Linguistics and Education 72 (2022) 101117 

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect 

Linguistics and Education 

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/linged 

Legitimating meritocracy as part of the American Dream through the 

ritual of commencement speeches 

Victoria Martín de la Rosa 

a , ∗, Luis Miguel Lázaro 

b , ∗

a Department of English Studies, Faculty of Philology, Complutense University, Office A-22B, Plaza Menéndez Pelayo s/n, Madrid 28040, Spain 
b Department of Comparative Education and History of Education, Faculty of Philosophy and Educational Sciences, University of Valencia, Avda. de Blasco 

Ibáñez n º 30, Valencia 46010, Spain 

a r t i c l e i n f o 

Article history: 

Received 31 January 2022 

Revised 17 September 2022 

Accepted 28 September 2022 

Keywords: 

Critical discourse analysis 

Critical metaphor analysis 

Legitimation 

Meritocracy 

Commencement address 

American Dream 

a b s t r a c t 

Following an interdisciplinary approach anchored in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Critical 

Metaphor Analysis (CMA), this article focuses on a genre which has flourished particularly at US colleges 

and universities: commencement speeches. The aim is to analyze this type of public communication from 

the perspective of legitimation, as part of CDA, to uncover the ideology behind this social practice, which 

functions as a rite of passage into adulthood. This paper proposes the study of four strategies, which flesh 

out all commencement speeches, as key points in a genre which emphasizes the core values in American 

society such as meritocracy and common good as constituting elements of the American Dream: (a) au- 

thorization; (b) self-commitment; (c) altruism; and (d) mythopoesis, where conceptual metaphors, within 

the framework of CMA, will be highlighted. The use of each strategy is illustrated with examples taken 

from 15 commencement speeches (2015–2019). 

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. 

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license 

( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ) 

1

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. Introduction: the genre of commencement speeches 

Graduating ceremonies in US-American universities may be 

onsidered as a rite of passage marking a transition from one stage 

f life, where students leave college, to the next one, which will 

ake them typically to either finding a job or pursuing graduate 

tudies. In that quick passage from one phase into another, it is 

ustomary to hold a ceremony, as an institutionalized occasion to 

elebrate the achievements attained through the time spent in col- 

ege; however, looking back at achievements works only as the 

ecessary condition supporting the rest of the ceremony, which 

ims to engage students with what comes next. In other words, 

his ceremony does two things simultaneously: look backwards (a 

ecognition of completion) and forwards (a new beginning), as sug- 

ested by Ronald Reagan in his commencement address delivered 

t Eureka College in May 1982. This is very much in tune with the 

ollowing claim “Look closely at the rituals of any culture in the 

orld, and you ́ll find that endings and beginnings are forever and 

nextricably joined” ( Wall and Ferguson, 1988 : 177). 
∗ Corresponding authors. 

E-mail addresses: mvmartin@ucm.es (V. Martín de la Rosa), Luis.lazaro@uv.es 

L.M. Lázaro) . 

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ttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2022.101117 

898-5898/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article

 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ) 
The commencement ceremony, as a rite of passage, encom- 

asses three subcategories “rites of separation, transition rites, and 

ites of incorporation”, its primary purpose being to allow the in- 

ividual to move “from a defined position to another which is 

qually well defined” ( van Gennep, 1960 : 11). This commencement 

eremony can also be framed in the interaction rituals through 

haring a number of features: (a) a feeling of membership; (b) a 

eeling of confidence in the individual; (c) symbols that represent 

he group such as wearing academic dress and tossing of the caps; 

d) the sense of rightness in adhering to the group ( Collins, 2005 :

9). With a long-standing tradition, this ceremony has become a 

ell-demarcated and meaningful moment in the traversing of uni- 

ersity students’ lives. 

Regarding the main features of this genre, which has 

een greatly shaped by the marketization of higher education 

 Solly, 2012 , 2014 ), there are a number of components that will

ften be found in these speeches: “Congratulating the graduates 

n their achievement, assuring them that the world is waiting 

or their talents, challenging them to use their talents […], and 

eminding them that commencement marks the beginning, not 

he end […]” ( King, 1993 : 4). In the same vein, Brubacher & 

orn, 1978 writes that “it is the beginning of putting one ́s recently 

rained powers to the test of life” (XXV). Within this frame, the 

ain goal for the speaker is to focus on those of his/her life expe- 
under the CC BY-NC-ND license 

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V. Martín de la Rosa and L.M. Lázaro Linguistics and Education 72 (2022) 101117 

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iences which may serve as a sort of rudder for students to hold 

nto. 

Commencement speeches have been studied from the an- 

le of how a new genre has been developed ( Hartman, 2008 ; 

amieson and Campbell, 1982 ; Solly, 2012 , 2014 ). However, not 

uch attention has been devoted to the analysis of the linguistic 

trategies used. Hence, it seems reasonable to pursue a path where 

he aim is, following a qualitative analysis, to reveal how they are 

ulturally-loaded and socially constructed in terms of the legiti- 

ation strategies used for the weight and effectiveness of their 

essage. As will be seen, the naturalness of each strategy derives 

rom the fact that they have been culturally constructed, which 

ontributes to the speaker “sounding right” when relying on them 

 Charteris-Black, 2011 , 2018 ). 

. Theoretical framework: legitimation and critical metaphor 

nalysis 

Anthropological approaches to the analysis of rituals and cere- 

onies using qualitative methodologies (e.g. Manning, 20 0 0 ) have 

urned out to be an interesting perspective to the meaning of com- 

encement speeches in the context of university culture. Addi- 

ionally, following a content analysis methodology, studies focused 

n the analysis of commencement addresses have also revealed a 

igh interpretive potential on the meaning of this university rit- 

al ( Partch and Kinnier, 2011 ). On the other hand, an intercultural 

erspective between English and Chinese commencement speeches 

an be seen in the work conducted by Zhu (2018) . 

The present study can be framed at the intersection of Critical 

iscourse Analysis (CDA henceforth), and Critical Metaphor Analy- 

is (CMA henceforth), as both are approaches whose main attempt 

s to unearth the ideologies behind this social practice. This combi- 

ation will take findings further since the construction of legitima- 

ion will be strengthened with an equally critical outlook (CMA), 

here metaphor is considered as an important device in the le- 

itimation of social action ( Hart, 2018 ). Furthermore, this critical 

erspective will be complemented with a brief discussion on the 

iscourse of meritocracy, which is a core element in American so- 

iety and puts flesh on all commencement speeches. 

