Arguments’ Characteristics in Abbasid Oral Discourse (The Speeches of Dawoud bin Ali as a Model)

Abstract

Elocution is a persuasive, argumentative oral art that aims at influencing audience and persuading them through employing pragmatic styles and techniques which utilize the usage of language. It presents evidence and proofs to convince recipients divert from their path to the desired one of the speakers. This is seen mostly in political elocution more than any other field of public speaking. Therefore, this study seeks to reveal the argumentative characteristics of political elocution in the Abbasid’s era by analyzing the speeches of Dawoud Bin Ali as one of its prominent figures. The analysis seeks to reveal the argumentative characteristics in the Abbasid’s oral elocution and how these speeches had formed with other factors the persuasive power that empowered the Abbasid speakers to attract and convince the audience. The study shows many results, most of which are the strong argumentative structure that Dawoud created in his speeches, using different argumentative techniques and influential styles. He also applied various premises that showed an authoritative voice.