A STUDY ON ETHNOCENTRISM IN THE FIRST INAUGURAL SPEECH BY PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND XI JINPING’S FIRST PUBLIC SPEECH = Nghiên cứu về lòng tự tôn dân tộc thể hiện trong bài phát biểu nhậm chức lần 1 của tổng thống Barack Obama và bài phát biểu trước công chúng đầu tiên của chủ tịch tập cận bình

• Main Author: Lê, Thị Thu Thảo
• Other Authors: Ngô, Hữu Hoàng
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Barack Obama; Bài phát biểu; Tiếng Anh; Ngôn ngữ học
• Online Access: http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/100397
• Institution: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

To increase the knowledge and the perception of the international relationships in the contexts of intercultural communication, this study chooses to analyze two cases – two political speeches – President Barack Obama’s first inaugural address in 2009 and President Xi Jinping’s first public speech in 2012. The researcher aims at finding out how American ethnocentrism and Chinese ethnocentrism are expressed through these two political speeches. From that, the similarities and differences in the ways they are expressed are also figured out. The researcher applies the five standards in discourse analysis given by de Beaugrande and Dressler (1981): intentionality, informativity, acceptability, situationality and intertextuality to make clear the ways that American ethnocentrism and Chinese ethnocentrism are expressed in the two political speeches. The study finds out that both Xi Jinping and Obama express their ethnocentrism explicitly and implicitly. They emphasize the greatness and the superiority of their nations by referring to the past, what their nations had to suffer and how successfully they overcame. From that, they can enhance the ethnocentrism among people. Besides, they also implements duties and promise to fulfill all the responsibilities. From that they win the trust of the people. However, Chinese ethnocentrism seems to derive from Xi Jinping and Xi Jinping uses his speech as a bridge to express his ethnocentrism to the whole Chinese people; whereas, Obama, on behalf of American people, expresses the ethnocentrism of the whole nation. Ethnocentrism can be useful in leading the people and the country. However, if the ethnocentrism is raised too high it will become extremism and lead to many serious consequences. The leaders must be wise in expressing the ethnocentrism in their speeches to avoid violating the ethnocentrism of other countries and avoid being opposed by other nations.