Analysis of Cohesive Devices and Transitivity on The Third Part of Barack Obama's Speech in Indonesia.

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ABSTRACT

Dalam skripsi ini, saya akan membahas representasi self dan other dalam sebuah teks pidato dari Presiden Amerika Serikat, Barack Obama. Teks pidato ini disampaikan ketika beliau mengunjungi Indonesia pada tanggal 10 November 2010. Teks ini mencakup tiga bagian utama, yaitu: human progress – development, democracy, and religion. Skripsi ini hanya membahas secara detail mengenai

bagian ketiga dari teks pidato tersebut, yaitu tentang religion karena keterbatasan waktu yang diberikan.

Pada dasarnya, bagian ketiga dari teks ini mencakup tentang permasalahan secara global yang berkaitan dengan masalah agama. Akan tetapi, bagian ini juga menyoroti tentang terorisme yang dalam teks ini ditemukan sebagai oposisi dari pihak-pihak yang berusaha membangun perdamaian dunia. Barack Obama dengan tegas menyatakan bahwa teroris tidak ada kaitannya sama sekali dengan agama, dan bukan merupakan forum pembela kedamaian dari agama manapun termasuk Islam. Dalam teksnya, Barack Obama mencoba untuk membangun citra yang baik dengan menjungjung tinggi perdamaian di berbagai belahan dunia termasuk negara-negara Islam yang dia sebutkan dalam teks ini.

Dalam analisis teks ini, saya menggunakan pendekatan Functional

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cohesive devices yaitu: reference, pengulangan kata, sinonim dan meronymy, dan

juga tiga proses utama: material proses, mental proses dan relational proses dalam transitivity.

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i Maranatha Christian University

APPENDIX 1 Th

e Third Part of Barack Obama’s S

peech in Indonesia

The clauses are:

1. Religion is the final topic 2. that I want to address today.

3. and – like democracy and development – it is fundamental to the Indonesian story.

4. Like the other Asian nations that I am visiting on this trip, 5. Indonesia is steeped in spirituality– a place

6. where people worship God in many different ways.

7. Along with this rich diversity, it is also home to the world’s largest Muslim population – a truth

8. that I came to know as a boy

9. when I heard the call to prayer across Jakarta.

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13. that relations between the United States and Muslim communities have frayed over many years.

14. As President, I have made it a priority to begin to repair these relations.

15. As a part of that effort, I went to Cairo last June,

16. and called for a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world –

17. one that creates a path for us to move beyond our differences. 18. I said then,

19. and I will repeat now,

20. that no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust. 21. But I believed then,

22. and I believe today, 23. that we have a choice.

24. We can choose to be defined by our differences, 25. and give in to a future of suspicion and mistrust.

26. Or we can choose to do the hard work of forging common ground, 27. and commit ourselves to the steady pursuit of progress.

28. And I can promise you –

29. no matter what setbacks may come,

30. the United States is committed to human progress. 31. That is

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59 33. That is

34. what we have done. 35. That is

36. what we will do.

37. We know well the issues

38. that have caused tensions for many years – issues 39. that I addressed in Cairo.

40. In the 17 months that have passed 41. we have made some progress,

42. but much more work remains to be done.

43. Innocent civilians in America, Indonesia, and across the world are still targeted by violent extremists.

44. I have made it clear

45. that America is not at war with Islam 46. and never will be

47. Instead, all of us must defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates,

48. who have no claim to be leaders of any religion – certainly not a great, world religion like Islam.

49. But those who want to build 50. must not cede ground to terrorists 51. who seek to destroy.

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53. Indeed, here in Indonesia, you have made progress in rooting out terrorists and combating violent extremism.

54. In Afghanistan, we continue to work with a coalition of nations to build the capacity of the Afghan government to secure its future. 55. Our shared interest is in building peace in a war-torn land – 56. a peace that provides no safe-haven for violent extremists, 57. and that provides hope for the Afghan people.

58. Meanwhile, we have made progress on one of our core commitments — our effort to end the war in Iraq.

59. 100,000 American troops have left Iraq.