Relying on a critical perspective when analyzing language —

here the prominence of legitimation as a discourse goal by 

olitical actors is clearly present— has proven to be very suc- 

essful as can be seen in the work conducted by many schol- 

rs ( Cap, 2008 ; Chilton, 2004 ; Johnson, 2010 ; Martín Rojo, 1995 ;

eyes, 2011 ; van Dijk, 1992 ; van Leeuwen, 2007 ; van Leeuwen and

odak, 1999 ), to mention but a few, often relying on the use of 

etaphor as a device which evokes certain imagery in discourse 

ith an associated belief system. Despite these advances, analyses 

nderscoring the use of a critical perspective when addressing the 

ocial practice of commencement speeches is still lacking. 

.1. Legitimation as part of critical discourse analysis 

CDA is aimed at analyzing “social phenomena which are nec- 

ssarily complex and thus require a multidisciplinary and multi- 

ethodical approach.” ( Wodak and Meyer, 2009 : 2). Thus, the 

nterest of CDA will fall on any social phenomenon that is to 

e challenged and not just taken for granted. Such practices are 

ased on an ideological stratum which is established by the so- 

ial institutions and then transmitted by the educational system 

 Bourdieu and Passeron, 1990 ; van Dijk, 1998 ). Therefore, legiti- 

ation works as a feature of the persuasive type of discourse to 

ubtly engage the audience into participating in the social prac- 

ices of those institutions while maintaining power or achieving 

ocial acceptance ( Reyes, 2011 ; van Leeuwen, 2008 ). Hence, some 

egree of obfuscation plays an important role as it requires some 
2 
orm of agreement on the part of the audience ( Fairclough, 2003 ; 

an Dijk, 1998 , 2005 ). 

Legitimation, which is “a prominent function of language use 

nd discourse” ( van Dijk, 1998 : 234), is understood as a linguistic 

rocess by which speakers try to make some social practice, idea 

r a certain act acceptable and even desirable to the audience. It 

eans that legitimation is a discursive practice that aims to cre- 

te a certain understanding of a specific action or a given institu- 

ion by way of repetition ( Reyes, 2011 ; Vaara and Tienari, 2008 ;

an Leeuwen, 2007 ). The way to push this process forward is by 

roviding arguments and reasons that will justify and/or encourage 

ts adoption in society. Even though its origin is very much linked 

o sociology, it has also come to be used in linguistics to refer to 

he process of justifying why something should be done. Following 

an Leeuwen’s wording, legitimation proves to be an answer to the 

ore or less explicit question of “Why should we do this and why 

hould we do it this way” referring to the process of making some- 

hing appropriate and right, while serving a particular purpose in 

ociety ( van Leeuwen, 2007 : 93). 

Legitimation studies rely on the critical analysis of linguistic 

xpressions used by social actors and the particular social con- 

ext they are produced in ( van Leeuwen, 2008 : 6), trying to dis- 

lose the underlying ideology of social institutions that present as 

ommonsense practices that are culturally constructed ( Jones and 

areing, 1999 ). Focusing on the present study, where the em- 

hasis is placed on the institutional use of ritualized commence- 

ent speeches, it can be advanced that they seek to legitimize 

nd justify a social structure based on a meritocratic approach, 

lthough this perspective is complemented with a search to con- 

ribute to the community’s betterment. Bringing both elements to- 

ether translates into the endorsement of the American Dream, 

 concept popularized by the historian James Truslow Adams in 

he Epic of America (1931), which is the guiding force shaping the 

eaning and content of this genre. Even though it is true that it 

as come to be associated with individual upward mobility and 

eading comfortable lives, the concept, in its original sense, also 

tood for the idea of commitment to the good of the whole and 

ommon well-being ( Churchwell, 2021 ). 

Commencement speeches are a type of discourse that 

learly manifest the socially constructive nature of language use 

 Fairclough, 1995 ; van Dijk, 1998 ), so any attempt to bring a bet-

er understanding of them will have to be done with a view to the 

pecific culture where they are discursively developed, since their 

eaning is dialogically constructed and shaped ( Bakhtin, 1981 ) 

ithin institutionalized organizations. Each commencement speech 

s thus intertextually connected to all the other speeches in a 

obweb-like manner that, by way of repetition, get internalized 

nd “habitualized” ( Berger and Luckmann, 1967 : 70). 

For the study of legitimation on this type of speeches, this 

nalysis is based on three out of the four categories of legitima- 

ion suggested by van Leeuwen (20 07 , 20 08 ): (a) authorization; (b)

oral evaluation; and (c) mythopoesis. The category of ‘rational- 

zation’ has been discarded because of its low visibility in speeches. 

t the same time, this paper has been supplemented with the re- 

earch conducted by Reyes (2011) , where he explored the legitima- 

ion strategies used by George W. Bush and Barack Obama on the 

ar on Terror and added the category of ‘altruism’, which in our 

tudy has been blended with that of ‘moral evaluation’. Replacing 

moral evaluation’ ( van Leeuwen, 20 07 , 20 08 ) with that of ‘altru-

sm’ ( Reyes, 2011 ) proved to be a good way to better match the

eaning of those linguistic expressions used by commencement 

peakers that “legitimize proposals as a common good that will 

mprove the conditions of a particular community" ( Reyes, 2011 : 

87). Furthermore, we suggest a new category ‘self-commitment’ 

ince —although it also makes implicit reference to a value system, 

s the category of ‘moral evaluation’ does— it is a distinctly singu- 



V. Martín de la Rosa and L.M. Lázaro Linguistics and Education 72 (2022) 101117 

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arized category, as evidenced by the data found in all commence- 

ent speeches, focusing on concepts such as those of ’effort’, ’hard 

ork’, ’perseverance’ or ’determination’. Interestingly enough, they 

ll point to the discourse of meritocracy —much discussed over the 

ast 20 years by academics — as one of the core values in the nar-

ative of the American Dream (see Section 2.3 ). 

Hence, the strategies of legitimation analyzed in this study en- 

ompass the following types: (1) authorization (in reference to au- 

hority figures); (2) self-commitment (in reference to the merito- 

ratic system); (3) altruism (in reference to moral justification); 

nd (4) mythopoesis (in reference to storytelling), where the de- 

ice of metaphor will be highlighted as a way of making sense of 

henomena and creating a narrative that works for the interests of 

peakers. 

.2. Critical metaphor analysis 

CMA contributes to the study of CDA ( Musolff, 2012 : 301), 

hich claims that “meaning constitution” should be analyzed in 

he social context to uncover the ideologies that constrain social 

roups. It links up three different fields: critical discourse analysis 

CDS henceforth), conceptual metaphor theory (CMT henceforth) 

nd corpus linguistics. 

