Structural Features of Modern English Commencement Speeches

Abstract

This paper investigates structural features of modern English commencement speeches. In the article, the commencement speech is defined as a speech delivered at the graduation ceremony by outstanding people, who gained national or international recognition in some field (e.g. science, medicine, business or entertainment). We suggest that commencement address belongs to the entertaining-commemorating type of discourse and its main purpose is to show respect and inspire graduates, to honour the beginning of their independent life. To meet the needs of the study Nagorska’s approach to the speech structure has been adapted. The linguist distinguishes three main parts of a speech: Introductory, Basic and Final Communicative Units. The article focuses on the analysis of Introductory (ICU) and Final Communicative Units (FCU). The results of the study show that ICU starts with the greeting (formal or informal, sometimes both to avoid repetition) that is followed by the address to group or individual addressee. The speakers invariably greet and address the graduates but they may deliberately skip address to other members of the gathering. The keynote speakers tend to air gratitude but usually it appears as a reaction to active audience, their applause or excited exclamations, in that case orators deviate from the original text of their speech and spontaneously thank everybody for their warm welcome. The invariable feature of ICU of all the commencement speeches in question is the expression of honour as every speaker is genuinely grateful for the trust and opportunity to share his/her experience and inspire the younger generation. In FCU the speakers repeat the main message of the speech or challenge the students in order to leave a deep imprint on their memory and induce them to life-changing actions. They inspire graduates not to be afraid of failures and hardships, contribute to the community/country and find their true vocation.