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Part of
Singing, Speaking and Writing Politics: South African political discourses
Edited by Mirjana N. Dedaić
[Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture 65] 2015
► pp. 21–42

Mandela speaks to the nation

The use of metalingual mitigation markers to unify the audience

This chapter investigates metalingual mitigation markers, discursive strategies that entice the audience to think and feel in unison, and dress their thoughts and emotions in national colours. I focus on such markers employed by the South African president Nelson Mandela in his annual speeches to the national parliament, 1994–1999. Metalingual mitigation markers are shown to help the speaker hold the floor, redress the potential face threats, and unify the hearers into a community to which the speaker belongs.
Keywords: discourse, discourse markers, metalingual markers, national identity, Nelson Mandela, political speech, South Africa
Published online: 30 October 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.65.02ded
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