The Analysis of Political Euphemism in Joe Biden's “State of the Union” Speech
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37304/ebony.v6i1.23807Keywords:
political euphemism, State of the Union Address, discourse analysis, Allan and Burridge’s frameworkAbstract
This study investigates the strategic use of political euphemism in Joe Biden's 2023 State of the Union Address. Drawing upon the theoretical framework of Allan and Burridge (1991), the research identified the types and analyzed the communicative functions of euphemistic expressions. Employing a descriptive qualitative design supported by frequency counts, the primary data were collected from the official speech transcript. The analysis revealed a total of 70 euphemism instances. The findings show that circumlocution is the most frequently occurring type (36%), suggesting a dominant strategy of using indirect and extended expressions. Conversely, the most dominant communicative function is softening unpleasant realities (61%), indicating that the speech primarily leveraged euphemism to mitigate sensitive political issues and downplay potential criticisms, such as economic challenges and policy shortcomings. These findings demonstrate that euphemism is employed by the political leader not merely for politeness but as a deliberate rhetorical tool to shape public perception, manage sensitive topics, and strategically reinforce the political agenda. This research contributes to the fields of pragmatics and political linguistics by providing insights into the strategic nature of language in political discourse.
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