Kevin Rudd addresses the stolen generation to make an apology from Parliament House, Canberra, on the 12th of February 2008. His aim was to apologise to the indigenous peoples of Australia. Using prosodic features and lexical choice, Rudd informs the audience of plans to put in place to equalise the differences between non indigenous and indigenous, in doing so forming a formal, cohesive speech.
Rudd uses prosodic features such as emphatic stress, when he is speaking about the future of Australians, “A future where we can harness the determination of all Australians, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.”, emphasising the “all” so that the indigenous feel equal to all. Rudd also constantly uses repetition when addressing apologies, “We apologise for the laws of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted grief, suffering or loss on these our fellow Australians, we apologise for the removal of aboriginal and Torres straight islander children from their families, communities and country and we apologise for the pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations.” This repetition of “We apologise for,” forces the apology into the audience's mind, persuading them to take it in thus contributing to formality.
Rudd's lexical choice gives the audience the idea that he understands what he is apologising for and that it is a serious matter, “The pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations.”. Using these adjectives, he shows his true intentions and emphasises the severity of the situation that is being addressed.
The use of prosodic features as well as lexical choice allows Rudd to get his apology across as meaningfully as possible to create a formal and cohesive speech.
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