It was first adopted by Charteris-Black (2004) by addressing 

he study of metaphor from the perspective of corpus linguis- 

ics. Hisstudy of political discourse addresses the ideological po- 

ential of metaphor in discourse by suggesting that metaphors will 

ave to be analyzed in real discourse data instead of out of con- 

ext, as was the case in CMT. The reason for such a claim is 

hat “metaphor can only be explained by considering the inter- 

ependency of its semantic, pragmatic and cognitive dimensions”

 Charteris-Black, 2004 : 2). One of the benefits of corpus linguistics 

s that it provides extensive co-text, which is key when deciding 

hether a word sense is metaphorical or not. The particular con- 

ext for a metaphor and the motivations behind its use are thus 

rought to the center of the stage. 

This more enriched perspective transcends the previous cog- 

itive dimension ( Lakoff and Johnson, 1980 ), which highlighted 

 cognitive pairing between a source and a target domain re- 

ected in a number of linguistic expressions, where the real fo- 

us is on the behavior of metaphor in discourse data. This will 

ntail talking not only about how using metaphor will make 

he speaker’s/writer’s discourse more memorable, but about how 

etaphor is ideological in the sense of offering persuasive and 

hared ways of thinking about the world and by doing so le- 

itimating a particular representation of reality to the benefit of 

hose holding such views ( Charteris-Black, 2011 , 2018 ; Martín de 

a Rosa and Lázaro, 2017 , 2019 ; Musolff, 2007 ; Semino, 2008 ;

an Dijk, 1998 ). 

Since metaphor —as claimed by cognitive approaches to 

etaphor— is not only about how we talk about something, but 

ostly about how we think about it, looking into the linguistic re- 

lizations of metaphor in discourse can help us understand dom- 

nant and systematic ways which people rely on to think of real- 

ty ( Ng, 2020 ). Furthermore, particular metaphors can be used to 

nforce and perpetuate particular worldviews, whose assumptions 

unless they are questioned— may be ignored. This explains why 

ritical metaphor analysis becomes necessary as metaphors consti- 

ute verbal evidence for an underlying system of ideas. Therefore, 

oving from CDS, which is concerned with the exercise of power 

o influence perception and action, to the analysis of metaphor, 

hich serves as a point of access into thought processes, can help 

xamine ideological and systematic structures conveyed in dis- 

ourse by considering the content of those metaphors in terms of 

hat is highlighted ( Charteris-Black, 2004 , 2018 ). 
3 
.3. Meritocracy 

The term meritocracy was first coined in 1958 by Michael 

oung in his well-known fable “The Rise of Meritocracy”, where 

is proposal can be summarized in the following formula: 

.Q. + effort = merit ( Young, 2017 : XIII). The discourse of meri- 

ocracy claims that “whatever your social position at birth, soci- 

ty ought to offer enough opportunity […] in order to rise to the 

op” ( Littler, 2018 : 1). As Bell pointed out, “The postindustrial so- 

iety, in its logic, is a meritocracy. Differential status and differ- 

ntial income are based on technical skills and higher education, 

nd few high places are open to those without such qualifica- 

ions” ( Bell, 1972 : 30). This is an idea which has traditionally en- 

ouraged the expectations of upward mobility through education, 

hich in turn has given way to an academic “credential inflation”

 Collins, 1979 ) or “diploma disease” ( Dore, 1976 ). The latter is a 

ircumstance threatening those expectations of upward mobility 

hrough education since not every student starts off in life with 

he same opportunities to access higher education due to their 

ifferent social origin and family cultural capital ( Bourdieu and 

asseron, 1964 ). Despite all this, as stated by Wooldridge, meri- 

ocracy “is the closest thing we have today to a universal ideol- 

gy” because its success “is crossing boundaries —ideological and 

ultural, geographical and political”— while “shaping society from 

op to bottom” (2021: 1, 3). Besides, it should not be forgotten 

hat a meritocratic conception of society, together with the ben- 

fits resulting from attaining the highest levels of education, is an 

ssential element of the American Dream ( Hochschild and Scov- 

onick, 2003 ), which works as “a potent philosophical means for 

onstructing reformist discourses for American politics and educa- 

ion” ( Beach, 2007 : 148). 

Drawing on the theoretical framework described above, where 

egitimation studies, as part of CDA, are supplemented with CMA, 

his study aims to contribute to the analysis of a type of public 

ommunication, commencement speeches, in an attempt to bring 

o light the cultural and social construction which lies at the heart 

f the speeches and which makes them a well-delineated genre 

hrough sharing a number of features. 

. Data and method 

.1. Corpus 

A collection of 15 commencement speeches has been selected 

n order to conduct this study. To select those speeches, we fol- 

owed a number of steps: 1) media reports on the most memorable 

peeches for the time span chosen were consulted; 2) a number of 

arameters —previously decided on for the compilation process—

ere taken into consideration to try to ensure our corpus is repre- 

entative enough of the diversity of commencement speakers who 

end to be targeted by universities: prominent figures in the com- 

unity from the social, cultural, political and economic spheres in 

he USA ( Solly, 2012 , 2014 ). In fact, the very choice of speakers

y higher education institutions is precisely the best evidence of 

 system based on the principle of merit. 

The parameters referred to above were the following: time 

pan, race, gender, ideology and employment. 

• The time span ranged from 2015 to 2019, with a view to captur- 

ing the most recent view of speeches. Speeches given in 2020 

were discarded because of their online format. 
• Within race, speakers from White, Black, Hispanic and Asian 

origin are part of this corpus. 
• Within gender, speeches from women and men are equally 

found (eight speeches by female speakers vs. seven speeches by 

male speakers). The rate of women featuring as commencement 



V. Martín de la Rosa and L.M. Lázaro Linguistics and Education 72 (2022) 101117 

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speakers has notably increased over the last decade. A tendency 

which has accelerated from 2018 onwards due to the impact on 

society of the #MeToomovement. 
• Within ideology, representatives from both a more liberal and 

conservative leaning are included. 
• Within employment, speakers who come from different fields 

of life have been selected: politicians, an actor and an ac- 

tress, a TV icon, a lawyer, a Chief Executive Officer and a 

Chief Operating Officer of Information Technology companies, 

a movie director, an actor-comedian, or an Associate Justice of 

the Supreme Court of the United States. 

A list of the commencement speeches selected is provided in 

he following lines. The information included reads as follows: 

ame of speaker, occupation, university/college where speech was 

elivered and, in between brackets, number of words. The total 

orpus amounts to 37,096 words. 

