Information Source as Persuasive Power in Political Interviews: the Case of Obama

Inclusivity and exclusivity in the use of Cantonese ngo5dei6 (‘we’) in evasive replies in Hong Kong political discourse

“…As noted in Pishwa (2015), adversarial questions in political discourse are often prefaced by some unfavorable background information, with a focus on the veracity and consistency of the message with reference to the present or previous context (Ekström and Tolson, 2017; Woods, 2006). To point out that their rivals are making contradictory statements or doing something that deviates from what they previously said or promised (Pishwa, 2015), politicians often use evidentiality-marking strategies such as ‘(hear) say’ verbs (Hanlon, 2015; Vukovic, 2014). These evidentiality-marking strategies help mark or imply non-firsthand information (Aikhenvald, 2004), and discreetly distance politicians from their face-threatening act (Ahn and Yap, 2015).…”