Speech Act Patterns in Inaugural Speeches: A Cross-Cultural Examination through Searle`s Framework

Abstract

In this paper, a collection of inaugural speeches from various countries — Belarus, Egypt, and the UK — was examined as a way to ascertain whether there are variations within this genre in various cultures. This study is an analysis of speech act patterns in different inaugural speeches, which is of great linguistic and cultural significance, and the author has conducted a thorough analysis based on an appropriate method. It identifies a research gap in the comprehensive cross-cultural analysis of inaugural speeches – previously overlooked within the framework of speech act theory. The study aims to analyse the occurrence and functions of speech acts in inaugural speeches across distinct cultural and political contexts, emphasising assertives and commissives as the predominant speech acts. The paper is geared toward a detailed analysis, and to expand the limits of the generalisability of the findings, we selected speeches from various time periods and contexts to offer a more comprehensive view. The analysis of these speeches revealed that they differ from one another. Our findings show that commissives were predominant in Sunak's speech, whereas assertives were dominant in the other speeches. The findings contribute to political discourse analysis by revealing how leaders strategically use speech acts, such as Sunak's emphasis on commissives, to align their rhetoric with political goals. Future research should examine more inaugural addresses across diverse cultures.