2019: (5633) 

Ken Jeong, Physician and Comedian, University of North Car- 

lina Greensboro (1758 words) 

Viola Davis, Actress, Barnard College, (1555 words) 

Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Supreme Court of the USA, 

anhattan College (2320 words) 

2018: (6 6 69) 

Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, Mas- 

achusetts Institute of Technology (2920 words) 

Hillary Rodham Clinton, ex-Secretary of State/Former First Lady, 

ale University (3749 words) 

2017: (3011) 

Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Massachusetts Insti- 

ute of Technology (1697 words) 

Oprah Winfrey, TV icon, Smith University (1314 words) 

2016: (13,133) 

Barack Obama, 44th President of the USA, Rutgers University 

4961 words) 

Steven Spielberg, Movie director, Harvard University, (2456 

ords) 

Mitt Romney, Politician, Trine University, (2561 words) 

Michelle Obama, Lawyer/Former First Lady, City College of New 

ork (3155 words) 

2015: (8650) 

Denzel Washington, Actor, Dillard University (1503 words) 

George W. Bush, 43rd President of the USA, Southern Methodist 

niversity (1770 words) 

Condoleezza Rice, ex-Secretary of State, College of William and 

ary (3037 words) 

Madeleine Albright, ex-Secretary of State, Tufts University (2340 

ords) 

.2. Methodology 

The legitimation strategies which were suggested by the 

nalysis of data are the following: (a) authorization; (b) self- 

ommitment (c) altruism; and (d) mythopoesis, within which the 

ocus will be placed on conceptual metaphor, a device which helps 

reating a narrative that works for the interests of speakers while 

etting them tune in with the audience. 

All the speakers invited to be commencement speakers —and 

ur corpus study is a good proof of this— try to legitimize their dif- 

erent proposals of how to transition into an adult life by holding 

nto a system of values and a certain approach to life which makes 

hem “sound right” ( Charteris-Black, 2011 , 2018 ). This, partly, gives 

hem a quick access to the audience’s emotional and rational back- 

ng ( Chilton, 2004 ). 

Concerning the process of analysis, we proceeded as follows: 

1) a close reading of the speeches by both authors focusing 
4 
n the linguistic choices made by commencement speakers came 

rst; (2) joint-reflection followed on the use of those linguis- 

ic choices found; while discussing data, two issues arose: (a) 

any of the expressions used by commencement speakers, which 

ouched on concepts such as those of ‘effort’ or ‘hard work’ —

eeply related to the discourse of meritocracy— did not fit any 

f the existing legitimating strategies, which led to coining a 

ew category ‘self-commitment’; (b) replacing ‘moral evaluation’ 

 van Leeuwen, 20 07 , 20 08 ) with ‘altruism’ ( Reyes, 2011 ), as already

ndicated in Section 2.1 ., proved to be a good way to better capture

he meaning of expressions used by many commencement speak- 

rs, which frequently hint at the need to reach others in the com- 

unity; (3) finally, each legitimation strategy was illustrated with 

xamples retrieved from our corpus, as will be seen in the findings 

ection. 

Let us briefly introduce the different categories of legitimation 

roposed in this study: 

a) Authorization 

This strategy is exhibited by the fact that commencement 

peakers stand as authoritative figures. Although van Leeuwen 

20 07 , 20 08 ) discusses four types of authorization, namely, per- 

onal (vested in people), impersonal (in the law and regulations), 

xpert (as the result of expertise in a given field), and role model 

upon opinion leaders or celebrities), the two types that are clearly 

mphasized in this paper are the expert and the role model au- 

horities —as a type of ‘social learning’ ( Bandura, 1977 )— as will 

e seen in the coming lines. 

b) Self-commitment 

This legitimating strategy, which supports a merit-based sys- 

em, is very deeply rooted in American society, in the sense that 

ince birth students are encouraged to work as much as possible 

ince their success or failure will just depend on their talent and 

mbition, and how much time and effort they devote into pursu- 

ng their dreams. Hence, Americans are committed to the princi- 

le of ‘individualism’, where they consider themselves responsible 

or shaping their own destiny. However, this appeal to hard work 

s even more demanding in the case of minorities, as reflected in 

he well-known African American aphorism: “As a black person in 

hite America, you’ve got to work twice as hard to get half as far.”

 DeSante, 2013 : 342). That is precisely the idea that back in 2015

he then First Lady, Michelle Obama, touched on in her commence- 

ent speech delivered in Tuskegee University (Alabama), while re- 

inding the audience of their need to rise “above brutal discrimi- 

ation” or the need to build “resilience to soar past obstacles and 

utrages”. 

This strategy is important because, as Sandel says, “In an un- 

qual society those who land on top want to believe their success 

s morally justified”; that is to say, “In a meritocratic society, this 

eans that the winners must believe they have earned their suc- 

ess through their own talent and hard work” ( Sandel, 2021 : 13). 

c) Altruism 

It is a very important legitimation strategy since speakers 

trive to project their own vision and understanding of the world 

hrough claims based on a system of values which look for the 

enefit and well-being of others. Hence, upholding the benefit of 

thers is presented as the moral justification to adhere to the pro- 

osals made. 

Altruism is a concept with a long history in the United States. 

n fact, it was present in the ethical debates in the late nineteenth 

entury, when thinkers across all ideological divides defended the 

oral need to strengthen socially the idea of altruism against "So- 

ial Darwinism" ( Budd, 1956 : 43). Nowadays, it still plays an im- 

ortant role since commencement speakers continue to uphold the 



V. Martín de la Rosa and L.M. Lázaro Linguistics and Education 72 (2022) 101117 

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dea of altruism, even though it has been challenged in the context 

f a growing expansion of the "Market Society" ( Sandel, 2012 ). 

d) Mythopoesis 

This strategy is conveyed by resorting to the social and cultural 

ctivity of telling stories to an audience in order to make sense 

f phenomena. Both moral and cautionary tales serve as good 

xamples of how stories serve legitimation purposes. In moral 

ales, “protagonists are rewarded for engaging in legitimate so- 

ial practices […]”, whereas cautionary tales “convey what will 

appen if you do not conform to the norms of social practices”

 van Leeuwen, 2008 : 117–18). 

Precisely, one of the important resources and tools that story- 

elling relies on is the use of metaphor, which analyzed from a 

ritical perspective will uncover the value system of a community. 

etaphors often imply stories, and stories often include metaphors 

 Fopp, 2009 ; Miller, 1995 ; Ritchie, 2012 , 2013 , 2017 ); in this frame,

etaphor and storytelling seem to go hand in hand. Regarding 

etaphor as a story telling device, it must be said that the analy- 

is of this cognitive tool will be restricted to the legitimation strat- 

gy of mythopoesis, which is in line with the final goal of this pa-

er. As will be revealed from the high number of tokens, metaphor 

lays a very important cohesive role connecting extra-textually the 

peeches given by the 15 speakers. 

