Abstract
This paper analyses the distribution and pragmatic functions of speech acts in a televised political speech of Maitama Sule ‘Call for Revolution in Nigeria and the North’s Role in Oil Discovery’. Using a framework of Searle (1969) that synthesizes political discourse analysis, the study identifies 130 clauses in which 32 speech act elements were identified and analysed, using the mixed method of qualitative and quantitative. The analysis focuses on linguistic indicators such as nominal groups, and verbal groups. The data was transcribed from audio record of the political figure’s speech. The study finds that assertives dominate the speech due to the informative demands of the genre. Expressives mark the speaker’s emotional stance toward governance and national issues. Directives function largely as advice from the speaker as an elder statesman, and commissives are minimal because the speaker lacks the institutional position to make promises, instead reporting commitments of others such as the late Sardauna and the Ghanaian Vice President. The study demonstrates that a speaker’s persuasive effect depends on the ability to shift roles within and across ‘discourse spaces’. The results contribute to understanding how speech acts operate in political speeches where informing, advising, and expressing stance intersect. The paper concludes that the resolution of deictic pronouns and role shifts within discourse spaces is crucial to understanding the persuasive functions of speech acts in political discourse.
Keywords: Speech Acts, Pragmatics, Classification of Speech Acts, Linguistic Indicators, Language
DOI: 10.36349/alqajolls.2026.v01i02.026
author/Ahmed Baba MUSTAPHA & Alhaji Malah GALTI
journal/AL-QALAM JLLS 1(2) | June 2026
