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nghiên cứu khoa học về điệp từ trong tiếng anh application of ellipsis on Obamas speeches luận văn của khoa ngôn ngữ học vè ứng dụng dùng biện pháp điệp từ trong các bài phát biểu của tổng thống Mỹ Obama
APPLICATION OF ELLIPSIS IN OBAMA’S SPEECHES Group 13: Nguyễn Hồng Anh Phạm Hoàng Anh Chu Thị Hồng I Background Methodology: 1.1 Reference: 20 Obama’s speeches in universities George Mason University speech http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamageorgemason.htm Commencement Address at the University of Notre Dame http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamanotredamecommenceme nt.htm A New Beginning: Speech at Cairo University http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamacairouniversity.htm Address to the New Economic School Graduating Class http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamaneweconomicschool.htm Back-to-School Speech at Wakefield High School http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamabacktoschoolspeech.htm Commencement Address at the University of Michigan http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamauniversityofmichiganco mmencement.htm Address to Students at the University of Indonesia http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamaindonesiauniversity.htm Commencement Address at Miami Dade College http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamamiamidadecommenceme nt.htm Address on the Economy at Osawatomie High School http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamaosawatomieeconomy.ht m 10 Address at Hankuk University http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamahankukuniversity.htm 11 Commencement Address at Barnard College http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamabarnardcollegecommenc ement.htm 12 Address at Yangon University http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamayangonuniversity.htm 13 Morehouse College Commencement Address http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamamorehousecollegecomm encement.htm 14 Naval Academy Commencement Address http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamanavalacademycommence ment.htm 15 University of Cape Town Address http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamacapetownuniversity.htm 16 United States Military Academy Commencement Address http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamawestpointcommencement 2014.htm 17 U.S Air Force Academy Commencement Address http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamaairforceacademycomme ncement.htm 18 Young leaders town hall in VN http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamaYSEALIVietnam.htm 19 Young Leaders of the United Kingdom Town Hall http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamalondontownhall.htm 20 Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative Town Hall Argentina http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamaYLAIArgentina.htm 1.2 Methodology: This research was conducted by examining 20 speeches of Barack Obama The conclusions of these speeches were analyzed to figure out the tendency of ellipsis, the frequency of each type of ellipsis, and the ways can be used to avoid mistakes when use ellipsis Speech Ellipsis (%) 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Average 42,1 31,6 63,3 16,7 16,7 36,4 16,7 20 25 25 26,2 15,8 8,7 14,3 20,8 22,2 30 15,8 10 23,1 Nominal ellipsis (%) 10,5 21,1 42,2 0,0 0,0 32,4 0,0 2,9 10,4 12,5 0,0 3,2 2,9 9,5 6,9 16,7 0,0 3,3 5,3 0,0 7,3 Barack Obama and his speeches Verbal ellipsis (%) 5,3 0,0 0,0 8,4 12,5 0,0 8,4 8,6 11,1 12,5 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 6,7 0,0 3,3 4,4 Clausal ellipsis (%) 26,3 10,5 21,1 8,4 4,2 4,0 8,4 8,6 2,8 0,0 2,6 12,6 5,8 4,8 13,9 5,6 0,4 20,0 10,5 6,7 11,5 2.1 Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017 He is the first African American to have served as president Obama is remembered to be one of the greatest speakers of all time He knows exactly what to say to make his audience trust him He has the ability to use words that cut to the quick in a way that every person feels deeply His artful use of metaphors speaks for itself 2.2 Speech: - Definition: * a form of communication in spoken language, made by a speaker before an audience for a given purpose => focus on this defin * The expression of or the ability to express thoughts and feelings by articulate sounds * A formal address or discourse delivered to an audience (Oxford dictionary) - Obama’s speeches: During his eight-year career, Obama had made hundreds of speeches aiming at many kinds of audience such as politicians, parliamentarians, and citizens Among of those, he spent time visiting school, colleges, and universities all around the world and made eloquent speeches to these students Those speeches were not too formal, but they were like a talk, a