An Analysis of Personal Deictic Expressions in Selected Victory Speeches of Ghanaian Presidents

The essential role that language plays in politics has engendered several studies exploring language use across different political subgenres, such as inaugural addresses, concession speeches, campaign speeches, victory speeches, and state-of-the-nation addresses. However, little has been done on the use of personal deixis (person deixis) in Ghanaian presidents’ victory speeches. In filling this gap, this study adopted the qualitative approach using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) from the perspective of van Dijk to explore instances of personal deixis in the 2012 and 2016 victory speeches of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and President John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). In addition, the study used Levinson’s (1983) framework of deictic expressions to analyze the data. The findings confirmed that all three categories of personal deictic expressions and their variants were used in the victory speeches of the two presidents. The results further show a few disparities in how the two presidents employed personal deixis in crafting victory narratives, regardless of political party affiliation. The study emphasizes the significance of deictic expressions in political communication, highlighting their influence on Ghanaian politicians’ perceptions and ideologies. The study further recommends the effective use of deictic terms, tailored to specific contexts and target audiences, in political leaders’ communication. It offers insights into deictic expressions employed by Ghanaian presidents to assert authority and promote collective identity. Ultimately, the study’s findings contribute to a deeper understanding of linguistic strategies such as personal deixis used in political discourse.