60. Iraqis have taken full responsibility for their security. 61. And we will continue to support Iraq

62. as it forms an inclusive government 63. and we bring all of our troops home.

64. In the Middle East, we have faced false starts and setbacks, 65. but we have been persistent in our pursuit of peace.

66. Israelis and Palestinians restarted direct talks, 67. but enormous obstacles remain.

68. There should be no illusions

69. that peace and security will come easy. 70. But let there be no doubt:

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73. and that is in the interest of all the parties involved: two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.

74. The stakes are high in resolving these issues, 75. and the others I have spoken about today. 76. For our world has grown smaller

77. and while those forces have unleashed opportunity, 78. that connect us

79. they also empower those 80. who seek to derail progress.

81. One bomb in a marketplace can obliterate the bustle of daily commerce.

82. One whispered rumor can obscure the truth, 83. and set off violence between communities 84. that once lived in peace.

85. In an age of rapid change and colliding cultures, what we share as human beings can be lost.

86. But I believe

87. that the history of both America and Indonesia gives us hope.

88. It’s a story written into our national mottos. E pluribus unum – out of many, one. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika – unity in diversity.

89. We are two nations,

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92. that hundreds of millions who hold different beliefs 93. can be united in freedom under one flag.

94. And we are now building on that shared humanity

95. – through the young people who will study in each other’s schools; 96. through the entrepreneurs forging ties that can lead to prosperity; and

through our embrace of fundamental democratic values and human aspirations.

97. Earlier today, I visited the Istiqlal mosque – a place of worship 98. that was still under construction

99. when I lived in Jakarta.

100. I admired its soaring minaret, imposing dome, and welcoming space. 101. But its name and history also speak to

102. what makes Indonesia great. 103. Istiqlal means independence,

104. and its construction was in part a testament to the nation’s struggle for freedom.

105. Moreover, this house of worship for many thousands of Muslims was designed by a Christian architect.

106. Such is Indonesia’s spirit.

107. Such is the message of Indonesia’s inclusive philosophy, Pancasila. 108. Across an archipelago, people choose to worship God as they please. 109. that contains some of God’s most beautiful creations, islands rising

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63 110. Islam flourishes,

111. but so do other faiths.

112. Development is strengthened by an emerging democracy. 113. Ancient traditions endure,

114. even as a rising power is on the move. 115. That is not to say

116. that Indonesia is without imperfections. 117. No country is.

118. But here can be found the ability to bridge divides of race and region and religion – that ability to see yourself in all individuals.

119. As a child of a different race coming from a distant country, I found this spirit in the greeting

120. that I received upon moving here: Selamat Datang.

121. As a Christian visiting a mosque on this visit, I found it in the words of a leader

122. who was asked about my visit 123. and said,

124. “Muslims are also allowed in churches. 125. We are all God’s followers.

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130. that unity is more powerful than division;

131. and that the people of this world can live together in peace.

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APPENDIX 2

Reference Chains

Barrack Obama

Clauses: 2. I 4. I 8. I

A boy 9. I

14. President

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66 22. I

28. I 39. I 44. I 86. I 97. I 99. I 100. I

119. A child (of..)

I 120. I

121. A Christian

I

122. My (visit)

Indonesia

Clauses:

5. Indonesia

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67 7. It

A home (to…)

11. Indonesia 43. Indonesia 53. Indonesia

You

87. Indonesia 101. Indonesia 116. Indonesia 118. Indonesia

Yourself

Individuals 128. Indonesia

US and Indonesia

Clauses: 12. We

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68 24. We

Our

26. We

27. Ourselves

37. We

43. Innocent civilians America and Indonesia

47. All of us

49. Those

76. Our

78. Us

85. We

87. Us

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69 89. We

91. Our

94. We

96. Our

125. We

God’s followers

126. Each of us

127. We

128. Us

132. Our

US and Muslims

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70 16. United States and Muslims