confidence, an advice, and an encouragement It is considered that he spent great concern about the educational issues and about the new generation Ellipsis: - Definition: Ellipsis happens when we leave out (in other words, when we don’t use) items which we would normally expect to use in a sentence if we followed the grammatical rules (Cambridge dictionary) The items left out are in brackets [ ]: Ex: - In difficult economic times, a lot of fathers are worried about whether they’re going to be able to keep their job, or [whether they’re going to be able] find a job,… (Barack Obama, Father’s Day Address, 21 June 2010) - These apples are delicious Let’s by some - What are they doing? - (They are) Reading Feature: - Ellipsis, a cohesive device, is a universal linguistic phenomenon which is generally employed without any real awareness of how it is structured by the language users A relation of cohesion is established where the interpretation of some element presupposes, and is dependent on another, so creating a tie and integrating the two elements into a text (Halliday, M A K An introduction to functional grammar London: Edward Arnold, 1994) - "Ellipsis is most commonly used to avoid repetition, and in this respect it is like substitution." (Quirk and Greenbaum, A concise grammar of contemporary English, Harcourt, Brace, Javanovich, Pubs 1973: 261) I Theory 1.Types (syntactic function): Deictic as Head Nominal ellipsis Numeral as Head Epithets as Head Lexical ellipsis Ellipsis Verbal ellipsis Operator ellipsis Modal & propositional Clausal ellipsis No ellipsis of single elements Ellipsis in Q&A 1.1 Nominal Ellipsis • Definition: Nominal ellipsis means the ellipsis within the nominal group or the common noun that may be omitted and the function of head taken on by one of other elements (deictic, nominative, epithet or classifier) • Structure of nominal group: (Pre-modifiers) + Head + (Post-modifiers) Ex: Those two fast electric trains with pantographs Pre-modifier Head Post-modifier The modifier can be deictic, nominative, epithet or classifier - The deictic is normally a determiner - The nominative is a numeral or other quantifier - The epithet is an adjective - the classifier is a noun • Types Deictic as Head: 1.1 Specific deictic: The specific deictic are demonstrative, possessive and the - The demonstratives are this, that, these, those, and which - Possessives include both noun (Smith’s, my father’s, etc.), attributes (my, your, etc.), and nominal (mine, yours, etc.) For example: (a) Take these pills three times daily And you’d better have some more of those too Pills, functioning as head, is omitted and is replaced by demonstrative modifier those The full form of the sentence is “Take these pills three times daily And you’d better have some more of those pills too” 1.2 Non-specific deictic: The non-specific deictic are each, every, any, either, no, neither, a and some as well as both For example: (a) Smith and Jones are on Holiday I wonder if either has left an address (the word Smith and Jones are omitted and replaced by either) The full form: Smith and Jones are on holiday I wonder if either Smith or Jones has left an address (b) These apples are delicious Let’s by some (the phrase these apples is omitted and replaced by the word some) The full form: These apples are delicious Let’s buy some apples 1.3 Post-deictic: The word functioning as post-deictic elements in the nominal group are adjectives The frequent adjectives used in deictic function include other, same, different, identical, usual, regular, certain, odd, famous, well-known, typical, obvious They combine with the, a or other determiner; and they may be followed by a numeral, unlike adjectives in their normal function as epithet Deictic Epithet The identical three questions three identical questions The usual two comments two usual comments For example: - I’ve used up these three yellow folders you gave me Can I use the other? The elliptical nominal group is signed by combination post-deictic other and specific deictic the The full form of the sentence is “I’ve used up these three yellow folder you gave me Can I use the other three yellow folders?” - I’ll have the same (Same function as Head) Numeral as Head 2.1 Ordinal numeral The ordinal numerals are first, next, last, second, third, fourth, etc They are often used elliptically, generally with the or a possessive as deictic For example: Have another chocolate – No, thanks; that was my third The nominal elliptical group my third is specific deictic of possessive pronoun my and ordinal third The full form of the sentence becomes Have another chocolate – No, thanks That was my third chocolate 2.2 Cardinal Numeral Cardinal numerals are also frequent in ellipsis, and may be preceded by any deictic and also by post deictic adjectives such as the usual three, the same three For example Have another chocolate – No, thanks; I’ve had my three The nominal