If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfleleader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House. And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I mithem tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics – you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington – it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and lesleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.
I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor’s bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harneand new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of rema-ki-ng this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettineand immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, inpidual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the pides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more pided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression acrothe land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witnea generation rise to greatneand a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progrewill we have made?
(1)To begin with, I discovered the warmth and sense of community that the people of Kenya possess—their sense of hopefulness even in the face of great difficulty [2]237.
(2)But for all the progress that has been made, we must surely acknowledge that neither Kenya nor the African continent have yet fulfilled their potential—that the hopefulness of the post-colonial era has been replaced by cynicism and sometimes despair, and that true freedom has not yet been won for those struggling to live on less than a few shillings a day, for those who have fallen prey to HIV/AID or malaria, to those ordinary citizens who continue to find themselves trapped in the crossfire of war or ethnic conflict [2]238.
(3) Our results showed that the frequency and function of use of DMs changed with age, similar to findings from conversational data [1]90.
“I discovered” and “we must surely acknowledge” 兩者都是自我報告據素,它們兩者都指明了信息的來源是人“we”。 “Our results showed ”是自我報告據素,它指明信息的來源是事物“our result”。
(4) The Kenyan people are crying out for real change, and whether one voted orange or banana in last year’s referendum, the message that many Kenyans seemed to be sending was one of dissatisfaction with the pace of reform, and real frustration with [5]243.
(5) It is very likely both, but this is mere speculation. It would certainly be interesting to know whether within a few years time French-written medical journals start publishing structured book reviews.[1]92.
“Seem” 和 “it would certainly” 是推理據素,它們都是指信息是證據并且基于這種證據所訴內容可能還會有其它的結論。同時,“Seem” 和 “it would certainly”所體現出的信息的來源和可靠程度是不同的,“Seem”對于其信息來源的可靠程度的評價低于“it would certainly”。
簡而言之,介入理論是關于說話者對所訴內容的立場和關于對潛在聽眾的預期反應的語言學手段。言據性與評價理論,尤其是與其中的介入理論有著緊密的聯系,因此我們可以運用介入理論來對言據性這一語言現象加以闡釋。介入理論提供給我們一個新的視角來研究言據性。在Bakhtin的多聲性觀點的啟發下,介入系統可分為單聲和多聲,它適合于用來分析說話者對其所述內容的可靠程度的判斷,同時也能體現信息所述者對語篇的語言選擇。 Martin 和White 認為,單聲是直接陳述命題,它是中立的,或者甚至只是事實[3]99 。單聲拒絕任何其他選擇,而多聲則承認和能為對話者提供對話空間。
(6)We were told this wasn’t possible. We were told the climb was too deep. We were told our country was too cynical—that we were just being na?ve; that we couldn’t really change the world as it is. [2]164 .
“We were told”是他人報告據素。他人報告據素是指信息是由他人提供的,即信息的來源非作者本身。在上面的例句中,信息來源是被隱藏了起來的,這樣就使得聽者不知道對其所述信息應做出何種評價。奧巴馬通過運用他人報告據素“we’ve been told”,使得在聽眾看來他是站在中立的立場上的,使得他所陳述的信息看起來是更加客觀,因而也是更容易被聽眾所接受,這樣就容易達到他的對聽眾進行勸說的目的。由此可見,運用他人報告據素是獲得聽眾對所述信息加以信任的有效方式之一。
(7) And polls show that almost two-thirds of all Iraqis now sympathize with attacks on American Soldiers[2]214.
(8) As President John Kennedy said, “No nation in history of battle ever suffered more than the Soviet Union in the Second World War” [2] 53.
“As President John Kennedy said” 是他人報告據素,屬于介入理論中的“承認”。通過此據素,奧巴馬傳遞出這樣一個信息,即他對所述信息的立場是首肯的,同時也為其他可供選擇的觀點留下了空間。這樣,由他人報告據素“As President John Kennedy said”就構建起了一種潛在的可供選擇的對話空間。他通過運用著名人物肯尼迪的觀點來團結反對他的選舉者,通過運用他人報告據素“As President John Kennedy said”, 奧巴馬就將自己的聲音或觀點介入于其他人的聲音或觀點之中,從而就達到了影響聽眾的目的。
(9) So, despite the process these states have made in upholding the right to vote, it is clearly that problems still exist [2]267.
“it is clearly”是推理據素,屬于介入理論中的“宣告”。奧巴馬公開宣稱“problem still exist”這一內容的確定性,同時也承認對于他所陳述信息可能會有不同意見存在。這樣,由推理據素“it is clearly”就構建起了一種對所陳述信息的多聲背景,并且這同時也使得奧巴馬的聲音或立場能夠強烈地反對其他的對話性選擇。在這種情況下,如果有人想挑戰奧巴馬的聲音或立場,那么他就得有比奧巴馬更加有力的聲音或立場, 但這就會增加更多的人際消費。這樣,推理據素“it is clearly”就縮小了對話的空間,奧巴馬就有可能打敗任何一個持反對立場的人,或者說就能達到對聽眾進行勸說的目的。