17. Us

Our

Barack Obama and US

32. We 34. We 36. We 37. We 41. We 54. We 58. We

Our

61. We 63. We

Our

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71 65. We

Our

71. We

Violent Extremists

43. Violent extremists

47. Al Qaeda and its affiliates

48. Leaders (of any religion)

50. Terrorists 53. Terrorists

Violent extremism 56. Violent extremists

79. They

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APPENDIX 3

Lexical Cohesion chains

Clauses: Indonesia

5. Indonesia

9. Jakarta (meronymy)

11. Indonesia (rep) 43. Indonesia 51. Indonesia 53. Indonesia 87. Indonesia

99. Jakarta (meronymy) 106. Indonesia‘s spirit

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73 116. Indonesia

128. Indonesia Religion

1. Religion

10. Faith (synonymy)

47. Religion (rep) 48. Religion

92. Beliefs (synonymy)

111. Faiths

118. Religion

132. Faith US/America

13. US

16. US (repetition) 30. US

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74 45. America

52. America 87. America 128. America Violent extremists

43. Violent extremists

47. Al Qaeda and its affiliates (meronymy)

50. Terrorists (synonymy) 53. Terrorists

Violent extremism (repetition) 56. Violent extremists

Peace

55. Peace

56. Peace (repetition) 65. Peace

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Appendix 4

Material clauses:

Clause Actor Process Goal/Scope Circ.

4 I am visiting like the other Asian

nations on this trip

5 Indonesia Steep in spirituality

6 People worship God in many different

have frayed Over many years

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Ground to terrorists

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in the Middle East 66 Israelis and

Palestinians

restarted direct talks

69 Peace and

can obscure the truth

83 set off violence between change and colliding cultures

87 The history of both America

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can lead to prosperity

97 I visited the Istiqlal mosque 110 Islam flourishes

111 Other faiths do

120 I received Selamat Datang upon moving here

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79 131 The people of

this world

can live together

in peace

132 Our two

nations

work together

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APPENDIX 5

Mental clauses:

Clause Senser Process Type of sensing Phenomenon Circ.

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100 I admired  its soaring

minaret, imposing dome, and welcoming space.

Per. : Perspective Cog. : Cognitive

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APPENDIX 6

Relational clauses:

Clause Carrier/Token Process Attribute/Value

1 religion is the final topic

3 it is fundamental to the Indonesian story

7 it is also home to the world’s largest

Muslim population

23 We have a choice

30 The United

States

is committed to human progress

31 that is not great, world religion like Islam 52 this is not a task for America alone

55 Our shared

interest

is in building peace in a war-torn land

62 It forms an inclusive government

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74 The stakes are high in resolving these issues 76 Our world has grown smaller

88 It is a story written into our national mottos

89 We are two nations

92 that hundreds of millions

who hold different beliefs

98 That was still under construction

103 Istiqlal means independence

104 Its construction was in part a testament to the nation’s struggle for freedom.

106 Such is Indonesia’s spirit

107 Such is the message of Indonesia’s inclusive philosophy, Pancasila

109 that contains some of God’s most beautiful creations, islands rising above an ocean named for peace

114 A rising power is on the move

115 That is not to say

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

It is undeniable that language holds an important role in communication. Language which is written or spoken can communicate more than what we acquire explicitly. People sometimes acquire the text given explicitly because it is expressed literally and unambiguously in a well-formed sequence of words. However, there would be something implicit behind the text given, something that must be inferred from the sentence, and it is implicit in meaning and context of the utterance (Kirsh).

In modern linguistics, a text can be both written and spoken. The text itself includes any types of utterances such as a television interview, a conversation, and many more. It is true that a text is everything that is meaningful in a particular situation: “By text, then, we understand a continuous process of semantic choice”

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2 Maranatha Christian University Discourse analysis is the study of language in use, dealing with both text and context (Laura 17). It clearly emphasizes that the most important thing in doing a discourse analysis is not only to know what is in the text but also to discover what is not in the text. By discovering this matter, we can know exactly what the writer aims to convey or what the speaker really means.

