A critical analysis of the construction of Turkish national identity

The English translation of Erdoğan’s Republic Day speech in 2016

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between argumentation and political discourse. More specifically, this study focuses on the discursive and argumentative strategies employed by one of the most prominent Turkish leaders and current ruling president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The aim is to shed light on linguistic elements that fuel the sense of national identity after the coup attempt of 2016 through employing the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) for unveiling the use of specific argumentative strategies in the translated version of Erdogan’s 2016 Republic Day speech. English's growing presence in politics highly influences translation practices (House 2013). Not all politicians are proficient in English, thus, their speeches undergo translation from their native language. These translated speeches are intended for a global audience, which underscores the pivotal role of English analysis in both political discourse and the field of translation studies. Although the original language of the speech is Turkish, the examination of its English translation serves to highlight the significance of analysing translated political speeches and making these analyses accessible to a wider audience. The findings emphasise the importance of argumentative topics (topoi), such as the topos of History, Definition, Comparison, Threat and Favoruable Time in the advocation of national sentiment at various linguistic and structural levels within the translated political speech of Erdoğan. The implications of this research extend to the understanding of the intricate interplay between argumentative language and concepts of national sentiment within political discourse. Future research can further explore the application of
DHA in the analysis of political discourse, allowing for deeper insights into the communicative strategies employed by political leaders.