The political rhetoric of Bishop Kleopas Dumeni in the pre-independence era in Namibia
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Date
2014
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Abstract
This dissertation is a rhetorical study of the speeches of Bishop Kleopas Dumeni of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. The main purpose of the study was to analyse Bishop Dumeni’s selected speeches based on the five canons of Aristotle, namely, invention, arrangement, style, delivery and memory, and his three modes of persuasion of logos, pathos and ethos. This study examined the English and Oshiwambo speeches which Bishop Dumeni delivered at meetings locally and internationally from 1979 to 1988. The study also examined the responses of interviewed and audiovisual taped audiences to the speeches of Bishop Dumeni and translation techniques used by Bishop Dumeni to get the message across to his target audiences, since some of the speeches
were translated from English into Oshiwambo or vice versa. Twenty sampled speeches were analysed to obtain information on the use of the five Aristotelian canons and his three modes of persuasion within the framework of the
Aristotelian theory. This theory was supplemented by other theories such as Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), semiotic theory and Nida’s theory. The CDA deals with an oppositional study of structures and strategies of the discourse and their cognitive and social conditions as well as the discourses of resistance against such domination. The semiotic theory was used to interpret the non-verbal behaviour and Nida’s theory was used to examine the translation techniques used by Bishop Dumeni. In addition, interviews were conducted with thirty respondents drawn from three groups: the supporters of colonial authorities, ordinary people and pastors to obtain further information on the responses of the audiences to the speeches of Bishop Dumeni. The study revealed that Bishop Dumeni effectively used the five Aristotelian canons. Invention was used to formulate arguments and opinions on the speeches. Arrangement was used to organise the speeches in a particular manner to make them appealing to the audiences. Style was intended to maximise the correctness, clarity, appropriateness and ornament of the messages to achieve the greatest level of acceptance by the audiences. The canon of delivery helped the speaker to present the speeches in a way that was most effective for the audiences. Memory was employed to help the audiences retain the
messages in their minds. This study further revealed that Bishop Dumeni successfully used the three modes of persuasion, i.e., ethos, pathos and logos, to persuade the audiences to support the liberation of Namibia. The study also revealed that Bishop Dumeni used a combination of epideictic (ceremonial) rhetoric, to either praise his supporters or blame the colonial authorities;
deliberative rhetoric, to exhort or persuade the audiences to promote good and avoid the harmful; and, to a lesser extent, forensic rhetoric, with specific reference to the verdict of the International Court of Justice on the Namibian question. The researcher also found that Bishop Dumeni mostly used the formal equivalence type of translation with some elements of dynamic equivalence type of translation, and free translation, which affected the intelligibility of the speeches. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher made recommendations directed at training institutions in Namibia for further research to improve the standard of speech writing and delivery. This study is a great contribution to the study of rhetoric in Namibia, which is in its infancy stage.
Description
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English.
Keywords
Political rhetoric