One of the texts that can be analyzed by using instruments of Discourse Analysis is a speech. I am interested in a speech because it does not only offer some interesting matters to analyze but include the speaker’s personal opinions

about them. Thus, for this thesis, I choose to analyze Barack Obama’s speech in his visit to Jakarta, in November 10, 2010. He addresses three main topics in his speech: human progress – development, democracy, and religion. However, I am focusing only on the third part for I think religion is the biggest issue connected with the context at that time, as Barack Obama is on his way to repair the relation between the US and the Muslim World (Doyle).

By applying instruments of Discourse Analysis to Barack Obama’s speech as the text to analyze and the context in which the text occurs, I would like to show what the speaker means behind the text. Furthermore, by looking at both the text and context, I would like to show how the speaker represents the self and other in the speech. In addition, considering that Indonesia has a big Muslim population, Barack Obama’s visit is considered nothing more than to realize one of his efforts in repairing the relationship between the US and the Muslim World.

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3 Maranatha Christian University speech in Indonesia. Cohesive devices which are divided into grammatical and lexical cohesion are some of the instruments that can be used in a discourse analysis. As Halliday and Hasan believe that the function of cohesion is to relate one part of a text to another part of the same text (Halliday and Hasan 1976), it helps the reader or the listener to get closer with its interpretation. Even by doing so, I assume that the analysis has not been completed yet because cohesion is only a part in dealing with representation of the text. For that reason, I use another method named transitivity to help me go further in analyzing this topic.

As transitivity is concerned with the clause exploring in its “who=does=what=to=whom, who/what=is=what/who, when, where, why, or how

function” (Gerot and Wignell 52), it helps us to find out how people and things

are represented in the speech. Since the three semantic categories -circumstances, processes, and participants- can “explain in a general way, how phenomena of the real world are represented as linguistic structures,” (Gerot and Wignell 52),

transitivity helps us in the process of getting to know both positive and negative representation in details.

By this thesis, I hope that people who read this can be encouraged to think critically in understanding a text so that people will find out that it is true that someone cannot have the final truth of his or her interpretation about a text just by taking the text given for granted without any efforts to go further beyond the text.

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4 Maranatha Christian University 1.2 Statement of the Problem

In this thesis, I would like to discuss the following problems: 1. How does Barack Obama represent the self?

2. How does Barack Obama represent the other?

3. What are the linguistic instruments used to reveal the representations?

1.3 Purpose of the Study

1. To find out how Barack Obama represents the self. 2. To find out how Barack Obama represents the other.

3. To find out the linguistic instruments used to reveal the representation.

1.4 Method of Research

I began the research with browsing Barack Obama’s full speech for my linguistic material from the Internet. Then, I found some theories which are both from the Internet and some books for analyzing the chosen text. The books used for analyzing the data are Making Sense of Functional Grammar and An

Introduction to Functional Grammar. Then I browsed for some further

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5 Maranatha Christian University 1.5 Organization of the Thesis

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CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, I would like to draw some conclusions about my findings. Firstly, I would like to discuss how Barack Obama, as the speaker, represents the self in the text. Secondly, I would also like to discuss how the other is represented in the text. Thirdly, I would like to explain how the linguistic instruments reveal the representation of the self and the other.

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51 Maranatha Christian University The representation of the self and the other are revealed from the two major linguistic instruments which are lexical cohesion and transitivity. Lexical cohesion helps to reveal the speaker’s main concern so we can see how they relate to the self-other representation while transitivity analysis helps to reveal how the participants are represented in the text.

Based on the lexical cohesion analysis, I focus on repetition, synonymy and meronymy. I find that the most repeated word is peace. This indicates that

peace becomes Barack Obama’s main concerns. The finding that the speaker’s concern is something positive supports Barack Obama’s representation as the self. However, it is also revealed that Barack Obama actually does not put emphasis on religion as his final topic as he mentions in the beginning of his speech. Instead, it turns out that peace is the main concern among all concerns he mentions through the speech. I also find synonymy in the word religion which is faith and belief. Synonymy analysis helps me reveal the importance of certain words mentioned in the text. In addition, I also find the meronymy of violent extremists which are Al Qaeda and its affiliates. The meronymy analysis helps me reveal the specification of certain words or participants mentioned in the text. By getting to know the specific explanation, the hearers are given further information about who the violent extremists are.

