Impact of Use of Language on Audience’s Perception: A Qualitative Analysis of Speeches by Hillary Clinton

Abstract

Discourse is a fundamental factor to communicate and to identify a language or use of language. Therefore, the language used in political discourse is important for the candidates to persuade the voters. In the light of Hillary Clinton’s political discourses, interviews and debates, the present study aims to identify the impact of her language on audience’s perception. A total of Clinton’s 29 debates and 3 interviews have been extracted from YouTube, which were transcribed in the written text. The findings of the study revealed that pronouns, metaphors, and rhetoric aspects in the speeches fulfil the strategic communicative functions. This allows the study to present a political agenda, identify the important issues, and highlight her political actions. The media portrayal of Clinton’s leadership skills and language used in political speeches had a great impact on the voters. Therefore, more research should be conducted to recognize what voters want from a female candidate as a president.