September 27, 2025

Pragma-Rhetoric Analysis of Political Discourse: A Case of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s Victory Speech

Puntos clave

The study finds that representatives were the most frequently used speech acts in the victory speech.
Findings indicate persuasive intentions were present at a rate of 59%, exceeding communicative intentions.
Utilizing thematic analysis, the research applies multiple theoretical frameworks to evaluate rhetorical strategies.
Implications suggest a focus on pragma-rhetorical methods can enhance the understanding of political power dynamics.

Resumen

Political discourse (PD) plays a significant role in disseminating political ideologies. Previous studies mainly examined PD from a critical discourse perspective ignoring the significant contribution of the pragma-rhetorical approach that provides systematic tools for multi-level analysis of discursive contextualization of political power struggle and confrontation. The current study investigates the use of different speech acts and modes of rhetoric used by Pakistan’s PM Shahbaz Sharif in his victory speech, for effective persuasion, and to detect communicative and persuasive intentions. In the current study, qualitative data analysis is conducted through thematic analysis by utilizing Searle’s (1969) speech acts theory, Lucas’s (2009) persuasive appeals, McQuarrie’s and Mick’s (1996) rhetorical devices as theoretical frameworks. The findings reveal that the representatives were the most frequently used speech acts, in contrast, the least frequently used speech acts were expressive. Moreover, the frequency of persuasive intention was 59% which is higher than the communicative intentions that showed the speaker was inclined to persuade his audience by asserting facts and making promises.

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