Abstract
This study carried out a lexical-semantic study of Dr Martin
Luther King’s Jr. Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech on 10th
December 1964. The investigation discovered that there are various
lexical-semantic theories that must be applied to the interpretation of meaning
in a given text. In this case, the Principles of Recursiveness, Composition,
Relevance, Informativeness, Scalar-Implicature, Function and Denotation were
used to analyse the speech to ascertain the rhetorical power of the speech and
how the fluency of meaning was achieved by the speaker (Dr Martin Luther King
Jr) choice of words. The study discovered that the speaker did not only
carefully choose his words to meet the standard of the above-laid principles,
but at the same time ensured that these semantic theories enhanced the
effectiveness of the speech. These facts were revealed in the study. This is
why “words” form the thread on which we string our experiences Aldous Huxley
(1937).
Keywords: Civil Rights Movement, Lexical-Semantic, Nobel Peace Prize, Speech, Study
DOI: 10.36349/zamijoh.2023.v02i03.006
author/James, A., Ojo, O., Pane, A.Y., Lagan, B.S. & Songdena, J.
journal/Zamfara IJOH Vol. 2, Issue 3