Three main phases, following CMA ( Charteris-Black, 2011 ), will 

e covered for the analysis of metaphor: (a) identification, (b) in- 

erpretation and (c) explanation of metaphors. Identification is the 

rocess of reading a text for metaphorical expressions following 

he procedure advanced by the Pragglejaz Group, 2007 , where a 

exical unit is considered as metaphorically used when its contex- 

ual meaning contrasts with a more basic meaning ( Semino et al., 

018 ); secondly, the interpretation stage is where, based on the 

etaphorical expressions found, the researcher arrives at a num- 

er of conceptual metaphors —typically given in capital letters—

hrough a generalization process. Finally, in the explanation stage, 

he discourse function of metaphor, where conceptual metaphors 

re likely to point to an underlying system of political and social 

deas, is taken into account. 

. Findings 

This section examines the four legitimating strategies previ- 

usly commented on: authorization, self-commitment, altruism 

nd mythopoesis, which commencement speakers —as key actors 

n the implementation of this social practice— rely on while con- 

ributing to the legitimating act which commencement speeches 

re. 

As a methodological note, the italicized parts of the examples 

epresent the linguistic choices relevant to the analysis. In addition, 

or a more detailed overview, a table has been included in the ap- 

endix providing the categories analyzed and occurrences for each 

f the speakers. 

.1. Authorization 

As previously said, both expert and role model authorities are 

n overwhelming legitimation strategy in the very manner com- 

encement speeches are articulated. It is not a question of pub- 

ic speakers who quote other voices to have their claims validated, 

ut rather it is the very speakers who are authoritative sources; 

n other words, the speakers embody a model with a proven and 

uccessful trajectory in American society. This means that it is not 

y chance that they are selected as commencement speakers. 

Even though a two-way division between expert (Cook, Apple ; 

otomayor, Associate justice of the Supreme Court of the US, just to 

ention a few) and role model (Winfrey, celebrity ; B. Obama, Pres- 

dent of the US , to mention a few) authorities can be established in
5 
his kind of discourse, both could ultimately be described as role 

odel authorities since they embody the most tangible demonstra- 

ion that the American Dream is real. This strategy clearly serves 

ersuasive purposes since the fact that successful members have 

ertain beliefs is enough to legitimatize such ideas and the actions 

f their followers. Each of the commencement speeches is a good 

roof of this. 

Furthermore, it is interesting to note that most of the com- 

encement speakers mention, in turn, other authorized voices —

ostly male— within their speeches. This will be illustrated by 

roviding some names of great figures given by commencement 

peakers: 

a) “Nation’s founders”, as the shapers of the American Dream 

(Barack Obama, Michelle Obama). 

b) Politicians: Winston Churchill (George Bush); Martin Luther 

King (Barack Obama, Tim Cook); Nelson Mandela (Denzel 

Washington). 

c) Inventors: Thomas Edison (Barack Obama, Denzel Washington); 

George Washington Carver (Barack Obama). 

d) Scientists: David Waltimore (Sheryl Sandberg); Jonas Salk 

(Michelle Obama). 

.2. Self-commitment 

In spite of the growing criticism to the concept of ‘meri- 

ocracy’ from across the political spectrum —although for very 

ifferent reasons, “this criticism has yet to shift popular opin- 

on, which remains stubbornly loyal to the meritocratic idea”

 Wooldridge, 2021 : 5). Hence, the idea of highlighting the con- 

ept of ‘merit’, while backgrounding any other type of differences 

mong social groups, has not only remained but has been rein- 

orced over the past few decades. Meanwhile, Hochschild and Scov- 

onick claim “Most Americans believe that everyone has the right 

o pursue success but that only some deserve to win, based on 

heir talent, effort, or ambition” (2003: 2). As a further evidence, 

he scholar Markovits states that “meritocracy claims to be fair and 

enevolent, to align private interest to the common good, and to 

romote freedom and opportunity for all”, even though it ignores 

social and economic inequality” (2019: XXI). 

This merit system matches the individualistic approach to life 

o ingrained in American society, where everybody is allowed to 

ursue their own dreams since all people are created equal, as 

tated in the second paragraph of the U.S. Declaration of Inde- 

endence. That is precisely the idea that Hillary Clinton is refer- 

ing to when she talks about “the vital role of higher education 

n our society to create opportunity and equality” ( Clinton, 2018 ). 

his assumes that the departure point in life for all individuals is 

xactly the same, which implicitly denies the fact that some so- 

ial groups may be at an advantage ( Bourdieu and Passeron, 1990 ; 

ochschild and Scovronick, 2003 ) With that in mind, how success- 

ul you are in obtaining your goals in life will be based solely on 

our performance and how hard you work for your objectives. This 

heme is so compelling that it can be found in all the commence- 

ent speeches in our corpus (78 tokens). 

In fact, this idea that we are all born the same is the pre- 

iminary condition on which the remainder of the discourse is 

ased: that it is only through effort and ambition that students 

ill manage to get as far as they dream to fulfill their objectives. 

his premise, which takes the focus away from the obvious differ- 

nces among people depending on the social, economic and cul- 

ural backgrounds they are born into, is actually referred to by sev- 

ral commencement speakers across the political divide such as 

eorge Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Madeleine Albright and Michelle 

bama. 

(1) In our hearts we believe we all are created equal under God. 

George Bush, 2015 ) 



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(2) But, graduates, no matter where your journey started, you 

ave all made it here today through the same combination of un- 

ielding determination, sacrifice, and a whole lot of hard work —

ommuting hours each day to class, some of you ( Michelle Obama, 

016 ). 

Consequently, at the core of this system of values, we find the 

oncepts of ‘hard work’, ‘effort’, ‘perseverance’ and ‘determination’, 

hich run through all the speeches and are likely to sound familiar 

o students: 

(3) […], if you strive to create the best, give the best, do the best

or everyone […] (Tim Cook, 2017 ). 

(4) But you know what my biggest talent is? It’s persistence . I 

o not give up . I do not give up anything. […], I do not give up […].

nd, honestly, your persistence is the most important talent to have 

Ken Jeong, 2019 ). 

All this hints at the fact that the only responsibility for one’s 

uccess or failure falls on one’s own shoulders. Thus, students are 

eft with just themselves to blame if such success does not come 

heir way, as previously said. Proof of this can be seen in the words 

f the following speakers: 

(5) […] you can achieve success with your own work and energy 

nd determination . Choose these things to wish for, work for, live 

or, and you are virtually guaranteed success and fulfillment (Mitt 

omney, 2016 ). 

