CHAPTER FOUR FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1.3. Commissives without commissive words
Commissives without commissive words are usually realized in structures where there are no commissive words to function as signals for recognizing commissives, but the grammatical structures themselves can help readers interpret them as implicit commissives. Some of those structures are the simple future tense, the near future structure, and so on.
Let‘s take a closer look at the following utterances made by each president.
a. Bill Clinton
(4.31) I also want to say that America must help more nations to break the bonds of disease. (January 27, 2000: State of the Union Address)
(4.32) So I say to you tonight, let's give our children a future. Let us take away their guns and give them books. (January 25, 1994: State of the Union Address)
(4.33) We must all take responsibility for ourselves, our conduct, and our attitudes. (October 16, 1995: Address on Race Relations)
(4.34) We cannot accept a world in which part of humanity lives on the cutting edge of a new economy and the rest live on the bare edge of survival. (January 27, 2000: State of the Union Address)
(4.35) Now we will intensify efforts to have other countries deploy more troops to Somalia to assure that security will remain when we're gone.
(October 7, 1993: Address on Somalia)
As for Bill Clinton, in (4.31), when he says ―America must help more nations to break the bonds of disease”, the subject “America”, followed by the verb phrase “must help” makes it easy for us be able to interpret his utterance as a commissive. Similarly, other structures in examples (4.32) to (4.35) showing signals of commissives are “let‟s give” in (4.32), “We must all take” in (4.33), “We cannot accept” in (4.34) and “we will intensify” in (4.35).
b. Barrack Obama
(4.36) We will help Egypt regain access to markets by guaranteeing $1 billion in borrowing that is needed to finance infrastructure and job creation. (May 19, 2011: Speech on American Diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa)
(4.37) But an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies
honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange. (September 9, 2009: Address to Congress on Health Care)
(4.38) And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan's security forces and government so that they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan's future. (December 1, 2009: Speech on Strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan)
(4.39) So tonight I'm proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat. (January 27, 2010:
2010 State of the Union Address)
(4.40) And over the next several weeks, in towns just like this one, I’m going to lay out my ideas for how we build on the cornerstones of what it means to be middle class, what it takes to work your way into the middle class. (July 24, 2013: Remarks on Education and the Economy)
Similar to Bill Clinton, Barack Obama also uses a variety of structures to make his implicit commissives. For example, his commissives are realized by “We will help” in (4.36), “we can take” in (4.37), “we must strengthen‖
in (4.38), “I‟m proposing” in (4.39) and “I‟m going to lay out” in (4.40).
Though there are no commissive words in those examples, it is very easy for the hearers to interpret that they are indirect commissives.
c. Donald Trump
(4.41) So together, let us resolve to use our power, our resources, and our voices, not just for ourselves, but for our people - to lift their burdens, to raise their hopes, and to empower their dreams; to protect their families, their communities, their histories, and their futures. (January 26, 2018:
Address at the World Economic Forum)
(4.42) It's been a little over a month since my inauguration, and I want to take this moment to update the Nation on the progress I've made in keeping those promises. (February 28, 2017: Address to Joint Session of Congress)
(4.43) And we can get it done under budget, and we want to get it done ahead of schedule. Because you don‘t have too many of them. Under budget and ahead of schedule. (February 1, 2018: Remarks at the House and Senate Republican Member Conference)
(4.44) America and its allies will take all necessary steps to achieve a denuclearization and ensure that this regime cannot threaten the world.
(September 19, 2017: Address to the United Nations General Assembly) (4.45) And we love our country. And we’re going to take care of our country. (February 23, 2018: Remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference)
Like what Bill Clinton and Barack Obama do, Donald Trump uses various structures without commissive words to convey his indirect commissives.
They realized by “let us resolve to use” in (4.41), “I want to take” in (4.42), “we can get it done” and “we want to get it done” in (4.43),
“America and its allies will take” in (4.44) and “We are going to take care of” in (4.45).