Ideologies of Kemalism reflected in the topical structure of the translated English speech of Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Abstract

Through the use of Critical Discourse Analysis, this study aims to identify, analyze the topical structure and progression of the 2016 Republic Day speech of the current ruling president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The study also aims to shed light on elements of power and ideology in the speech through Topical Structure Analysis (Lautamatti, 1987; Connor & Schneider, 1990). This paper demonstrates how Topical Structure Analysis can reveal the ideological underpinnings of Erdogan’s speech by identifying topics and topical progressions. The study demonstrated that TSA facilitated a deep analysis of the political text, uncovering the intended overall discourse topic and the ideological background and underpinnings. The most significant topics were the War of Liberation, the Republic of Turkey, and the 2016 Coup Attempt. In terms of progressions, Sequential progression introduced new topics strategically, parallel progression identified explicit topics and underlying themes, while extended progression linked historical events to contemporary issues and future aspirations. The overall discourse topic was identified as The Coup Attempt of 2016 = War of Liberation for the Republic, uncovering the ideologies of Republicanism (Republic of Turkey and its historical context), Nationalism (Continuous references to the War of Liberation), and Revolutionism (defence against the Coup Attempt).

Critical Discourse Analysis, Topical Structure Analysis, power, ideology, nationalism