Canons of Classical Rhetoric in Sam Nujoma's State of the Nation Addresses (1990-2004)

Canons of Classical Rhetoric in Sam Nujoma's State of the Nation Addresses (1990-2004)

M.A. Dissertation - "The mini-dissertation examines and highlights in broad detail how Mr. Sam Nujoma used the canons of classical rhetoric in his State of the Nation Addresses during his Presidential reign in Namibia from 1990 to 2004. Mr. Nujoma’s Addresses are critiqued against the five canons of classical rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, delivery and memory. Specifically, the author focuses on the following five research questions: 1. What evidence of particular appeals or approaches are used by Mr. Nujoma? 2. How effective is the arrangement of messages or arguments in the Introduction, Purpose statement, Body and Conclusion of the addresses? 3. Is the language style clear, vivid and persuasive in the sense of it being appropriate to Mr. Nujoma, the audience and the occasion? 4. Are there vocal and other nonverbal aspects used to complement verbal messages during the delivery of the addresses? 5. Is Mr. Nujoma’s retention and grasp of the contents of the addresses evident? In an attempt to answer the research questions above, twenty eight hours of video recordings shown live on the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation and two hundred twenty pages of the Hansard of the fifteen State of the Nation Addresses delivered between 1990 and 2004 were examined. The research shows that there is a difference between Mr. Nujoma’s written and delivered addresses in articulation. While the speeches were properly written, Nujoma’s delivery at times failed them. Notwithstanding the fact that English is not Nujoma’s home language, the grammatical conventions in his addresses were largely correct. However, the video recordings of the speeches sometimes contradicted Nujoma on the pronunciation of words. Mr. Nujoma’s inability to pronounce certain words is one of the reasons for the deficiency in delivery. Policies and actions are more important, but when one is the President, the public and history look to him to shape the way important things are talked about. Mr. Nujoma used various verbal tactics to complement pathos in his State of the Nation Addresses. He appealed to emotions of fear. Another technique evident in Nujoma’s State of the Nation Addresses was the use of logos. In this technique, the danger lies in the fact that decisions based on rational appeals are not necessarily based on truth or logic, but on emotions favouring those who put forth the more powerful arguments."

Audrin Inambao Mathe

University of the Free State

2006

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English