(6) No matter our race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation, 

e are all equal shareholders in the American Dream (Madeleine 

lbright, 2015 ). 

This means that this legitimating strategy serves as a good re- 

ource to connect with the audience after spending four years at 

ollege in an attempt to reach graduation day. That being the case, 

t would be surprising not to find speakers capitalizing on such an 

pportunity to remind them of the energy and time invested in 

eaching this milestone, but also of the important challenges lying 

head for which their best performance will be needed. Speakers, 

elying on a path of continuous hard work, refer not only to what 

as been achieved so far but to what has yet to be achieved in the

uture, which gives coherence to their discourse and to the pro- 

ected audience’s lives. Furthermore, knowing they are equipped 

ith the best knowledge and skills from all those fine universities, 

hey are appealed to as the role models of the future. 

(7) And, Class of 2016, it is your turn now to shape our nation’s 

estiny , as well as your own ( Barack Obama, 2016 ). 

(8) The future [of this country] is in your hands . Congratula- 

ions! (Sheryl Sandberg, 2018 ) 

However, this sense of resolve to fulfill your objective takes 

n some religious overtones in the case of some commencement 

peakers, since, as they claim, your main goal in life must be to 

arry out the service for which you have been brought to earth. 

his means that your sense of fulfillment is deeply intertwined 

ith serving your call in life. In this light, the religious feeling of 

erving one’s calling and one’s self-commitment become one and 

he same thing for these speakers, who adopt a more religious or 

piritual perspective on life. 

.3. Altruism 

As already mentioned, Churchwell reminds us that James 

ruslow Adams (1931) approached the concept of the ‘American 

ream’ emphasizing elements such as those of ‘collective moral 

haracter’ and ‘well-being that is held in common and there- 

ore mutually supported’. One of the guiding themes repeated in 

very single commencement address in our corpus is precisely 

hat of placing the focus on the well-being of others (64 tokens). 

his theme acquires a new meaningful dimension each time it is 

aken up by a commencement speaker since it is recontextual- 

zed and renegotiated with different audiences, reaching back and 
6

orth to other discourses as a kind of inter-discourse ( Bhatia, 2010 ; 

airclough, 1992 ; Kecskes, 2019 ). The relevance of this strategy can 

e seen in the examples by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton: 

(9) […] to make collective decisions on behalf of a common good , 

e have to use our heads ( Barack Obama, 2016 ). 

(10) This is a moment to reach across divides of race, class, and 

olitics, to try to see the world through the eyes of people very 

ifferent from ourselves and to return to rational debate to find a 

ay to disagree without being disagreeable to try to recapture a 

ense of community and common humanity . (Hillary Clinton, 2018 ). 

One interesting move, coherent with the development of al- 

ruism as a legitimating strategy, is avoiding the construction and 

ortrayal of two different groups, ‘positive self’ (us) vs. ‘negative 

ther representation’ (them) ( Chilton, 2004 ; Martín Rojo, 1995 ; 

an Dijk, 2005 ; Wodak, 1989 ). In fact, this strategy pursues erasing 

hese two opposing spaces in an attempt to bridge both perspec- 

ives into a general and inclusive ‘we’, where the whole society 

leaving differences aside— is presented as moving together to- 

ards the same goals, which connects very well with the need to 

uild some shared attitudes with the audience in commencement 

peeches. 

(11) They [Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall] stumbled. 

ometimes they fell. But they kept going, and they left a legacy 

hat allowed future generations — descendants of the free and de- 

cendants of slaves — to pick up the torch and walk toward the 

oal of making " we, the people" a more inclusive concept (Con- 

oleezza Rice, 2015 ). 

As explained above, the strength and inter-discourse value of 

his theme is such that it is repeated by every one of the speakers 

nder analysis. In order to give evidence of the common ground 

nd purpose held by speakers when addressing the audience, let 

s mention an example: 

(12) As you serve others , you can inspire others (George 

ush, 2015 ). 

Projecting this type of altruistic motivation boosts a speaker’s 

roposals and claims, since it implies a movement from ego to 

thers, which materializes in the search for a benefit which goes 

ell beyond oneself and turns into a social benefit. This provides a 

ense of purpose and meaning to our lives, as claimed, for exam- 

le, by Viola Davis: 

(13) Because no one talks about the real final cap, the real 

eiling—and that’s significant: living life for something bigger than 

ourself is a hero’s journey (Viola Davis, 2019 ). 

Self-commitment and altruism are nicely brought together in 

 powerful visual image —work hard and then reach back for 

hose who come behind you, which seems to be the best claim 

o success in American society, where such success becomes really 

eaningful only if it contributes to the betterment of the commu- 

ity. This can be seen in the following example from Denzel Wash- 

ngton’s speech, which will be repeated by Michelle Obama a year 

ater (2016): 

(14) Everyday you have to plan – everyday. You’ve heard the 

aying that we don’t plan to fail, we fail to plan. Working really 

ard is what successful people do […] And anything you want, you 

an have. So claim it. Work hard to get it. When you get it, reach

ack pull someone else up (Denzel Washington, 2015 ). 

Linked to this altruistic component —where the importance lies 

n holding out to others— some speakers link this attitude to a re- 

igious and spiritual motive, where the need to help others seems 

o be set off by a superior force who knows best and is in charge 

f shaping our destiny. All the speakers touching on this reli- 

ious/spiritual ingredient of life are African Americans: Oprah Win- 

rey, Viola Davis, Denzel Washington and Condoleezza Rice. This is 

ot a coincidence as the preeminent role of religion in the lives 

f African Americans, through their communities, has been clearly 

stablished by different authors ( Billingsley, 1999 ; Chatters et al., 



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009 ; Taylor and Chatters, 2010 ). It is illustrated in the following 

xample: 

(15) The only empowerment is when your personality, when 

ou use who you are, what you’ve been given, the gifts you hold, 

o serve the calling that you have been brought to earth to serve 

Oprah Winfrey, 2017 ). 

However, the figure of the community is equally resorted to by 

ost speakers, who believe that performing our better self neces- 

arily implies having the community as the gravitational force of 

ur activities, since communities thrive by making sure that every 

ndividual contributes and does his/her share. This is exemplified 

learly in the following excerpt: 

(16) My hope for all of you here today is that you find 

 life filled with meaning and that you create that meaning 

y serving your community and the people in your life (Sonia 

otomayor, 2019 ). 

