A STUDY OF STYLISTIC DEVICES USED IN SPEECHES TO STUDENTS MADE BY POLITICAL LEADERS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

Abstract

This is a study of stylistic devices in speeches to students made by political leaders in English and Vietnamese. The data for analysis in this thesis are 100 samples of speeches to students made by political leaders (50 in English and 50 in Vietnamese) collected from trusted and prestigious online newspapers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. The research is carried out based on the combination of a variety of methods, namely qualitative, quantitative, statistics, descriptive, analytic, synthetic, comparative, contrastive, and inductive. The study analyzes five stylistic devices: repetition, metaphor, simile, parallelism and rhetorical questions used in speeches to students made by political leaders in English and Vietnamese. It also makes a comparison to discover the similarities and differences of these features between the two languages. On the basis of the findings, some implications for teaching and learning English are suggested. This thesis is significant in providing some linguistic and pedagogical contributions. Linguistically, the study yields a better insight into stylistic devices analysis and making speeches in English and Vietnamese. Pedagogically, the research result can be useful for politicians, secretaries, teachers and learners of English, as well as those who are interested in making an effective speech.