Pronouns in Croatian political speeches

Abstract

This paper analyzes the use of Croatian personal pronouns and possessive adjectives in two political speeches delivered by two politicians from ideologically different parties. This includes the distribution of linguistic units and the strategies by which the speakers change pronouns and their corresponding referents and polarize their speech. We also study whether the change of referents results in the manipulation of listeners, or in the emphasis of political authority, party adherence and patriotism and whether the pronominal use also refl ects certain political ideology. The methodology used in this paper relies on the analytical critical discourse analysis framework, which offers tools for a critical approach to discourse. The speech act theory and the politeness principle are also drawn upon.