An Analysis Of Obama's Shanghai Speech From The Perspective Of The Appraisal Theory

On November 16, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a speech to Chinese college students in the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Unlike the studies in light of politics, the thesis explores how Obama aligns Chinese participants by dint of evaluative resources from the perspective of linguistics. The Appraisal Theory, the theoretical framework adopted in the research, distinguishes itself into attitude, engagement and graduation. The thesis adopts quantitative and qualitative methodology combined with detailed instances to investigate the distribution of appraisal resources as well as the functions they serve. It is demonstrated that attitudinal resources are massively applied in the speech whose uneven proportion indicates affect prevails in the attitude system, followed by judgement and appreciation. Positive attitudinal assessments outnumber the negative ones; similarly, explicit attitudinal assessments are more than implicit ones. With respect to engagement, both contractive resources and expansive resources are employed to establish negotiation with Chinese audience. Up-scaling graduation resources interweave with attitudinal and engagement resources so as to convince more Chinese youth on site of Obama's viewpoints being advanced. The thesis validates the application and feasibility of the Appraisal Theory in political speeches, meanwhile provides valuable insights into English language learning as well as intercultural communication.