Exploring Interpersonal Meaning Through Linguistic Analysis: A Study of President Duterte’s Political Speech

This paper analyzes President Rodrigo Duterte's inaugural State of the Nation Address (SONA) through the lens of Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) to elucidate the generation and transmission of interpersonal meaning. Specifically, the research meticulously explores the nuances of mood and modal auxiliary structures employed by Duterte in his address. Through a comprehensive analysis of the distribution and usage patterns of mood and modal auxiliaries throughout the speech, the study uncovers how these linguistic elements collectively serve to articulate and amplify the speaker's interpersonal intentions and meanings. The findings underscore Duterte's strategic utilization of diverse moods and modal auxiliaries as instrumental tools for effectively communicating his messages and ensuring clarity and resonance with his target audience. This linguistic analysis not only sheds light on the intricate mechanisms of interpersonal meaning construction in political discourse, but also highlights the pedagogical potential of SONAs and similar political speeches, as valuable resources for language educators. These speeches can serve as enriching teaching materials for educators aiming to impart knowledge and facilitate understanding of complex grammatical concepts such as mood, modal auxiliary, and interpersonal meaning in language classrooms. Thus, the study advocates for the incorporation of political speeches into language teaching curricula to enhance students' linguistic competence and analytical skills.