Masaryk university faculty of education
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29. Kennedy’s speech
Kennedy’s speech is 2,460 words long with 90 sentences and 27 words per sentence on average. After Truman’s speech, Kennedy presents somewhat of a return to traditional values, politically as well as linguistically speaking. He enjoys using inversion at the end of a sentence in combination with repetition. We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth; but neither will we shrink from that risk at any time it must be faced. As demonstrated from this example, Kennedy employs long sentences, the longest containing 119 words, but he avoids wordiness and lengthy description by using appositive and coordinate phrases, which act as a natural separation of text and also as a pause during speech. His strong weapon is a good organization of discourse with logical and chronological framework, using brief quotations instead of reading entire paragraphs of other texts, and also keeping coherence throughout the speech, with paragraphs logically following one another. As for topicalization, Kennedy focuses on we are good the most, allotting 23% of his speech to them, as shown in chart 8.21. Besides this main theme, there are five other topics represented by 11% to 18% of the speech, namely our plan, justification, they are bad, appeal and the issue. Chart 8.21 Kennedy was convinced about the innocence of the United States in this conflict, not only focusing mainly on the we are good theme, but also completely skipping the theme steps that failed, strengthening his argument.
Unlike in previous speeches analyzed in this thesis, Kennedy does not resort to any extremely strong emotive expressions or dramatic language. Instead, he uses a natural build up in the flow of events within the discourse to present well thought-out reasoning, using a frequent comparison between the politics of United States versus Russia to gain momentum. Also, he uses sensible language, seldom expressing full emotions, stating for example “that statement was false” instead of calling it a lie. By doing so, he appears in control, rational and convincing. Table 8.22 shows the top ten nouns, showing some expected words like Cuba, peace or nations as well as some surprising vocabulary such as hemisphere or world, given the proximity of the conflict. Table 8.22
Knowing the frequency of political features appearing in presidential speeches, it is not surprising to discover the presence of world view in this speech as well. Indeed, Kennedy makes the Cuban missile crisis a hemispheric and also a world issue, calling upon the United Nations and other organizations to intervene. He uses binary conceptualizations and juxtaposition smartly, balancing emotions with agenda as in the following example. Seventh and finally: I call upon Chairman Khrushchev to halt and eliminate this clandestine, reckless, and provocative threat to world peace and to stable relations between our two nations. I call upon him further to abandon this course of world domination, and to join in an historic effort to end the perilous arms race and to transform the history of man. He has an opportunity now to move the world back from the abyss of destruction by returning to his government's own words that it had no need to station missiles outside its own territory, and withdrawing these weapons from Cuba by refraining from any action which will widen or deepen the present crisis, and then by participating in a search for peaceful and permanent solutions. Kennedy begins each sentence with negative emotions and issues, but makes sure to end positively, always progressing from bad towards good. He also uses subdued words like call upon instead of urge or offers options like participating or opportunity. Presupposition is used mainly in connection with implicit historical and political references to situations in Cuba or West Berlin, where Kennedy does not go into detail but touches the surface, assuming the audience will infer the rest. Knowledge of the policies of the Soviet Union and the fundamentals of the Cold War are also a prerequisite. Metaphors such as arms race, used as pawns or fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth are effective and naturally raise the sophistication of the speech, which always stays within the formal framework of such discourse. As for conceptual metaphors already used in Truman’s speech, Kennedy does not shy away from presenting the threat of attack on the US soil as a global issue. Unlike Truman though, Kennedy has the advantage of claiming that nuclear weapons pose a threat to the entire world. Of course, the validity of the “unmistakable evidence… of offensive missiles” in Cuba, which Kennedy claims to have gained can never be verified.
While audience involvement strategies are generally associated with the use of 1st person plural, in Kennedy’s case 47% of all pronouns, and not with 2nd person singular, 15% of all pronouns, Kennedy’s speech is an exception to this rule. He employs you five times and your eleven times, when speaking to the Cuban people, trying to win their support. I speak to you as a friend, as one who knows of your deep attachment to your fatherland, as one who shares your aspirations for liberty and justice for all. In such case, the use of 2nd person singular should be considered as part of audience involvement strategies, thus amounting to 62% of all pronouns used. There are no rhetorical questions used and neither are let/let’s features. Chart 8.23 Unlike Truman’s speech and his ‘laundry list’, Kennedy’s numbered naming of planned actions does not have the same, authoritarian effect, mainly due to the correct balance of pronouns and directives. Third: It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union. In the above example Kennedy is strict, using words like requiring or attack but he is also a diplomat starting with shall and regard, evoking the feel of lenience. Kennedy is also trying to appeal to the audience as a valiant leader, using religiously charged vocabulary like the modal shall, with almost a Biblical connotation, path or peril and also by addressing the audience as my fellow citizens. As for Kennedy’s deictic pointers, as shown in chart 8.24, all 76% of the pointers are focused on here and now, suggesting that Kennedy was facing the situation without attempting to avoid it by pointing away. Chart 8.24 As for media influence, Kennedy does not make use of sound bites, rhetorical questions or three part statements, which are so suitable for a TV broadcast. That said, he does use occasional disjuncts as discourse markers, numbering, repetition, inversion and also pronouns to involve the audience.
…they will be truly free -- free from foreign domination, free to choose their own leaders, free to select their own system, Kennedy is also occasionally friendly and informal but always within the boundaries of a presidential speech.
This informality is used as a bonding technique and is easily emphasized by tone of voice or stress during the speech. Lastly, Kennedy relies heavily on appeal to American values as well as on positive talk (we are good theme) about the United States, soliciting justification, support and sympathy from the audience, at times bordering on propaganda. And then shall Cuba be welcomed back to the society of free nations and to the associations of this hemisphere. Kennedy begins with a biblical shall, as if the US was the one to bless Cuba with freedom, then moves onto insinuating that Cuba is currently being excluded from not just the free nations (since it is currently unfree) but also from the associations of this hemisphere, hinting there is a club-like society of free and unfree nations to which Cuba wants to belong. The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are; but it is the one most consistent with our character and courage as a nation and our commitments around the world. Finally, Kennedy closes with a Biblical reference to a chosen path, and to the one, potentially alluding to Jesus, lifting the American character, courage and lastly the commitment to the world, directly referencing Winthrop. Overall, Kennedy delivers a solid, well thought-out speech, successfully employing audience involvement strategies and the appeal to American values, which are well emphasized by a television broadcast.
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