Considering that commencement speeches are addressed to 

ome of the future leaders of the country —as indicated by one 

f the very commencement speakers “You are the leaders of to- 

orrow, and it will be your job to pick up the baton so often mis-

andled by the leaders of yesterday and today” ( Albright, 2015 ), 

e could understand that the special emphasis placed by every 

peaker on the commitment to the community may well find its 

ustification in trying to reduce the rising gap and growing dis- 

rust between elites and blue-collar workers, who feel belittled 

nd neglected by those elites. Such suspicion gave way to a cer- 

ain ‘resentment’, which marked the beginning of a populist re- 

ction towards the elites demanding more equality “as a defense 

gainst being excluded from that society” ( Bell, 1972 : 31). This is 

ust a dynamics which has grown particularly over the last years 

 Markovits, 2019 : XIX; Sandel, 2021 : 19). Hence, coming to terms 

ith this resentment could well be the motivating argument for 

he insistence on not closing in on selfish individualism but rather 

eaching out in an effort to link back with the community as sug- 

ested by Sheryl Sandberg, from the perspective of technology, 

hen stating: “If we succeed — and we’ll succeed — we will build 

echnology that better serves not just some of us”. In this scenario, 

he practice of philanthropy, for example, acquires its full meaning. 

.4. Mythopoesis 

Legitimation can also be achieved by way of storytelling, as 

laimed by van Leeuwen (20 07 , 20 08 ). In the case at hand, the sto-

ies unfolded by the commencement speakers under analysis run 

ainly along two different lines, which capture two metaphors: 

IFE IS A JOURNEY, repeated by every single commencement 

peaker (92 tokens); and EDUCATION IS AN ENABLER, which —

ith the exception of George W. Bush and Steven Spielberg— was 

ainly invoked by speakers belonging to racial minorities to stress 

he important role of education for having enabled them to travel 

hat far while providing them with the resources to face any chal- 

enges they may encounter (15 tokens). Through storytelling, this 

trategy serves one main function since it bonds the audience with 

he speaker due to the shared cultural imaginary they tap into. 

.4.1. LIFE IS A JOURNEY 

Many of the speakers resort to the common story where char- 

cters engage in a journey, which they will find rewarding and 

hose outcome will mainly lie in the decisions they make along 

he way. Metaphor becomes one of the most important devices in 

he legitimation of social action ( Hart, 2018 ). Specifically, LIFE IS 

 JOURNEY is the metaphor which provides a rich and insightful 

arrative into the portrayal of their future and past lives. 

This metaphor theme is in fact the “preferred pattern of im- 

gery”, using Osborn’s (1967) words, connecting extra-textually 

he pieces of discourse instantiated in the speeches given by the 
7 
5 individual speakers. The centrality of this metaphor reverber- 

tes in our Western culture, with many examples such as Geof- 

rey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (c. 1400), Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress 

1678) or Montesquieu’s imaginary journeys in his Lettres Persanes 

1721) —undoubtedly, inspired by the conviction of empiricists 

uch as John Locke for whom the source of all knowledge comes 

rom experience— to mention but a few. There are also many other 

on-fictional journeys which are also part of our collective mem- 

ry such as the journey to the moon ( Darsey, 2009 : 90). All this

egs the question of why journeys play such a central role in our 

ulture, whose answer seems to lie in the need of human beings 

o explore different places to discover and rediscover themselves 

s a learning experience each time. 

The graduating ceremony, as said at the beginning of this paper, 

s a transition point in that journey where students celebrate the 

chievements attained through the time spent in college. This spe- 

ial moment is picked up and verbalized in many of the speeches 

elivered: 

(17) They [graduation ceremonies] are a unique milestone in our 

ives, because they celebrate past accomplishments and future pos- 

ibilities (Madeleine Albright, 2015 ). 

This example touches on the issue of celebration resulting from 

his social event, but clearly points to the fact that this moment 

erves as a lookout point from where both directions (backwards 

nd forwards) are visible. In any case, the imagery of a path —

avoring the convergence of the past into the future in a day when 

uch compression is so much needed— is clearly invoked when 

alking about how much progress has been covered by reaching 

ne of the most important stages in life: 

(18) Now that you’ve all thawed out, you will soon realize that 

raduation is one of the five great milestones of life ; the others being 

irth, death, marriage and the day you finally pay off your student 

oans (Madeleine Albright, 2015 ). 

Therefore, a key element of a journey, where some obstacles 

ill be found, is having a certain direction in order to fulfill a goal 

r as Frye (1985) puts it: a journey is “a directed movement in 

ime through space”. This kind of purposeful activity is part of the 

eneral metaphor LIFE IS A PURPOSEFUL JOURNEY ( Gibbs, 1994 ; 

akoff and Johnson, 1999 ). As evidence of this metaphor, many dif- 

erent speakers address the issue of finding that certain purpose as 

t will make their life more meaningful and focused: 

(19) Don’t be afraid to fail big, to dream big, but remem- 

er dreams without goals are just dreams and they ultimately 

uel disappointment. So, have dream but have goals (Denzel 

ashington, 2015 ). 

As highlighted earlier, this kind of purpose can sometimes be 

epresented as a kind of spiritual calling where they are given an 

mportant assignment which needs to be carried out in this world, 

ince this is what they are here for. This can be seen in the follow-

ng example: 

(20) And what I’ve learned is, when you can do that, and create 

our work and your life based on an intention to serve with pur- 

ose, make it your intention to serve through your life with purpose , 

ou will have a blessed life (Oprah Winfrey, 2017 ). 

At this stage it may be interesting to wonder whether the 

ourney metaphor is just a cliche in commencement speeches 

 Darsey, 2009 ) or if there is more to it in the repeated use of

hose expressions. In fact, the metaphor LIFE IS A JOURNEY instan- 

iates the mapping TIME IS SPACE, where events such as gradua- 

ion, being born, death, marriage or paying your student loans can 

e looked at in isolation and evoked at a comparatively low cogni- 

ive cost. As stated by some scholars ( Coulson and Pagán, 2013 ), 

he compression of so much information in just a few relevant 

lements is successful precisely for two reasons: it reduces the 

mount of cognitive effort on the individual, and much of the con- 

eptual complexity is left out. 



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Likewise, it is worth noting that in the case of Spielberg and 

eong, the metaphor they use is not exactly that of LIFE IS A JOUR- 

EY, but LIFE IS A MOVIE/PERFORMANCE. However, this creative 

etaphor inherits all the structure from the journey metaphor as 

haracters move from the beginning to the end of the movie. Be- 

ides, the milestones referred to in the journey scenario become, 

nder the umbrella of this metaphor, ‘character-defining moments’ 

r ‘acts’, which equally touch on the idea of milestones: 

(21) […] what we call in the movies the ‘ character-defining mo- 

ent. ’ […] Life is one long string of character-defining moments 

…] (Steven Spielberg, 2016 ). 

