Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2022)

The Persuasive Effect of Legitimation Campaign Discourse

https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v11i1.190
Kelvin Mathayo Lukanga

Corresponding Author(s) : Kelvin Mathayo Lukanga

kamugalo@yahoo.co.uk

Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), Vol. 11 No. 1 (2022)

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the persuasive effect of legitimation discourse on
Tanzanians’ voting decisions. It examines how former President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete
and Dr Wilbroad Slaa deployed language during the 2010 presidential election
campaign to elicit support from the electorate. It also looks at non-discursive/nonlinguistic factors that influenced the same decisions. The data analysed in this paper is
from some of their campaign speeches, and from focus group discussions as well. In
analysing the data and discussing the findings, the study draws on Theo van Leeuwen’s
semantic-functional approach to critical discourse analysis (henceforth CDA). The results
show that the candidates’ discursive strategies, as well as other factors such as one’s
political affiliation, influenced the voting decisions of a fair number of respondents. The
paper argues that this happened because most of the respondents lacked critical
politico-discursive awareness, which would have opened their eyes if they had.


Keywords

legitimation discourse, critical discourse analysis, politico-discursive awareness, CHADEMA, CCM, Tanzania
The Persuasive Effect of Legitimation Campaign Discourse. (2022). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 11(1). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v11i1.190
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The Persuasive Effect of Legitimation Campaign Discourse. (2022). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 11(1). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v11i1.190
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