Current Issues In Language and Society
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Volume: 3 Number: 3 Page: 205–232
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The Footing of a Royal Address: An Analysis of Representativeness in Political Speech, Exemplified in Queen Beatrix' Address to the Knesset on March 28, 1995
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Titus Ensink
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On several formal occasions, politicians perform speeches the main task of which is to establish and express a perspective which is representative for the nation. In this paper I propose a systematic approach
of the analysis of such speeches, based on Goffman's concept footing'. This concept allows us to distinguish several functional aspects of the roles speakers and hearers perform in speech situations. At
the linguistic level, these roles are expressed most explicitly in deictic formulations. The approach is exemplified in the case of the Dutch Queen Beatrix addressing the Israeli Parliament on the occasion
of a state visit to Israel. The analysis shows that both the Queen as the speaker and her audience as the hearers are representative of nations, peoples, their histories, their relationships, and their
responsibilities. At the same time, the Queen's speech appears to be addressed simultaneously to larger audiences.
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