The Wolf of Volkswagen Versus A Seasoned Feminist Warrior THE WOLF OF VOLKSWAGEN VERSUS A SEASONED FEMINIST WARRIOR Assignment 1 Subject: MPM732 Student: Andrew STAR Student ID: XXXXXXXXXX Word Count:...

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The Wolf of Volkswagen Versus A Seasoned Feminist Warrior THE WOLF OF VOLKSWAGEN VERSUS A SEASONED FEMINIST WARRIOR Assignment 1 Subject: MPM732 Student: Andrew STAR Student ID: 123456789 Word Count: 2143 1 | P a g e A STAR: 123456789 | MPM732 Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Powerful political figure takes on women’s rights in Beijing .............................................................. 3 Analysing a letter from the Wolf of Volkswagen to its cubs; 2014 ..................................................... 4 Comparison ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 6 References .......................................................................................................................................... 7 2 | P a g e A STAR: 123456789 | MPM732 Introduction Critical discourse analysis (CDA) can be defined as a way of sceptically reviewing, analysing and researching the power inequalities and how they are enacted within a discourse (Van Dijk, 2001, p. 1). The analysis takes into account all forms of language and communication within the social and political context. CDA centres around analysing power imbalances in a set of circumstances, as legitimacy of power is achieved through effective discourse (Kendall 2007). Grice’s suggests that in order for effective communication to take place, the speaker and audience need to cooperate, he refers to these four principles as the Conversational Maxims (Grice 1975). The maxim of quantity ensures not too little or too much information is provided. The maxim of quality for truthful information and facts. Relation for relevance, and manner which is how the content is delivered. By applying specific tools such as Grice’s four maxims (Grice 1975) and Dilt’s neuro-logical levels (Dilts, R 1990) to either verbal or written communication pieces, we are able to critically review the process of communication between speaker and audience. From this we are able to analyse whether it has been successful, and whether appropriate power is evident. The aim of this review is to analyse both the letter to shareholders by Martin Winterkorn (Winterkorn, 2014) and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s speech (Eidenmuller, 2008) on women’s rights by applying the critical analysis tools mentioned above and comparing the effectiveness of each. Did each use language effectively in order to communicate their aim in an evocative way. 3 | P a g e A STAR: 123456789 | MPM732 Powerful political figure takes on women’s rights in Beijing Clinton’s speech discusses women’s rights around the world. Covering historical information, present day issues and a vision for the future, her discourse attempts to define women’s rights as human rights and to call to action for equal rights for all. Gender inequalities and denigration against women can be found in most societies and religions, seen from the beginning of time when the bible states Timothy (The Bible new International Version, 2013) ‘I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent’. Even today, the physical abuse of women is often used as a powerful tool during war, with Isgandarova stating ‘the rape of women in war is used as a deliberate strategy to undermine community bonds, weaken resistance to aggression’ (Isgandarova, 2013). For both power and effect, Clinton uses a range of Brookfield’s language tricks (Brookfield, 2013) to engage with the audience. She gains trust by referring to her own personal story, often repeating the statement ‘I have met’ (Eidenmuller, 2008) to reinforce this. This statement is also an effective use of repetition (Brookfield). She assumes the voice of the majority with the phrase ‘Speaking to you today, I speak for them’ (Eidenmuller, 2008) to gain further advantage and does so successfully. Given her position as First Lady of the United States of America when her speech was delivered, Clinton advantageously uses her authoritarian political power, as well as the assuring reflexive augmentative move to further strengthen her speech. Through this, she avoids the issue of sceptical regress with the audience. Perhaps the most powerful words spoken during her address are ‘women’s rights are human rights’, as her ultimate message is to empower people to uphold the rights of women as they do the rest of society. This is an extremely effective tactic to elicit emotion with her audience, along with the strategic pauses throughout her address. She continues to engage with her audience and used anaphora eight times stating ‘it is a violation of human rights when….’ before subsequent emotionally charged, graphic statements which are generic enough to relate to a wide variety of cultural and societal groups. These statements are an effective use of direct rather than euphemistic language, with such a tactic being useful in this instance as it ensures she engages the audience on an emotional level, as well as her address being relevant to all. Clinton followed Grice’s four maxims with the content catering to the audience appropriately. The use of more specific statistical evidence and facts would have indeed provided more substance, however this was not pivotal to her success. The address ensured relevant content was covered, without losing the audience’s attention resulting in disengagement. The quality of the content was extremely relevant and the way she used examples, specifically her personal experiences, heightened her credibility at providing accurate information. Standing behind the lectern was formal and set a serious tone for her discourse. 4 | P a g e A STAR: 123456789 | MPM732 Analysing a letter from the Wolf of Volkswagen to its cubs; 2014 When Winterkorn addresses the shareholders, the intent of the discourse is to instil confidence whilst setting a positive tone regarding the financial situation of the Volkswagen group based on the previous years’ financials. Using various communication and language tricks, the author attempts to gain power and trust in order to influence the readers. Winterkorn joined the Volkswagen group in 1993 and has held various senior leadership roles since. The longevity of his tenure and his role as CEO positioned him as an authoritative figure. This heightens his trust and credibility with his intended audience. Highlighting early on that 2014 was a difficult year, Winterkorn sets a negative tone for the discourse. This negativity is then played down and discounted in the same opening sentence by ending with (Winterkorn, 2014) ‘ultimately good year for the Volkswagen group’. He continues throughout the letter to build on this theme strengthening his position by providing examples of success thus setting an overall positive tone for the discourse. To engage an emotional response and connection with the audience, Winterkorn cleverly writes ‘your company’ in the opening paragraph.