IDEOLOGY AND POLITICAL DISCOURSE: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF ERDOGAN’S POLITICAL SPEECH

The way we perceive language is the foundation of our social construction and individual or group relationships, and studies in sociolinguistics have tried to explain this relationship between the use of language and the importance of perceptions. A particular discourse, spoken or written, can stem from different sources such as power, cultural or social background, region or social status. This paper aims to discuss the realisation of identity and background by means of language use in a political discourse, which is mainly grounded in Norman Fairclough s assumptions in critical discourse analysis. For this aim, the discursive strategies of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a debate in the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2009 will be examined within the context of his ideological, cultural and language background.