Presidential addresses during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana: A rhetorical analysis of President Nana Akufo-addo’s speeches

Abstract

This study examined the addresses delivered by the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It addressed two research questions: a) What rhetorical elements framed the addresses; and b) What was the contribution of these rhetorical elements deployed in the speeches to the persuasive intentions of the speeches? The pragma-rhetorical theory and metaphor theory provided a theoretical and conceptual underpinning for analysing the speeches. The methodology for the study entailed the use of qualitative textual analysis using purposively sampled text versions of three of the President’s speeches. The results showed that the rhetorical devices employed entailed the use of figures of speech; modal auxiliaries; greetings; repetition narrative, flashback, alliteration, metaphor, and the mood of speeches. The findings suggest the need for more studies on audiences to discover the persuasive import of the techniques.