THE INTERPLAY OF PRAGMATIC ACTS AND LEADERSHIP STYLES IN JOE BIDEN’S 2021 INAUGURAL SPEECH

Abstract

In the wake of heightened political polarisation and social unrest, President Joe Biden's inaugural speech aims to address the pervasive social problem of national disunity. Despite the plethora of inaugural addresses that have been scrutinised for their rhetorical strategies, there remains a research gap in the application of pragmatic act theory and transformational and transactional leadership styles to Biden's 2021 inaugural speech. The primary aim of this study is to examine the pragmatic acts and features, as well as the leadership styles, employed by Joe Biden in his inaugural address. Employing Jacob Mey's pragmatic act theory, the analysis investigates specific linguistic features and acts performed in selected excerpts from the speech. Additionally, it explores how Biden's rhetorical choices align with transformational and transactional leadership styles to inspire and mobilise his audience. Methodologically, the study engages in a detailed qualitative analysis of ten excerpts from Biden's speech. The findings reveal that Biden effectively employs different pragmatic acts to convey urgency, solidarity, and a vision for national healing. Pragmatic acts deployed in the speech include promising, inspiring, directing, reaffirming, declaring and so on. Biden employs directives to urge Americans towards unity and cooperative action, shifting the collective mindset from conflict to community. He uses expressive acts to acknowledge and validate emotions, fostering a sense of solidarity and common purpose. The study revealed that Biden's inaugural  speech exemplifies transformational leadership through its visionary and inspirational language. Also, the transformational leadership style is underscored by Biden's emphasis on collective identity and moral upliftment. While the speech predominantly reflects transformational leadership, there are elements of transactional leadership evident in Biden's references to specific goals and challenges. The paper concludes that Biden's speech exemplifies how strategic rhetorical choices can bridge divides and promote unity. The study recommends further research into the long-term impacts of such rhetoric on public discourse and political cohesion.