الملخص الإنجليزي
The research presented in this thesis is an analytical study of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said's political speeches. The main goals of the present study were to: • Conduct analytical study of speech acts in the political speeches of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said during the period between 1970 and 2015. Identify the different categories of speech acts on the blog as well as the percentage of using each one of them. • Analyze the components of each speech act on the blog Explore speech acts in different periods of time during which the speeches were delivered, reveal the percentage of their preponderance or absence in each period of time. To achieve these goals, the study's central argument comes in four stages. The introduction offers a refreshing and comprehensive description of Pragmatics, defines Speech Act Theory and addresses the debate over the myriad definitions of speech acts and their pertinent terminology. Part one of the thesis is concerned with the classification of speech acts in the political speeches of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. Part Two of the thesis investigates indirect speech acts in the political speeches of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. Part Three of the thesis examines the different forms of speech acts in the political speeches of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. Part Four of this study analyzes speech acts and the central political tendency in the Sultanate. The data analysis has revealed a considerable number of findings and conclusions among which we cite the following: • All types of speech acts are included in the political speeches' blog • The findings show that the overall relative frequency percentages for the selected speeches are: Directive 36% (785), Assertive 34% (744), Expressive 14% (297), Declarative 11% (233) and Commissive 6% (137). The results show that the speaker relied more on sentences that performed indirect speech acts. The data is characterized by a preponderance of indirect speech acts The data analysis has also revealed that, in his speeches, Sultan Qaboos used a myriad of systematic speech acts in order to meet global aims and aspirations. A close analysis of his speeches on the blog has revealed that Sultan Qaboos has used diverse forms of speech acts to increase its success rate. Results have shown that there was an obvious correlation between the speaker's objectives and the type of speech act used. In addition to being concerned with the word, sentence structure and meaning in his composition of the linguistic context through which a speech act can be efficient, the speaker has also employed political, social and cultural factors to increase the success rate of the speech act used. • Rates varied with regard to the use, preponderance and absence of speech acts, which is due to interference factors throughout the various periods of time during which the speeches were delivered. The data analysis has revealed the following general features of the political speeches on the blog: - The existence of speeches with a single goal and speeches with varied objectives. The use of standard Arabic in the speeches delivered by the speaker during official celebration ceremonies and mixing standard Arabic and spoken Arabic dialect during the Sultan's public meetings with Omani citizens in some governorates of the Sultanate. The existence of a discrepancy between the length and shortness of political speeches in so far as speeches tended to be longer during the early years and much shorter in later years. What makes our research thesis interesting and original is, in our view, the fact that it is not only grounded on an experimental and practical analysis of the political speeches, but it is also conducted in the light of one of the current and most influential linguistic theories concerned with language in use, in addition to drawing on statistical tools in analyzing and exploring the different dimensions and meanings of language
