Interaction
Vol 2 No 2 (2026): Komunikasi, Kuasa, dan Rasa Memiliki

Pemosisian Ideologis “We” dalam Konstruksi Solidaritas dan Identitas pada Pidato Kemenangan Boris Johnson dalam Pemilu 2019

Olusegun Oladele Jegede (Department of Languages and Literature, Lead City University, Ibadan)



Article Info

Publish Date
25 Oct 2026

Abstract

This study examined how the pronoun we constructs solidarity and identity in Boris Johnson’s 2019 election victory speech, addressing the limited scholarly attention to pronouns’ dual ideological functions in post-election political rhetoric. The specific objectives were to determine the frequency of we in the speech, examine its ideological construction of solidarity, and explore its ideological construction of identity. The study was anchored in Critical Discourse Analysis, which explains how linguistic choices reflect power relations and social meaning. The research adopted a qualitative design supported by a limited quantitative frequency analysis. The study purposively selected the speech because of its political relevance and communicative significance. The analysis identified 29 occurrences of we: 19 instances (66%) primarily associated with solidarity and 10 (34%) primarily associated with identity. The findings also indicate that some instances perform both functions, with the reported categories representing their primary ideological function. Solidarity was constructed through shared responsibility, national unity, collective action, and political alignment, particularly in relation to governance and the resolution of Brexit. Identity expressions mainly functioned to establish collective political and national belonging and to legitimize governmental authority. The study concludes that pronoun use operates as an ideological resource for consolidating political legitimacy and reducing the distance between leadership and the electorate. The study contributes to understanding how pronoun use in electoral victory speeches jointly constructs solidarity and identity.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

jiid

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Social Sciences

Description

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