New book analyzes 14 speeches by seven Dominican presidents from 1963
SANTO DOMINGO.- The linguist Manuel Matos Moquete and the anthropologist Reina Rosario Fernández presented this Friday the work “The Presidential oath speech in Dominican Republic 1963-2012”, published by the Editorial Fund of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC).
The book analyzes the strategies of persuasion and domination contained in 14 presidential swearing speeches, as well as the historical contexts in which they were pronounced. These are important documents, with a great impact on the political life of a country, because they are issued at the inauguration of the President of the Republic, who at the beginning of his administration exposes his Government plans.
The event, held in the Julio Ravelo de la Fuente Hall, was headed by the dean of the Social Sciences and Humanities Area, Migdalia Martínez, and they gave a presentation on the work Odalís Pérez and Sonia Medina, who were in charge of the presentation.
The investigation studies 14 presidential inauguration speeches delivered between 1963 and 2012: one by Juan Bosch (1963); six by Joaquín Balaguer, of which three are from 1966 to 1974 and three from 1986 to 1994; one by Antonio Guzmán, 1978; one by Salvador Jorge Blanco, 1982; three by Leonel Fernández, 1996, 2004 and 2008; one of Hipólito Mejía, 2000 and one of Danilo Medina, 2012.
The content studies three dimensions of swearing speeches:
• The sociocultural, which refers to the relationship between the speaker and the speaker
• Use of language, which emphasizes the linguistic character, properly discursive
• Cognition, which refers to the conceptual universe of discourses.
The approach is situated from the perspective of the audience, which receives and interprets the discourses. This work is part of the line of research Discourse Analysis adopted by the Center for Research in Applied Linguistics of the Social Sciences and Humanities Area of INTEC.
Some conclusions
(Excerpts from the work)
• In swearing speeches, the exposition of the purposes and plans of the new government are developed based on the argumentation of concepts and values of a political, social, ethical, etc., about which it is sought to persuade the population of voters, which finally is the main recipient.
• The content of the presidential speeches have a before and after the execution of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. It can be said that there was a revolution in the speeches and in the denomination system. The topics and proposals, values and ideologies were renewed. And the political and social actors - leaders, parties, associations, unions, etc. - recently initiated in the democratic task had to do their learning, conceptualize their roles and re-conceptualize society.
• The 14 inauguration speeches offered between 1963 and 2012, with the exception of the one delivered by Juan Bosch, are centered on the first person singular and leave no doubt: there is a need to affirm the authority of the President of the Republic and that is the main self-image, even when the "we" of modesty, courtesy or protocol is used in all speeches.
• With the exception of Juan Bosch and Danilo Medina the image of the distant speaker prevails, hierarchical and egocentric, addressed to a general and unnamed public, with the exception, of course, of the formal and protocolar relationship with the National Assembly and the public of special guests.
• When analyzing the image or credit of the speaker. The speeches reveal that exceptional condition of a subject superior to others. Undoubtedly, they are aware that they embody a culture of power in the Dominican Republic, which wants that in order to govern, the ruler shows before his governed the profile of the boss, the caudillo. Apparently, due to the strong use of "I", this image corresponds to the expectation and pleasure of the Dominican audience, since it is not otherwise explained that it has remained forever among the rulers that the country has had through of its history.
• When analyzing the courtesy. It is extracted from the investigation that, chronologically in Dominican politics, relations have been more harsh and hostile among the more recent leaders than in the older ones, due to the way in which the Presidents refer to their political opponents in the speeches of swearing
• On speech organization. The scheme described in each of the speeches includes some strong elements that make up a logic and culture of the swearing-in speech in the Dominican Republic, namely: the sacredness of the oath and the invocation of God or the Virgin of Altagracia; the presence of history as a reference and justification for the present; the crisis as the main argument, and finally, the messianic role of the President of the Republic, interpreter of history, the voice of the people and promoter of beneficial solutions. A causal and problem-solution structure stands out in all discourses.
• Reference to oath. In that sense, it should be noted that nine of the 14 discourses establish a direct relationship between the oath and the swearing speech. Five do not refer to the oath, although some compromising statements evoke it, they contain it as an echo. Leonel Fernandez is the only speaker who does not refer to the oath in any of his speeches of oath. Balaguer omitted that reference twice six times.
• Strategies for argumentation. The arguments that have been identified are mainly the arguments by comparison, by sacrifice and by overcoming. Said arguments are the axes of persuasive strategies aimed at validating and justifying the purposes and general proposals contained in the swearing-in speeches.
About the authors
Manuel Matos Moquete. Doctorate in Literature from the Paris VIII University; Master's Degree in Modern Literature, Paris III University; BA in Modern Literature, Paris III University, Bachelor's degree in teaching French for foreigners, Paris III University.
He works as a full professor and researcher at Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), in addition to a professor at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) in chairs of Linguistics and Literature; Advisor to the Ministry of Education in the area of Spanish Language.
He is a member of the Dominican Academy of Language, member of the number of the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic and a corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy.
Reina Rosario Fernández. She obtained a degree in History and a Master's Degree in Cultural Anthropology from the Moscow State University and a PhD candidate in the Doctoral Program in History of Central America and the Caribbean in a comparative context of the University of Costa Rica.
She was dean of the Area of Social Sciences and Humanities of Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), where he designed and coordinated several rounds of the Master's Degree in Teaching Social Sciences, similarly, founded and coordinated the Chair of Antillanist Thought.