Discourse Analysis on President Mahmoud Ahmadinedjad’s Speech in the United Nation

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on speech act analysis which is applied in Ahmadindjad’s speeech in the United Nation in September 23, 2010. This speech is focused on two main points, evaluating attitudes and beliefs and the global management and ruling structures of United Nation. This study employs Searle’s theory to analyze the felicity conditions which constitue to be the requirement to attain successfull communication. He also investigates the types of speech acts, the functions and the way they are performed.

This study uses descriptive qualitative method. The data are analyzed in the following steps: Firstly, the researcher analyzes the speech based on felicity conditions theory proposed by Searle to define the context of utterances and to figure out the locutionary act. Secondly, he classifies the illocutionary acts into several types and their functions. Thirdly, he identifies the way the utterances are performed, whether they are performed directly or indirectly. Fourthly, he discusses the finding. The last is making a conclusion based on the data finding to answer the research question.

The analysis results some findings covering the formulated problems of study. It is found that the types of illocutionary cats consist of representative, directive, commissive and expressive. Declarative is not found because the speaker did not utter any utterance which belongs to changing the reality. Representative comprises of asserting, announcing, contrasting, attesting and explaining. In term of function, representative belongs to collaborative. Meanwhile, in term of the way those utterances are performed, more representatives are performed indirectly. The directives are counted as requesting, suggesting, questioning, and inviting. The function of directives here is competitive. Requesting is performed indirectly while suggesting, questioning and inviting are performed directly. The commissives comprise of promising and offering. They function as convivial. Both promising and offering are performed directly. The expressive illocutionary acts consist of thanking, condoling, congratulating and blaming. They function as convivial. Thanking, condoling, and congratulating are performed directly while blaming are performed both directly and indirectly.

Based on the findings mentioned above, it is suggested to the next researchers to fill the gap which is exploring more the perlocutionary acts by continuing this study through the same theory which adopts Searle’s theory.