Language and Racial Identity In Selected Speeches by Malcolm X and Martin Luther King A Critical Discourse Analysis
Yasser Hasan Sayed;
Abstract
As a science of language, the study of linguistics involves the study of
different types of discourse including the discourse of law, science, drama,
medicine, etc. Each discourse has its own characteristic features and linguistic
phenomena. I present this study on critical discourse analysis with reference to
the discourse of two important black figures who engaged in the struggle of the
African American people – since America obtained its independence – in order
to defend the blacks’ equal rights in a society dominated by white people.
0.1 Aim of the research
People have always used language to communicate ideas and influence
others either peacefully or by coercion. Man is able to change the ideologies of
the others and, even more, to persuade people to revolt or commit violence
against others by means of language. Language is also considered as a tool of
expressing beliefs towards certain issues that reflect the identity of one group
as opposed to another. Language is believed to "inhibit us and we inhibit it …
language introduces us to an identifiable world, initiates … most basic
concepts [such as] 'me', 'us' [and] 'them'" (Ashcroft 2009, p.95). It is language
that identifies people's identities and at the same time represents various
cultural traits.
What stirred me to propose this study is the struggle that the African
American people had been engaged in – since America obtained its
independence – with white Americans in order to gain the right to live as
respected people. Central to this struggle is the place of language which, as
ever before, had a role to play in the construction of racial group identity.
Language is associated with identity and can be said to "construct one's identity
in many ways: physical, psychological, geographical, social and ethnic" (p.96).
During their struggle to achieve their independence as a distinct race, African
Americans used language to express their views and beliefs that they have the
right to obtain freedom and live on equal grounds with white Americans.
Therefore, they had to employ language in order not only to express their views
but also to establish their own identity as different from that of the white race.
Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to analyse a few speeches given by two
of the African American leaders; namely Malcolm X and Martin Luther King,
during the 1960s when the Blacks started to revolt against the U.S government
in order to get their full rights. In this period, the role of language in the
formulation of the Black identity was so crucial, since it is through language
that African American leaders started to seek a voice for the oppressed
different types of discourse including the discourse of law, science, drama,
medicine, etc. Each discourse has its own characteristic features and linguistic
phenomena. I present this study on critical discourse analysis with reference to
the discourse of two important black figures who engaged in the struggle of the
African American people – since America obtained its independence – in order
to defend the blacks’ equal rights in a society dominated by white people.
0.1 Aim of the research
People have always used language to communicate ideas and influence
others either peacefully or by coercion. Man is able to change the ideologies of
the others and, even more, to persuade people to revolt or commit violence
against others by means of language. Language is also considered as a tool of
expressing beliefs towards certain issues that reflect the identity of one group
as opposed to another. Language is believed to "inhibit us and we inhibit it …
language introduces us to an identifiable world, initiates … most basic
concepts [such as] 'me', 'us' [and] 'them'" (Ashcroft 2009, p.95). It is language
that identifies people's identities and at the same time represents various
cultural traits.
What stirred me to propose this study is the struggle that the African
American people had been engaged in – since America obtained its
independence – with white Americans in order to gain the right to live as
respected people. Central to this struggle is the place of language which, as
ever before, had a role to play in the construction of racial group identity.
Language is associated with identity and can be said to "construct one's identity
in many ways: physical, psychological, geographical, social and ethnic" (p.96).
During their struggle to achieve their independence as a distinct race, African
Americans used language to express their views and beliefs that they have the
right to obtain freedom and live on equal grounds with white Americans.
Therefore, they had to employ language in order not only to express their views
but also to establish their own identity as different from that of the white race.
Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to analyse a few speeches given by two
of the African American leaders; namely Malcolm X and Martin Luther King,
during the 1960s when the Blacks started to revolt against the U.S government
in order to get their full rights. In this period, the role of language in the
formulation of the Black identity was so crucial, since it is through language
that African American leaders started to seek a voice for the oppressed
Other data
| Title | Language and Racial Identity In Selected Speeches by Malcolm X and Martin Luther King A Critical Discourse Analysis | Authors | Yasser Hasan Sayed | Issue Date | 2018 |
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