Speech Acts in Political Leaders’ Speeches: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Angela Merkel’s Speech in Parliament on Refugee Crisis

Türkçe

The objective of the study was to conduct a critical discourse analysis employing speech act theory on Angela Merkel's political address in the German parliament regarding the global refugee crisis resulting from the Syrian civil war that commenced in 2010 and whose repercussions have disseminated globally. The present study utilized a qualitative research design based on the speech act theory of Austin and Searle. A critical discourse analysis was conducted on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s parliamentary speech regarding the refugee crisis to determine the performative functions of her statements and to examine how language shapes social interactions and influences discourse dynamics. Angela Merkel's discourse on the Syrian refugee crisis encompassed an analysis of 97 randomly selected sentences, classified as locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary speech acts according to Austin and Searle's speech act theory. The results indicate that Angela Merkel mostly employs illocutionary speech actions, succeeded by locutionary and perlocutionary speech acts. Moreover, the findings indicate that indirectness is a salient feature of political communication. The systematic application of implicit and context-dependent meaning-making strategies signifies a deliberate communicative method aimed at mitigating political risk, engaging varied audiences, and maintaining diplomatic ambiguity. This indirectness enhances interpretative flexibility and strengthens the persuasive efficacy of political discourse. The research demonstrates that politicians skillfully and effectively employ language in their speeches, utilizing various speech acts to influence their listeners. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of pragmatic language in political discourse. Furthermore, the findings indicate that politicians frequently communicate their messages indirectly rather than explicitly in their speeches. This study strengthens the interdisciplinary connection between pragmatics and critical discourse studies by empirically demonstrating the importance of performativity in political language and elucidating the ideological and strategic dimensions that shape the use of speech acts in high-level political communication.