elliptical group my three is specific deictic possessive my and cardinal numeral three The full form of the sentence is Have another chocolate – No, thanks I’ve had my three chocolate 2.3 Indefinite Quantifiers The indefinite quantifiers are items such as much, many, most, few, several, a little, lots, a bit, hundreds, etc For example: Can all cats climb trees? – they all can; and most the indefinite quantifier, most, presupposes cats Epithet as Head The function of epithet is typically fulfilled by an adjective 3.1 Color adjectives: Ex: Green suits you very well 3.2 Opposites Ex: I like strong tea I suppose weak is better for you 3.3 Superlative The superlative adjective precedes other Epithets and is usually accompanied by the or a possessive Deictic For example: Apples are the cheapest in autumn The cheapest is an elliptical nominal group presupposing some item such as fruit 3.4 Comparative Ex: (a) Mary is the cleverer (b) Mary is cleverer (a) is comparative ellipsis since it is presupposing by reference whereas (b) is not elliptical comparative 1.2 Verbal ellipsis Definition (VE refers to E within the verbal group) VE defines as a verbal group whose structure does not fully express it systemic features Ex: Have you been to London? - Yes, I have (been to London) Types of VE types: - Lexical E - Operation E a Lexical E Definition: LE is type of E in which the lexical verb is missing from the verbal group Ex: She can sing modal and her sister can (sing) too lexical Do you like milk-tea? - Yes, I (like milk-tea) primary lexical * E of Lexical V only Ex: She can sing and her sister can (sing) too lexical V * E of Lexical V/ V phrase + subject complement Ex: Mary is the best student at Maths, and Linda (is the best student) at Physics lexical V S complement * Lexical V/ V phrase + direct object Ex: Nam is reading books in the living-room, and Nga (is reading books) in her room V-phrase Note: Primary auxiliaries (be, have, do) can be elliptical and substitutes Ex: • Did Jane know? - No, but Mary did knew (substitution) • Did Jane know? - Yes, she did auxiliary b Operator E - Involves only the omission of operators - Lexical V remains intact Ex: - Some were laughing but some (were) crying - What are they doing? - (They are) Reading * E of subject and auxiliaries: Ex: He is reading books and (he is) eating at the same time * E of auxiliary only Ex: Some were laughing but some (were) crying Peter should study Math and Peter (should) study Physics direct Object 1.3 Clausal ellipsis Definition Clausal ellipsis represents the obmission of a part of the clause or all of it Such ellipsis is often associated with questions and responses in dialogues It is similar to verbal ellipsis except that clausal ellipsis is external to verb itself, effecting other elements in the structure of the clause Types: 1.1 Modal and propositional: The clause has two part structure including MODAL and PROPOSITION: a) Modal ellipsis -The modal element consists of the subject plus the finite element in the verbal group -Response to a WH_question (What did/dose/do) Ex: What was the Duke going to do? – (The Duke was going to ) plant a row of poplars in the park b) Propositional ellipsis -The propositional element consist of: the remainder of the verbal group, and any complements or adjuncts that may be present -Response to statements or YES/NO questions Ex: The plane has landed -> Has it (landed)? Has the plane landed? -> It has (landed)? 1.2No elipsis of single elements Ex: Has she taken her medicine? In this case, we must reply with a full clause: “She has taken her medicine” Or we must omit both “her medicine” and “taken” “ She has” Or use substitution “do”: She has done 1.3Elipsis in Q&A a) Yes/No question ellipsis Answer to yes/ no questions or polar questions are very simply dealt with the instruction to answer yes or no Ex: Are you coming -> Yes (I am) b) WH questions ellipsis Ex: When did John arrive? -> Yesterday Analyze: George Mason University speech http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamageorgemason.htm We start 2009 in the midst of a crisis unlike any (crisis) we have seen in our lifetime, a crisis that has only deepened over the last few weeks Nearly two million jobs have been now lost And on Friday, we're likely to learn that we lost more jobs last year than (we lost jobs) at any time since World War II Just in the past year, another 2.8 million Americans who want and (who) need fulltime work have had to settle for part-time jobs Manufacturing has hit a 28-year low Many businesses cannot borrow or (many businesses cannot) make payroll Many families cannot pay their bills or (many cannot pay) their mortgage Many workers are watching their life savings disappear And many, many Americans are both anxious and uncertain of what the future will hold Now, I don't believe it's too late to change course, but it will be (too late) if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years