Patterning through Linguistic Posterity: A Socio Cognitive Discourse Analysis of Bhutto’s Political Rhetoric

Abstract

The present research study has been conducted on six political speeches of three political leaders of the same family namely Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and scion of their legacy Bilawal Bhutto to examine how political leaders of same party have propagated their ideologies using linguistic strategies. It is imperative to investigate language as an instrument used by these politicians to persuade their public with assertion of power or power abuse. This study will also endeavour to explore rhetorical and ideological changes over the period of three generations. To investigate the discourse critically and to appraise the ideological foundation of political speeches socio-cognitive approach to CDA has been adopted to analyze and interpret the underlying ideological structure of discourse with reference to Van Dijk socio cognitive discourse theory (1993) and macro level structural arrangement, communicative situations and linguistic ideological structures like meaning, polarization, verbose style, emotive nuance, presuppositions and implication identification, and parallelism. The study revealed the ways in which political leaders exploit the power given by people and control the minds of people by manipulating discourse. The research finding guide that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto delivered his speech as microcosm of the nation. No other leader of Pakistan had used such emotive and diplomatic discourse to persuade his nation. It was Bhutto’s rhetorical style which had made him alive in hearts of his followers. Benazir Bhutto the daughter of zulfiqar Ali Bhutto idealized her father and Bilawal Bhutto do not construct his identity completely subservient to Bhutto dynasty. Benazir criticizes Zia for her father’s hanging and Bilawal criticized Pervaiz Musharraf for her mother’s assassination. Finding revealed through discourse analysis that power validates and affirms itself in possible dimensions which continue fluctuating though in specific variety of orbits such as control, ideology, language, and society. Persuasion is just to gain power, to surpass, dominate, to prevail, and to stand out of all. They have confidently conveyed with them the insignia of their part at public stage. From structural, thematic, and discursive points political leaders have been found using persuasive devices.