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DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributorDepartment of Englishen_US
dc.contributor.advisorAhrens, Kathleen (ENGL)-
dc.contributor.advisorYap, Foong Ha (ENGL)-
dc.contributor.advisorTay, Dennis (ENGL)-
dc.creatorWong, Ming Chiu-
dc.identifier.urihttps://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/10399-
dc.languageEnglishen_US
dc.publisherHong Kong Polytechnic University-
dc.rightsAll rights reserveden_US
dc.titleRhetorical question strategies in electoral debates : an analysis of United States and Hong Kong political discourseen_US
dcterms.abstractTelevised debates are a particularly important part of election campaigns since they give voters an opportunity to compare the candidates by evaluating their performance in a more spontaneous manner as they discuss issues and respond to questions on the same topics as they interact with their political opponents (Benoit & Hansen, 2004). Given the wide coverage of televised election debates, candidates pay attention to establishing a positive relationship with the general public and make efforts to project an image of themselves as serious and reliable leaders, not only through their appearance but also their style of speaking (Allan 1998; Coupland 2001). In the debates, candidates often do more than promote themselves and their policies, and they often engage in face-threatening acts by challenging or criticizing their political rivals. A frequently used strategy, which has received considerable attention in the studies of political discourse, is the rhetorical question. It is described as one of the most substantial rhetorical means in terms of "rhetoric and demagogy" (Ephratt, 2007:1922), and performs in a way that may be difficult for others to attribute only one clear communicative intention to its act (Brown & Levinson, 1987: pp. 211). Taking cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspectives, this study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of electoral debates belonging to two different locations - the 2012 and 2016 US Presidential debates, and 2012 and 2017 HK Chief Executive Election debates. The goal is to elucidate the interplay between politicians' use of rhetorical questions and the different contextual factors stemming from different electoral systems. Through these analyses, we will also see how politicians often strategize and compete against each other through the use of rhetorical questions to enhance the persuasiveness of their political messages and criticize their political rivals using demagogic rhetoric as they seek to win the general public's favour.en_US
dcterms.extent240 pages : color illustrationsen_US
dcterms.isPartOfPolyU Electronic Thesesen_US
dcterms.issued2020en_US
dcterms.educationalLevelPh.D.en_US
dcterms.educationalLevelAll Doctorateen_US
dcterms.LCSHHong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertationsen_US
dcterms.LCSHDiscourse analysis -- Political aspectsen_US
dcterms.LCSHRhetoric -- Political aspectsen_US
dcterms.accessRightsopen accessen_US

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/10399