1. Critical Discourse Analysis
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton
remarks on LGBT rights in recognition
of International Human Rights Day

2. Context
• Who: the American Secretary
of State Hilary Rodham Clinton
• Where: at the United Nations
Human Rights Council, Palais
des Nations Geneva,
Switzerland
• When: on December 6, 2011,
in recognition of International
Human Rights Day: This
weekend, we will celebrate
Human Rights Day, the
anniversary of one of the great
accomplishments of the last
century (paragraph 1)

3. Aims
• To live up to the idea that all people are entitled to basic human
rights: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…
Because we are human, we therefore have rights. And because we
have rights, governments are bound to protect them (par.3)
• To affirm that gay rights are human rights: Some have suggested that
gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct; but, in fact,
they are one and the same (par.9)
• To criticize nations that criminalize homosexuality or tolerate the
abuse of LGBT people: Today, I want to talk about the work we have
left to do to protect one group of people whose human rights are still
denied in too many parts of the world today (par.6)
• To underline the importance of continuing fighting against
international abuses of LGBT people: A fifth and final question is how
we do our part to bring the world to embrace human rights for all
people including LGBT people (par.24)

4. Feed-back
• Clinton’s remarks were hailed by the international
LGBT community as a historic speech
• The Human Rights Campaign (the American
largest civil rights organization working to achieve
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality)
acclaimed Clinton’s speech as a fundamental part
of the first-ever American government strategy
addressing international LGBT human rights
abuses

6. Lexical choice
• In the previous slide the size of the words shows us their
frequency (the biggest ones are the most used)
• There are five main words that the speaker uses the most.
These are strictly linked to the topic of the speech:
• Rights
• People
• Human
• LGBT
• Gay
• As we can see, the most used words are adjectives and
nouns characterized by a positive meaning
• Verbs as work, protect, support, know… are very frequent
and they underline an active dimension

7. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count
I applied the LIWC to Clinton’s speech and these are the results:
LIWC Dimensions Your Data Personal Texts Formal Texts
Self-references (I, 3.27 11.4 4.2
me, my)
Social words 11.96 9.5 8.0
Positive emotions 3.00 2.7 2.6
Negative emotions 1.20 2.6 1.6
Overall cognitive 5.10 7.8 5.4
words
Articles (a, an, the) 6.22 5.0 7.2
Big words (>6 21.92 13.1 19.6
letters)

8. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count
On the basis that Clinton’s speech is a formal text,
if we look at the previous chart we can say that:
• Positive emotions and use of social words data are
considerably higher than the maximum level indicated
for formal texts
• Negative emotions and self-references are slightly lower
compared to the maximum level indicated for formal
texts
• There are high rates of positive and negative emotions,
thus the speech has a great social emotional style
• There is a significant use of self-references. Far from
giving herself too self-importance, Clinton uses self-
references in order to show a high sense of personal
involvement in LGBT cause

9. Organization of speech
I divided the speech into 37 paragraphs that are organized as follows:
• 1: thanks and introduction to the general topic
• 2-3: reference to the past, particularly to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
drafting and to its main content
• 4-5: progresses achieved and fights for rights since the Declaration was adopted
• 6-7: introduction to the specific topic of LGBT rights referring to the current state of affairs
• 8: captatio benevolentiae towards the whole audience and introduction to main issues
• 9-11: first issue. Equivalence between gay rights and human rights and references to the
main violations of gay rights
• 12-14: second issue. Confutation of common beliefs that homosexuality is a western
phenomenon. Examples of worldwide constitutions that protect gay rights.
• 15-17: third issue. Confutation of those who cite religious or cultural traditions as excuses
for discriminating against or abusing those who are LGBT
• 18-23: fourth issue. Historical progress, challenges and changes in providing rights for all
• 24-27: fifth issue. Perspectives of action including everyone
• 28-30: addresses to the audience, to people of all nations and to LGBT men and women in
the perspective of a collective action in the realm of gay rights
• 31-33: reference to the activity of the Obama Administration in tackling international
abuses of LGBT people
• 34-35: past and future evolution and transformations
• 36-37: hopeful conclusion

10. Figures of speech
As we are facing with a political speech, we can recognize several rhetorical
strategies. Examples include:
• Synonymia: They discussed, they wrote, they revisited, revised, rewrote
(par. 2)
• Antithesis: Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are
separate and distinct but, in fact, they are one and the same (par. 9);
Being gay is not a Western invention, it is a human reality (par. 13);
violence toward women isn't cultural, it's criminal (par. 15); Reaching
understanding of these issues takes more than speech. It does take a
conversation (par.20)
• Captatio benevolentiae: So I come here before you with respect,
understanding, and humility (par. 8); The women and men who
advocate for human rights for the LGBT community in hostile places,
some of whom are here today with us, are brave and dedicated, and
deserve all the help we can give them (par.34); I come before you with
great hope and confidence that no matter how long the road ahead, we
will travel it successfully together (par.37)

11. Figures of speech
• List of three: country we live in, who our leaders are, or even who we are
(par.3); the full measure of liberty, the full experience of dignity, and the
full benefits of humanity (par.4); People fought and organized and
campaigned (par.5); to secure that commitment, that reality, and progress
(par.6); No matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we are
(par. 11); progress starts, progress comes from, progress comes from (parr.
18-23); people are jailed, beaten, or executed (par.28); this means, it
means, it means (par. 28); we have devoted…, engaged…, and established
(par. 34)
• Repetition of some structures: some have suggested/ seem to believe/
still defend/say and believe…but they are one/ in reality they are born/ but
violence isn’t/well, these notions…; repetition of verbs like take, let me say;
it means
• Metaphor: We know the road ahead will not be easy (par. 34); no matter
how long the road ahead, we will travel it successfully together (par. 37)

12. Participants and processes
Participants Processes
All human beings Are born (free and equal)
Governments Are bound to protect them
Barriers Have fallen away/ prevented
People Fought/ organized
Human rights Are still denied
LGBT people Are/ love/ are arrested/ are beaten/ are
terrorized/ are executed/ are treated/ are
jailed/ are forced/ are denied/ happen to be/
can be cured/ fought/ dedicated/
We Understood/ came to learn/ protect/ support/
worry/ work for/ work to/ act/ will travel/
fought/ are launching/ promote/ announce/
have committed/ have devoted/ have
engaged/ have established
I Come/ ask/ mean/ share/ know/

13. Participants and processes
• We can recognize two main categories of
participants: LGBT people and we (intended as
audience + American people+ people all
around the world)
• The former ones are linked to passive verbs
(they are the victims of the processes) while
the latter ones bring together active forms of
verbs (they are the agents)

14. Verbal and nonverbal communication
• Firm and sure voice
• Short sentences expressed with great clarity
• Deep self-confidence (she does not read
anything, she speaks plainly and seems to be
speaking off the cuff- but obviously she is not)
• Self-confident posture
• Lack of embarrassment