Systemic Functional Rhetoric: A Mixed Hallidayan-Aristotelian Approach to Persuasive Speeches

Abstract

Aristotle’s’ theory on rhetoric has been much used to analyze speeches of great people of various discourses, only to come up with a sort of evaluation of how persuasive, inspiring, convincing, motivating and arguing those speeches are in terms of Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. Rarely, if ever, do analysts go into a deeper investigation of the linguistic features –grammatical intricacy –as used by the rhetoricians. This article aims to justify a mixed approach (Hallidayan Systemic Functional Linguistics and Aristotelian Trilogy of Rhetoric) to persuasive speeches. Aristoteles’ Trilogy of Rhetoric (TR) was highlighted to position the three effective pillars upon which Persuasive Rhetoric had been built.  Aa well, a critical review of Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to highlight its thorough description of linguistic meta-functions (ideational, interpersonal and textual), leading respectively to field, tenor and modes of the discourse and grammatical intricacy as a barometer of spoken text. It was proven that TR and SFL were potentially synergized as a mixed approach to persuasive speeches, employing its newly-formulated framework of Analysis. Thus, the new approach termed as “Systemic Functional Rhetoric Approach” was confirmed   as a comprehensive tool to analyze persuasive speeches, employing both Trilogy of Rhetoric (TR) and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL)