Stylistic Features of Public Speech

8. 4. 1 Grammatical Features
8.4.1 . 1 Variation in sentence length We know that casual speech tends to use
short sentences. But a glance at Churchill's speech reveals that its sentences vary
much in length.

In the sample text, there are in all 20 sentences, the longest of which has 74
words and the shortest 4 words. Such sharp variation in length reflects the
emotional state of mind of the speaker and his/her effort to evoke an active
response from the audience. The average length is 24 words per sentence, which is
much longer than that (8 words per sentence) of casual conversation. Sentences in
public speaking, are mostly of the S P (O) (C) (A) structure (which is similar to
conversation), with occasional A S P O C (A) form. Though there can be several
clauses in a longer sentence, they mainly come after the main clause, which
presents no great difficulty for the audience to comprehend. There are no sentences
that are incomplete or elliptical. These characteristics show the double traits of
public speaking: it is formal as is required of written language, and it is yet not
difficult to understand at the time of its delivery as is required of the spoken
mode.

8.4. 1 .2 Various sentence types

As public speeches are intended to inform, to persuade, and to appeal, most

sentences are statements; occasional questions are used. At the welcoming banquet
held in honor of President Nixon on Feb 21, 1972, when he made his historic visit
to China , Nixon said in his speech:

What legacy shall we leave our children? Are they destined to die for the hatreds
which have plagued the old world, or are they destined to live because we had the
vision to build a new world? Such questions are used to give the audience food for
thought and to impress them, which do not usually expect an answer on the part of
the audience, though feedback by way of applause or laughter etc is welcomed.
Commands can be many, often introduced by let, as is shown in Martin Luther King
Jr's 'I Have a Dream' speech August 28, 1963:

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to

Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern
cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not
wallow in the valley of despair. Vocatives of a general type such as 'my fellow
citizens', 'my friends', are used to add a touch of intimacy to the addresser-
addressee relationship.

8.4.1 .3 More complex-looking group structures

Nominal groups in this variety can sometimes be complex-looking, but more with
post-modification than with pre-modification. This is necessary for more and
accurate information, and at the same time is not likely to pose much difficulty on
the audience's receiving process. Since the referent has already been stated, it is
simple for a hearer with no text before him/her to attach modifiers to it. 'Of
phrase' is often used as post-modification, and so is the relative clause and some
other structures. This is in keeping with the formal nature of public speech. It
adds to the solemnity of the oration. For instance, in the sample text, we have:

the powers conferred upon him by the Resolution of the House

an administration of this scale and complexity
the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history
any of my friends and colleagues, or former colleagues, who are affected by the
political reconstruction
any lack of ceremony with which it has been necessary to act
and many others. The relative pronoun is not supposed to be omitted as in casual
conversation, owing to the formal nature of oration:

a candor and a decision which the present situation of our nation impels What is
noteworthy in terms of verbal groups is the total lack of contractions in the most
persuasive speeches, which is, as formerly pointed out, a striking marker that
distinguishes formal from informal varieties of English (see 5.6.2 ). Passive
structure goes hand in hand with active structure such as should be summoned, will
be proposed, will be notified, must be remembered, have to be prepared' may be
pardoned, will not be suffered to fail in the sample text. This adds to the
complexity of the verbal phrase and formal flavor to the speech.

8.4.2 Lexical Features

8.4.2 .1 Using accurate and dear words

Compared with daily conversation, public speech is careful about its choice of
words. It tends to use words accurate and clear in meaning. The sample text shows
that public speech has much use of abstract words or even big words which is made
necessary by the 'content' of the speech--abstraction is needed in talking about
concepts, qualities or attributes and is in keeping with the solemnity of a speech.
Hence we find proceedings, adjournment, provision, resolution, administration,
scale, complexity, approval, confidence, undertaking, allowance, tyranny, terror ,
etc. These words, however, account for but lo% of the total words used, the rest
are all common everyday words. Actually in order to be accurate and dear in
meaning, successful speakers tend to choose concrete, 'familiar words over
abstract, unfamiliar ones. Even when abstract or unfamiliar words, such as
technical terms, are unavoidable, the speaker is supposed to keep them to a minimum
and clearly define those that his/her audience may not understand. There are
generally no words vague in meaning.

One of the most interesting features of I Have a Dream' speech is King's use of
language to make the abstract principles of liberty and equality clear and
compelling. Throughout the speech, King relies on familiar and concrete words. Here
is a part of the great speech:

We cannot turn back. There are those who ask the devotees of civil rights, 'When
will you be satisfied?' We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the
victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as
long as our bodies, heavy with fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels
of highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro
in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for
which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and will not be satisfied until
justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream

We can see that Martin Luther King Jr avoided using dull, dreary, abstract or
unfamiliar words like segregated housing, disfranchisement, and alienation , and
thus made his speech stirring and touching.
8.4. 2 . 2 Adaptation of wording to particular audience

In order to adapt the message to the particular audience being addressed, there
seems nowadays to be a tendency for the speaker to incline his/her language toward
the relatively less formal, less rigid ways of speaking, making reference to
him-/herself, introducing humor, asking for direct response from the audience, or
using some colloquial items or idioms, even some dialect words, to appear 'closer'
to his/her audience. A black speaker in the US may exaggerate the Black English
features in his speech so as to stress his membership in his ethnic group. A woman
speaker may choose to exhibit features associated with women's speech so as to
appear particularly feminine in

women's circles. Interestingly, even US President George Bush in his campaign at

Texas his home base--in 1992, adopted some local way of pronunciation (using '-
in' for '-ing', for instance) and expression so, as to appear more 'Texan', more
he-man, --and win more votes. But on the whole, public speech is formal in wording.
There are generally no slangy words and expressions and not many colloquial items
and idioms.

8.4. 2 .3 Less use of phrasal verbs

In the sample text, we have many one-word verbs of strong formal coloring such as
consider, summon, confer, propose, notify,, declare, affect, entitle, claim, and
only one use of the phrasal verb stand for . This is sharply contrasted with casual
speech in which phrasal verbs can be found everywhere.

8.4. 3 Phonological Features In a sense, the success of an address depends

largely on how the speaker controls his/her voice. If the speaker speaks too softly
to be heard, constantly stumbles over words, spits out his/her ideas at machine-gun
speed, or plods along as if reading a grocery list, then his/her speeches will
fail. So speakers have to work to control their voices. The aspects of voice to
control are volume, pitch, speed, pause, rhythm and articulation.

8.4.3 .1 Appropriate volume and pitch variation At one time a powerful voice was
all-essential for an orator. Today, with electric amplifier, the most feeble of
speakers can be heard in any setting. Still a speaker will adjust his/her volume
(loudness of voice) to the setting and the size of the audience. Also a speaker
will not speak in an absolute monotone with no variation whatever in pitch. But
he/she must also guard against falling into repetitious pitch patterns.

8.4.3 .2 Varying tempo and rightly timed pause

There is no uniform speed for effective speech making. One study said that Franklin
Roosevelt spoke at roughly 11o words per minute, John Kennedy at 19o, while Martin
Luther King opened his speech at a pace of 92 words per minute and finished it at
145. Generally, a fast speed is used when the speaker is warmed up to a topic while
a slow tempo is needed when the speaker begins to talk of a new idea. A fast tempo
can create feelings of joy, fear, anger or surprise while a slow rate is better for
creating feelings of sadness or disgust.

Pause in public speech is useful. It can signal the end of a thought unit, give an
idea time to sink in, and lend dramatic impact to a statement. The crucial factor
is timing pause for a right length of time. In a sense, a rightly timed pause can
be more effective than a right word. But pauses in public speech are not vocalized
as in daily conversation.

8.4.3 .3 Rhythmic effect

Speakers often seek to exploit the rhythm of language by their choice and
arrangement of words. By catching up their audience in an arresting string of
sounds, they can enhance the impact of their words -- and therefore their ideas.
Winston Churchill was a master at this. Here is a passage from one of his famous
speeches during World War II, with its graphic units set out in the manner of
poetry.

We shall not flag or fail.

We shall go on to the end.
Even though large tracts of Europe
and many old and famous states
May fall into the grip of the Gestapo