This article is dedicated to the analyse the most salient linguistic and extra-linguistic features of Algaddafi’s and Mubarak’s speeches during the Arab Spring. It will start with an overview of the Arab Spring events to provide a context within which the speeches were delivered. Followed by the suggested analytical framework to analyse the data, which combines Fairclough’s CDA theory to analyse the linguistic aspects of the texts such as the use of pronouns, vocabulary and repetition. This is subsequently followed by Kress’s multimodality approach, which draws on the importance of analysing the extra-linguistic features of the speeches because meaning can be established through other modes, like the image and body language. Lastly, this article emphasises the significance role linguists and speakers play to influence the audience by combining linguistic and extra-linguistic tools to persuade them with their goals.
Keywords: Arab Spring, CDA, Ideology, Multimodality, Political Speeches, body language
