A Pragmatic Analysis of Person Deixis in a Political Discourse: The Case Study of President Akuffo Addo’s Inaugural Address

Abstract

This study investigates the use of person deixis in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s 2017 inaugural address within a pragmatic framework. The study aims to identify, quantify, and interpret how deictic expressions—particularly personal pronouns—are used to construct political identity, express ideological stance, and engage the audience. Drawing on Levinson’s (1983) theory of deixis, the research adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative frequency analysis with qualitative interpretation of contextual usage. The findings reveal that first-person plural deixis (we, our, us) is the most dominant, accounting for 60.6% of all deictic references, followed by third-person (17%), first-person singular (15.1%), and second-person (7.4%) forms. This distribution indicates a strong preference for collective framing, with the president positioning governance as a shared national responsibility. The alternation between I and we reflect a pragmatic balance between personal accountability and inclusive leadership, while second-person forms (you, your) enhance direct audience engagement. Third-person deixis functions to differentiate the current administration from past regimes, thereby reinforcing ideological positioning and historical continuity. The study concludes that person deixis in political discourse is both a quantifiable linguistic feature and a powerful rhetorical resource, used to construct solidarity, legitimacy, and national vision. Beyond the Ghanaian context, the findings highlight the broader significance of deixis in shaping political rhetoric in emerging democracies. The study therefore recommends comparative analyses of presidential discourse in Ghana and other African contexts to further illuminate how deictic strategies evolve across political regimes and communicative settings.