Speaker
Description
This study examines the ideological and discursive functions of Disclaim resources in the 2024 U.S. presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris using Appraisal Theory (Martin & White, 2005) and Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 2010). It explores how linguistic features interact with discursive practices and broader social structures to construct ideological meanings and negotiate power relations. The dataset comprises 1,431 clauses from the official debate transcript, including 976 clauses produced by Trump and 455 by Harris. A mixed-methods approach combining quantitative frequency analysis and qualitative interpretation is employed. The findings show that Disclaim resources function as major mechanisms of dialogic contraction, with Deny overwhelmingly dominating Counter in both candidates’ discourse (Trump: 77.72%; Harris: 78.30%). However, their use differs significantly across CDA dimensions. Trump employs frequent and intensified negation to construct categorical rejection and delegitimize opposition, whereas Harris adopts more selective and context-sensitive forms that embed evaluation and legitimacy. At the discursive and social levels, these strategies reflect contrasting ideological orientations and communicative styles: Trump reinforces authority, certainty, and polarization, while Harris emphasizes democratic values, accountability, and collective alignment. The study contributes to CDA by demonstrating how micro-level linguistic resources realize macro-level ideological meanings in real-time political interaction. Practically, it offers insights into persuasive strategies and stance construction in political communication, media literacy, language education, and discourse studies.Keywords: Disclaim; Deny; Counter; Debate; Critical Discourse Analysis
Biography
- Nguyễn Thị Bích Giang is a lecturer at the Faculty of English, Duy Tan University, Vietnam. Her research interests include discourse analysis, translation and interpretation studies, political discourse, and AI-assisted language learning and teaching.
- Dr. Ngũ Thiện Hùng is a linguist, scholar, and academic leader whose contributions have significantly advanced linguistic research and English language education in Vietnam. As a senior lecturer and former Dean of the Faculty of English at University of Foreign Language Studies – The University of Danang, he has played an influential role in shaping generations of English majors, researchers, and language teachers. His scholarly work spans pragmatics, modality, discourse analysis, metaphor studies, and contrastive linguistics, with a particular emphasis on English–Vietnamese language comparison. Through his extensive teaching, research publications, postgraduate supervision, and academic leadership. He has contributed substantially to the development of applied linguistics and the modernization of English language studies in Vietnam.
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