This speech delivered by Barack Obama at the United States Capitol on the 21st of January 2013 was aimed to inaugurate him as president and recall America's allegiance to to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than 200 years ago; “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The formality of this speech is achieved through distinct syntactical devices and lexical choice.
The context of this piece contributes to its formality, the domain being politics in the field of an inauguration, impacting on formality through the use of political jargon, (Obama makes use of words such as 'President', 'Vice President', 'Congress', 'Citizens', 'Constitutions', 'Declaration', 'Government' and 'Rights'). The audience is focused on the citizens of the United States of America that are interested in the inauguration of Obama. Its formal register combines with its locale at the United States Capitol building to create a formal one-way communication.
Obama constantly uses the frequent repetition of inclusive language, including words such as 'Together', 'We', and 'Us' to give the audience a sense of involvement and that their president stands by their side. This adds to the speech's formality through the persuasion of the audience to join Obama's side.
In terms of syntax, Obama mainly makes use of declarative sentences such as "Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play" and "For now decisions are upon us and we cannot afford delay".
In conclusion, Obama speaks a formal speech through a formal register and context combined with lexical choice and syntactic structure.
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