The Theme of Immigration and Non-Standard Variants of English in American Electoral Discourse

Abstract

The article analyzes the electoral discourse on immigration of the last three U.S. presidents (B. Obama, D. Trump, and J. Biden) using non-standard variants of American Standard English, such as African American Vernacular English (AAVE or Ebonix) and Chicano English (ChE). The analysis shows that all candidates have to take into account the social and speech practices of their constituencies. Democratic candidates (Obama and Biden) appeal to the linguistic identity of African-Americans and Hispanics, while Trump, whose core constituency is white Americans, demonstrates hatred towards immigrants through his linguistic behavior.