they are mounds of clay. Thus, Obama says that we are shaped by the languages and cultures of other countries, while we must be responsible to shape our own national destiny.

Example: “We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation…”

Example: “This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.”

 

Journey

Finally, and not surprisingly, President Obama uses many journey metaphors to describe his goals for his presidency which was just beginning in 2009. We use metaphors of walking, driving or sailing ships to describe progress in our lives. President Obama uses quite a variety of these types of metaphors. He does not want to roll back the progress that had been made on reducing global warming, but to carry forward the gifts of our forefathers to create a better world. He claimed that the United States has long been on a difficult path, but without short-cuts, while finding the surest route for a new way forward. He wants to country to think about how far we have traveled together and to keep our eyes on the horizon and carry forth our gifts to a new generation.

Example: “With old friends and former foes, we’ll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.”

Example: “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation:  the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”

blog - journey - ShortcutExample: “Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less.  It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those that prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.  Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor — who have carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.”

Example: “The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity, on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.”

Example: “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”

Example: “So let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.”

blog - war - horizonExample: “Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”

*******

It is interesting to see the optimism in Barack Obama’s rhetoric and choice of metaphors at the start of his presidency. I wonder if he believes he has achieved all he had hoped for on his journey…

 

President Obama’s 2nd Inaugural Address – “Our journey is not complete.”

Media, Metaphors, , , ,

President Obama’s 2nd inaugural address this week was a brilliant example of using metaphors and rhetorical strategies to persuade his audience towards a viewpoint of working together to achieve common goals.  The dominant metaphor used in the speech was a journey metaphor.  However, there were also many other examples of metaphorical expressions including those from the concepts of family, metals and containers.

blog - Long_Road_to_El_Chalten

President Obama began the speech using a literal theme of working together.  He used the rhetorical strategy of repeating a well-known phrase throughout the speech.  He used the famous phrase, “we the people” from the constitution to rhetorically unite the work of the government with the work of the common people. Here are two examples.

“For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it.”

“We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity.”

He went on to repeat the phrase two more times in the speech. Moreover, he used the word together at the start of a new sentence three times in succession to reemphasize the idea of people being united together as one country with a common purpose.

He extended the idea of a national community by using a few metaphors of family.  He referred to gay and lesbian citizens as “our gay brothers and sisters” as if everyone in the United States belonged to one family.  In one other example of a family metaphor, he argued that we as a people inherit our country from those who have bravely fought for it, and that we must maintain peace in our times as an obligation to them.  The metaphorical expressions are in boldface type.

“… we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.”

He used two other conceptual metaphors worth mentioning, the strength of metals and container metaphors.

Bravery and strength are often compared to the strength of metal in metaphorical expressions.  In talking about the strength of the American people, perhaps referring to our reaction to terrorist attacks and gun violence, he stated:

“This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience.”

In referring to the armed forces, he compared the bravery of military personnel to a sword being hardened by high heat in the forging process.

“Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage.”

President Obama also used two container metaphors to show his optimism for the future of the United States.  We often conceptualize abstract ideas as being in boxes.  We may consider a situation as being boxed in, for example, or limited by some imaginary physical constraints.  In talking about America, however, he spoke of the country being limitless, endless and without boundaries as in the section below.

“America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands:  youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.”

The most significant metaphor used in the address – the one noted most frequently in the news this week – was the journey metaphor used throughout the speech.  This is not surprising.  In my analyses of previous inaugural addresses, the idea of a country being on a journey is a very common one.   For example, in his 1997 inaugural address, Bill Clinton said, “Yes, let us build our bridge. A bridge wide enough and strong enough for every American to cross over to a blessed land of new promise.”

President Obama spoke often of a journey and crossing a bridge.

“Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.

In one powerful section, he combined the idea of a community of people with people walking together on a journey through history.  He mentioned three historic events in civil rights progress: 1) Seneca Falls, which was the site of a women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York city in 1848; 2) Selma, which was the site of the civil rights march in Selma, Alabama in 1965; and 3) Stonewall, which referred to the Stonewall Inn, the site of early gay rights protests in New York city in 1969.  The listing of these places also provided a nice example of alliteration as a rhetorical device.

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.”

Note too that he uses three other journey metaphors in that section:  “the star that guides us still,” those “who left footprints along this great Mall,” and referring back to a line in Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech by saying that “we cannot walk alone.”

President Obama concluded the speech with several powerful repetitions of the phrase, “our journey is not complete,” urging Americans to work together to solve the country’s problems.

“It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began.  For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.  Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.  Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.

Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.  Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.”

blog - sailboat flickr-2805519701-hd

In the final sentence of his speech, he switches from the idea of a road journey to a nautical journey metaphor, referring to the work of the government following a course as if on a ship.  Again, he is emphasizing that the government and the people need to work together.

 

“You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.”

Although some conservative pundits criticized the president’s address for being partisan, most television commentators and American people seemed to applaud President Obama and his speechwriters for his second inaugural address as a valiant attempt to inspire and unify the country.

 

Next time:  How many parts of government are named after pieces of furniture?