Psychological Discursiveness in Language Use of Imran Khan's Speech on National Issues

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to understand psychological discursiveness in the speech delivered by former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan on national issues. In this study, cognitive (schematic) and linguistic analysis are hybridized at lexical, syntactic and pragmatical levels to find out the results. The study is mixed in its nature and there have been utilized Atomistic Morphological Analysis Method, Syntactic Analysis (Jegede, 2020) and Cognitive Pragmatic Communication Theory (Sperber & Wilson, 2004). Frequent use of first-person pronouns, declarative sentences and other utterings denotes that the speaker is intended to keep the speech relevant to the aspects like power, hegemony and ideology. Furthermore, cognitive linguistic analysis reveals that the speaker is determined to present his agenda as positive ourselves and negative other-selves for the promotion of his own hegemonic agenda which is wrapped in the ideology.