The unemployment rate could reach double digits Our economy could fall trillion dollars short of its full capacity, which translates into more than 12,000 dollars in lost income for a family of four (people) We could lose a generation of potential and promise as more young Americans are forced to forego dreams of college or the chance to train for the jobs of the future And our nation could lose the competitive edge that has served as a foundation for our strength and (the competitive edge foundation for) our standing in the world In short, a bad situation could become dramatically worse This crisis did not happen solely by some accident of history or normal turn of the business cycle And we won't get out of it by simply waiting for a better day to come or relying on the worn-out dogmas of the past We arrived at this point due to an era of profound irresponsibility that stretched from corporate board rooms to the halls of power in Washington, D.C Nominal ellipsis = 10,5% Verbal ellipsis = 5,3% Commencement Address at the University of Notre Dame Clausal ellipsis = 26,3% http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamanotredamecommenceme nt.htm Now, every one of you should be proud of what you've achieved at this institution One hundred and sixty-three classes of Notre Dame graduates have sat where you sit today Some (people) were here during years that simply rolled into the next without much notice or fanfare periods of relative peace and prosperity that required little by way of sacrifice or struggle You, however, are not getting off that easy You have a different deal Your class has come of age at a moment of great consequence for our nation and for the world a rare inflection point in history where the size and scope of the challenges before us require that we remake our world to renew its promise, that we align our deepest values and commitments to the demands of a new age It's a privilege and (it’s) a responsibility afforded to few generations – and (it’s) a task that you're now called to fulfill This generation, your generation is the one (generation) that must find a path back to prosperity and (that must) decide how we respond to a global economy that left millions behind even before the most recent crisis hit an economy where greed (thinking) and short-term thinking were too often rewarded at the expense of fairness, and diligence, and an honest day's work Your generation Your generation must decide how to save God's creation from a changing climate that threatens to destroy it Your generation must seek peace at a time when there are those (people) who will stop at nothing to us harm, and when weapons in the hands of a few (people) can destroy the many (people) And we must find a way to reconcile our ever-shrinking world with its ever-growing diversity diversity of thought, diversity of culture, and diversity of belief In short, we must find a way to live together as one human family And And it's this last challenge that I'd like to talk about today, despite the fact that Father John stole all my best lines For the major threats we face in the 21st century whether it's global recession or (it’s) violent extremism, the spread of nuclear weapons or pandemic disease these things not discriminate They not recognize borders They not see color They not target specific ethnic groups Moreover, no one person, or religion, or nation can meet these challenges alone Our very survival has never required greater cooperation and (Our very survival has never required) greater understanding among all people from all places than at this moment in history Nominal ellipsis = 21,1% Verbal ellipsis = 0% Clausal ellipsis = 10,5% Commencement Address at Miami Dade College http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamamiamidadecommenceme nt.htm When waves of Irish and Italian immigrants were derided as criminals and (When waves of Irish and Italian immigrants were derided as) outcasts; when Catholics were discriminated against, or Jews had to succumb to quotas, or Muslims were blamed for society’s ills; when blacks were treated as second-class citizens and marriages like my own parents’ were illegal in much of the country we didn’t stop We didn’t accept inequality We fought We overcame We carried the dream forward We have carried this dream forward through times when our politics seemed broken This is not the first time where it looked like politicians were going crazy In heated debates over our founding, some warned independence would doom America to “a scene of bloody discord and desolation for ages.” That was the warning about independence One of our greatest Presidents, Thomas Jefferson, was labeled an “infidel” and (Thomas Jefferson was labeled) a “howling atheist” with “fangs.” Think about that Even I haven’t gotten that one yet Lincoln Lincoln, FDR, they were both vilified in their own times as tyrants, power hungry, bent on