SPEECH
PUBLIC SEAKING AND COMMUNICATION
CREDIT FOUR
Critical Evaluation of a Speech
QUESTION:
This speech, given by Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, on February 12, 2008 was said to have “been history in the making”.
Evaluate the intention, structure, content, language and style of this speech.
APOLOGY FROM THE AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER TO THE
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF
FEBRUARY 12 2008
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology has been tabled in
Parliament:
Today we honour the indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations- this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.
The time has now come for the nation
to turn a new page in
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.
For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.
A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, indigenous and non-indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.
A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.
A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
A future where all Australians,
whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities
and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this
great country,
ANSWER:
The speech given by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on February 12, 2008
was an emotive speech which addressed the wrongdoings in the past towards the
indigenous people of
The style of the speech delivered by Rudd was particularly formal as it was an
official apology tabled in Parliament.
The use of formality in this speech is particularly shown through the use
of statements such as line 26 “We the Parliament of
The structure of the speech that Rudd delivered and the way that he used content
is particularly effective for emotive speeches.
The content of the speech flows in a logical order moving from an
acknowledgement of past wrongdoings (lines 12-13) onto making promises about the
future of Australia where all its citizens will be treated as equal (lines
49-50). This content is arranged in
short sentences which give their content and meaning more impact.
These short sentences help to organise the speech and break up the
content into smaller structures.
The use of short sentences is particularly effective in this speech because it
is combined with the repetition of key phrases.
These short key phrases
include the use of “we say sorry” to end statements on lines 19, 22, 25. and “A
future” on lines 36, 39, 43, 46 and 48.
This repetition of phrases helps to reinforce the key content in the
speech – which two points could be summed up as saying sorry and making promise
for the future. The repetition of
these key phrases reinforces these key ideas.
Another language technique that is used by Rudd is the use of personal and
inclusive pronouns. In particular
Rudd repetitively uses the word “we” to describe himself and the Australian
Parliament. The use of the word
“we”, however, creates an effect that this word refers to all Australians who
hear his speech. This results in
the fact that the whole nation is taking responsibility for the wrongdoings of
the past.
The use of inclusive and personal pronouns also serves another purpose towards
the end of the speech. The use of
the word “we” towards the end of the speech – lines 39 onwards – indicates that
the future promised by Rudd will be delivered to all Australians.
This idea is reinforced by another language technique which is the choice
of words such as the repetition of the word “mutual” three times in line 47, as
well as the use of words such as “partners” in line 48 and the use of the word
“equal” in line 49. The specific
selection of these words for repetitive and reinforced use suggests that the
idea of unity, partnership and joining of the dichotomy of Australian people was
one of the intentions of Rudd’s speech.
The intention of Rudd’s speech becomes clear after evaluating the language,
content and style of the speech and this intention is clearly indicated through
the structure that has been used. Lines 1 to 3 clearly identify the purpose of
the first section of the speech – to “reflect on their (Aboriginals) past
mistreatment”. This general
statement is then taken and broken down into short sentences where Rudd
addresses actions/wrongdoings from the past including discriminatory laws and
policies by successive Parliaments - lines 12-13, the removal of Aboriginal
children from their families, lines 15-16, for breaking up families and
communities, lines 18-25.
The second section of the speech, line 30 onwards, uses the same structure and
reveals the second key intention of the speech which is aims and promises for
the future. Rudd identifies firstly
that they can go forward into a new future and then using the same structure
identifies key elements of that future.
These include no more Parliamentary injustices, lines 36-37, closing the
gaps in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity, lines
39-41, and a future with equal opportunities for all Australians, lines 44-51.
When Kevin Rudd delivered his apology from the Australian Prime Minister to the
Indigenous People of
Rudd’s speech was indeed a speech that has “been history in the making” because it achieved those two intentions which were the first steps in achieving the goal of “a future where all Australians whatever their origins are truly equal partners”.