Comparative persuasive styles in Arabic and English: A study of the United Nations General Assembly Debate speeches

ABSTRACT

This study analyzed persuasive styles and tactics used in the United Nations General Assembly Debate speeches by Arabic and English speaking leaders. Past work has identified three persuasive styles: analogical, presentational, and quasilogical. The literature suggests that Arabs use analogical and presentational styles, while the “West” prefers the quasilogical style. Our results indicate that Arabs used the quasilogical style more often than English speakers. All speakers drew upon most of the tactics identified to strengthen their arguments. Finally, there has been a shift in the usage of some tactics for both sets of speakers over 30 years.

KEYWORDS:

• United Nations
• General Assembly
• persuasion
• Arabic
• comparative styles

Notes

1 While the literature refers to Arabs and the West, most of the research is comparing Arabic and English usage, usually from the UK or the USA. Thus, in this paper we maintain the Arab/West distinction, although we acknowledge the limitations of conflating the West with only English-speaking countries.