destroying democracy And of course, this state has seen its fair share of tightly contested elections And we’ve made it through those moments None of it was easy A lot of it was messy Sometimes there was violence Sometimes it took years, even decades, for us to find our way through But here’s the thing We made it through We made it through because in each of those moments, we made a choice Rather than turn inward and wall off America from the rest of the world, we’ve chosen to stand up forcefully for the ideals and the rights we believe are universal for all men and women Rather than settle for an America where everybody is left to fend for themselves, where we think only about our own short-term needs instead of the country that we’re leaving to our children, we have chosen to build a nation where everybody has a shot at opportunity, where everyone can succeed We’ve chosen to invest in our people and (We’ve chosen to invest) in their future -building public schools, sending a generation to college on the GI Bill, laying highways and railroads, building ports all across the country Rather than turn on each other in times of cultural upheaval, we’ve chosen to march, to organize, to sit-in, to turn out, to petition our government for women’s rights and voting rights and civil rights even in the face of fierce resistance because we are Americans; and no matter who we are or what we look like, we believe that in this country, all are equal, all are free Rather than (we) give in to the voices suggesting we set our sights lower, (we) downsize our dreams, or (we) settle for something less, we’ve chosen again and again to make America bigger, bolder, more diverse, more generous, more hopeful Nominal ellipsis = 2,9% Verbal ellipsis = 8,6% Clausal ellipsis = 8,6% 18 Young leaders town hall in VN http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamaYSEALIVietnam.htm Now, as President, a key part of my foreign policy is to deepen our ties with countries and that peoples of Southeast Asia And we’ve done that We've deepened the ties with our allies and (We've deepened the ties with) our partners We’ve engaged more with institutions like ASEAN We’re pursuing the Trans-Pacific Partnership to grow our economies and (We’re pursuing the Trans-Pacific Partnership) to support jobs in our countries Together, we’re promoting peace and encouraging sustainable development We're protecting our environment, and (we’re) trying to meet shared challenges like climate change But government and businesses are only part of the equation If we’re going to meet all of these challenges, we also have to build strong relationships between our people, and especially between young people like you and young people in other ASEAN countries Keep in mind that here in Vietnam, two-thirds of you were born after 1975 As I often say to young Americans back home, your generation can look at the world with fresh eyes, without some of the old notions, the old habits of a previous generation And that gives you the perspective and (that gives you) the power not just to help to grow Vietnam, but also (that gives you the perspective and the power) to help shape the world Thanks to technology and social media, you’re the most connected generation in history I see it in my daughters, who are always on the phone, and they have to teach me how to use the phone More than 30 million people in Vietnam one-third of the population are on Facebook just on Facebook You’re posting selfies I know I was in the gym this morning, people were trying to take selfies You're streaming the latest Son Tung MTP hit But you're also exchanging ideas and (you’re) learning from each other And so this gives you tremendous power And we need your passion and energy and talents to tackle some of our biggest global challenges whether it's reducing poverty, (it’s) advancing equality for women and girls, (it’s) fighting climate change Nominal ellipsis = 3,3% Verbal ellipsis = 6,7% Clausal ellipsis = 20% Conclusion: According to the statistics found, the frequency of Obama's using E in his speeches is not high (about 23%) which showed that he has tendency to speak as clear as possible However, the use of E is unavoidable because it helped his address be not repetitive, but made it more cohesive Namely, he used 7% of Nominal E, 4% of Verbal E, 12% of Clausal E ... ellipsis Ellipsis Verbal ellipsis Operator ellipsis Modal & propositional Clausal ellipsis No ellipsis of single elements Ellipsis in Q&A 1.1 Nominal Ellipsis • Definition: Nominal ellipsis means... b Operator E - Involves only the omission of operators - Lexical V remains intact Ex: - Some were laughing but some (were) crying - What are they doing? - (They are) Reading * E of subject and... Object 1.3 Clausal ellipsis Definition Clausal ellipsis represents the obmission of a part of the clause or all of it Such ellipsis is often associated with questions and responses in dialogues It