Register Dynamics in Political Discourse: A Study of Donald Trump’s Speeches - Akhmad, Mashita Ramadhani; Abida, Fithriyah Inda Nur; Damanhuri, Adam (Language Horizon: Journal of Language Studies, 2025)
Abstrak Penelitian ini menganalisis penggunaan variasi register dalam pidato kampanye Donald Trump dalam pemilihan presiden Amerika tahun 2024. Berdasarkan teori five level of formalities milik Martin Joos (1967): frozen, formal, consultative, casual, serta intimate. Berfokus pada identifikasii jenis-jenis register yang muncul dalam pidato politik Donald Trump yang sekaligus digunakan sebagai strategi retorika untuk membangun citra serta otoritas di mata public. Data yang dikumpulkan melalui transkrip serta rekaman video pidato yang diambil dari akun YouTube official milik Donald Trump dan dianalisa secara kualitatif menggunakan pendekatan sosiolinguistik. Hasil analisa menunjukkan bahwa Trump secara dominan menggunakan casual register untuk membangun kedekatan emosional dengan audiensnya, serta formal register untuk menyampaikan kebijakan dan memperkuat citra kepemimpinannya. Register intimate muncul dalam konteks dramatik untuk menggugah empati, sementara frozen register digunakan ketika mengutip konstitusi atau pernyataan legal guna menekankan otoritas institusional. Meskipun consultative register jarang ditemukan, kehadirannya tetap signifikan dalam interaksi bersifat dialogis. Kata Kunci: Register, Donald Trump, Pidato Abstract This study analyzes the use of register variations in Donald Trump’s campaign speeches in the 2024 American presidential election. Based on Martin Joos’ (1967) five levels of formalities theory: frozen, formal, consultative, casual, and intimate. Focuses on identifying the types of registers that appear in Donald Trump’s political speeches which are also used as rhetorical strategies to build image and authority in the eyes of the public. The data collected through transcripts and video recordings of speeches taken from Donald Trump’s official YouTube account and analyzed qualitatively using a sociolinguistic approach. The results of the analysis show that Trump predominantly uses casual register to build emotional closeness with his audience, as well as formal register to convey policies and strengthen his leadership image. Intimate register appears in dramatic contexts to evoke empathy, while frozen register is used when quoting the constitution or legal statements to emphasize institutional authority. Although consultative register is rare, its presence is still significant in dialogic interactions Keywords: Register, Donald Trump, Speech