A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Eulogies Delivered in Honor of the American Boxer Muhammad Ali

Abstract

This study is conducted on 12 eulogies delivered in honor of the American boxer Muhammad Ali. I adopt the approach of discourse-historical analysis (DHA) using some of the tools of corpus linguistics and Halliday’s systematic functional linguistics (SFL). I track down the messages conveyed by the eulogists concerning the heated sociopolitical atmosphere in America at the time of Ali’s death through their portrayal of him. Ali has passed away at a time when xenophobia against immigrants, especially Muslims, prevailed in the country and when the African American community suffered from police brutality. The results showed that the majority of the African American speakers highlighted Ali’s racial pride and the positive role Islam played in his life.