Rhetorical techniques as means of audience influence in African political discourse (based on the example of Ahoua Don Mello's speech)

this article examines rhetorical devices as means of audience influence in the context of African political discourse. All of them reflect the connection between language and politics, where language acts as an instrument of supremacy and power. In this regard, the study of the political language is justified, since it is precisely rhetorical devices that can act as catalysts for functional and linguistic impact on the addressee. The analysis of Ahua Don Mello's political speech is carried out in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the use range of rhetorical devices in it in the context of the systemic-functional approach developed by M.A.K. Halliday. The correlation between the identified rhetorical techniques and the implementation of the three main functions of the language (conceptual, interpersonal, textual) in political discourse is described. Historical allusions, metaphors, positively emotionally charged vocabulary and cultural codes that contribute to the formation of ideological attitudes are aimed at persuading, mobilizing, and forming the national identity of the African people.

rhetorical devices, political discourse, allusion, metaphor, cultural code, ideology