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52 Maranatha Christian University Barack Obama and United States are represented positively as the powerful, selective and consistent actors. United States and Indonesia are represented positively as the actor who does technical actions and great thinkers as they are able to give suggestions and recognize global events happen. Furthermore, Indonesia is represented as the actor who does actions but is less powerful than other participants. However, the violent extremists are represented negatively as active actors in doing negative actions. Thus, they are represented as negative other.

Having analyzed Barack Obama’s speech through cohesive devices and

transitivity, I do believe that these two elements are essential in revealing the representation of the self and the other. However, the most important part in cohesive devices that helps reveal the representation is reference analysis. In my opinion, reference analysis is the first step in doing representation analysis. By doing so, we can determine where the participants belong to, the self or the other. Besides, we can see how the use of reference can reveal the relation built between the speaker and the hearer. We can see from the reference analysis, Barack Obama always uses the reference I to refer to himself as a President, thus, I conclude that Barack Obama uses his power to make a distance between the hearer and him. This can also affect the self-other representation.

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53 Maranatha Christian University not only whether the representation is positive or negative but more than that, specifically about how each participant is represented in the text. From the material process, we can see whether the participant is active doing some positive or negative actions. From the mental process, we can see which participants are represented as great sensers or thinkers. In addition, as the relational process deals with facts, it also helps us see whether the facts support the positive or the negative representation of the self and the other.

From the three major processes that I discuss in transitivity, I think material process is the most influential process to get to know how each participant is represented in the text. In material process, the verbs chosen give us description about the exact doings that the participants do, whether it is positive or negative doings. Thus, it is easier to see the self-other representation through the material process.

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54 Maranatha Christian University Actually, an analysis of a text, especially a speech can be developed and improved by other linguistic instruments in functional grammar such as: mood and theme rheme analysis. By doing so, we can reveal more and find out any possibilities that support our analysis. Mood analysis helps us in revealing the speaker’s intention in which the speaker can either give or demand information.

Through the mood analysis, how the speaker build interpersonal relation with the hearer can be found. Theme rheme analysis helps us see the main concern or topic discussed in the text. Besides, it also helps us find out marked themes which indicates the most important part that we should pay attention to. Analysis of theme can show the flow of information in the text. By having a complete analysis using Functional Grammar approach, the text can be throughly analyzed. The linguistic instruments mentioned can be applied not only in analyzing a speech, but also in analyzing any kind of texts such as article, personal comment on newspaper, etc.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Text

United States President Barack Obama’s Full Speech from the University of

Indonesia. The Jakarta Globe, 2010. Web. 20 Feb 2011.

References

Alba-Juez, Laura. “Perspective on Discourse Analysis: Theory and Practice.” (2009): n. pag. Web. 1 Des 2011.

Baker, M. In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. London: Routledge, 1992. Print.

Doyle, L. “President Barack Obama will try to win over Muslims on trip to Egypt.” The Telegraph (2009). Web. 25 Feb 2011.

Gerot, L., and Peter Wignell. Making Sense of Functional Grammar. Australia: Antipodean Educational Enterprises, 1994. Print.

Halliday, M.A.K. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold, 1985. Print.

Halliday, M.A.K, and M.I.M. Matthiessen. An Introduction to Functional

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56 Maranatha Christian University Halliday, M.A.K. Language as social semiotics. London: Edward Arnold, 1978. Print.

Toolan, Michael. Language in Literature. London: Arnold, 1998. Print.

Halliday, M.A.K, and Hasan. Cohesion in English. United States of America: Longman Inc., 1976. Print.

Kirsh, David. “Implicit and Explicit Presentation” Academia.edu (2003): n.pag. Web. 23 May 2011.

Louwerse, M.M & Graeser, A.C. “Coherence in discourse.” (2005): n. pag. Web.