(22) And you guys are finishing up act one of your story. […] 

hat is your act two ? (Ken Jeong, 2019 ). 

This powerful metaphor does not only connect the speaker with 

he audience’s worldview, building common ground with them, 

ut also persuades them into viewing what follows graduation day 

s a continuation of the same path of hard work, implying that if 

elying on hard work has proved to be successful so far following 

he same road seems to be a guarantee of more success. However, 

here is one important difference to be taken into account for the 

ay ahead as adults, which is the need to reach out to the com- 

unity to make the American Dream a reality. 

.4.2. EDUCATION IS AN ENABLER 

Through this story line, which fits in perfectly with the merit- 

ased legitimating strategy, education is talked about by several 

peakers in a number of ways, but they all point to the idea of a

ower or a habilitating object or path. This means that education 

orks as an element which allows students to climb up the social 

adder —very much in line with the STAIR metaphor ( Littler, 2018 ) 

apturing this narrative— by allowing students to take the enrich- 

ng walk, by giving them the much-needed push to move up in life 

r by opening doors into those new spaces: 

(23) Public education is our greatest pathway to opportunity in 

merica. So we need to invest in and strengthen our public univer- 

ities today, and for generations to come ( Michelle Obama, 2016 ). 

(24) My parents did not have many educational opportunities 

hemselves growing up, but they and especially my mom made ed- 

cation the center value of the lives of my brother and me, who 

y mom raised alone after I was nine. She repeatedly, just like 

our mother, told me that education would open the door of oppor- 

unity (Sonia Sotomayor, 2019 ). 

(25) Education is transformative. It literally changes lives. That 

s why people over the centuries have worked so hard to become 

ducated. Education, more than any other force , can help to erase 

rbitrary divisions of race and class and culture […] (Condoleezza 

ice, 2015 ). 

The discourse of education as an empowering feature —an es- 

ential piece of the rhetoric accompanying the concept of the 

American Dream’ ( Hochschild and Scovronick, 2003 )— is a narra- 

ive which reproduces the discourse of meritocracy ( AEI, 2015 ). 

However, reality denies the feasibility of this meritocratic ap- 

roach in a society such as the American one, which has been 

haracterized over the last few decades by declining social mo- 

ility and rising structural inequality ( Wyatt-Nichol, 2011 ). Further 

long this line of thinking, Littler argues that “Meritocracy offers 

 ladder system of social mobility, promoting a socially corrosive 

thic of competitive self-interest which both legitimises inequality 

nd damages community” (2018: 3). In spite of all that, “Politicians 

n both sides of the aisle celebrate the American Dream, the ideal 

hat talented people who work hard and play by the rules can get 

head, irrespective of their family backgrounds” ( Frank, 2016 : 145). 

evertheless, the social and educational reality among the differ- 

nt social groups within the country “reveal a great deal about 

ow the crosscurrents of family, economics, ethnicity, and schools 

nfluence kids’ opportunities” ( Putnam, 2016 : 138). The decline in 
8 
nvestment in public education over the last few years has jeopar- 

ized equality in educational opportunities ( Frank, 2016 : 88). This 

s so as a result of the fact that only higher income families are 

ble to compensate for the lower quality and lack of offer in pub- 

ic education programs resorting to either private schools or the 

o-called Shadow Education —private supplementary tutoring be- 

ond the hours of formal schooling ( Buchmann et al., 2010 ). 

This systematic structural inequality — regarding the different 

ducational opportunities depending on social class— is clearly ev- 

denced in the following statement: “[…] high-scoring poor kids 

re now slightly less likely (29 percent) to get a college degree 

han low-scoring rich kids (30 percent)”. This fact “is particularly 

ard to square with the idea at the heart of the American Dream: 

quality of opportunity” ( Putnam, 2016 : 190). Likewise, the rate of 

ccess to higher education, back in 2018, was just 30% for children 

rom the poorest 10% of the United States, and more than 90% for 

hildren from the richest 10% ( Piketty, 2021 : graph 31). Regarding 

nvestment in children’s education, a huge gap holding between 

lites and the rest of the population has equally been reported by 

utnam (2016 : 168–69), Frank (2016 : 145) and Markovits (2019 : 

26). 

. Discussion and conclusion 

This article has explored how the rite of passage of commence- 

ent speeches constitutes an implicit legitimating act based on 

 meritocratic worldview of American society, which reflects the 

yth of the American Dream. In other words, through this ritual, 

ommencement speakers seek to legitimize the trajectory of hard 

ork and self-commitment taken so far while inviting students to 

tay on the same road, since it has allowed them to come this far. 

owever, when looking into the future —the only time when the 

ream may come true, graduates are asked to widen the focus to 

nclude the community, as can be seen, for instance, in the words 

y Spielberg (2016) “We have to replace fear with curiosity. ‘Us’ 

nd ‘them’. We’ll find the ‘we’ by connecting with each other. And 

y believing that we’re members of the same tribe. And by feel- 

ng empathy for every soul.” In fact, commencement speeches re- 

olve the conflictive tension in the American Dream between the 

rinciples of ‘individualism’ and the ‘contribution to the commu- 

ity’ by blending both elements and making them basic pillars 

f the graduates’ life projects. Relating this analysis to that con- 

ucted by Rutherford (2004) , it can be seen that the two patterns 

dentified by this scholar in her exhaustive analysis of commence- 

ent speeches (from 1900 to 20 0 0) persist in our study: a kind 

f “rhetoric that takes for granted individual choice” (605), which 

ould match our category of ‘self-commitment’; and a concern for 

collective morality” (605), which would correspond to our cate- 

ory of ‘altruism’. 

Four strategies seem to be key behind this social practice when 

ddressing graduating students: authorization, self-commitment, 

ltruism and mythopoesis, as already seen in the analysis section. 

hen accounting for the data, two critical approaches have been 

dopted: CDA and CMA, together with insights from the discourse 

f meritocracy. They both work together nicely when creating a 

arrative which grabs the audience’s attention while making the 

peaker “sound right” ( Charteris-Black, 2011 , 2018 ), which goes a 

ong way towards validating their proposals. 

In the graduating ceremony, a very stimulating and challeng- 

ng context is laid out in front of students; firstly, because these 

tudents are reinforced in their role as winners since they are the 

est representation of the meritocratic discourse come true; sec- 

ndly, because commencement speakers will typically evoke the 

est version of students in a projected future, when they are ex- 

ected to become role models themselves for their community. 



V. Martín de la Rosa and L.M. Lázaro Linguistics and Education 72 (2022) 101117 

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Looking back at the four strategies analyzed, one of the inter- 

sting findings of this paper is that both self-commitment (78 to- 

ens), as an appeal to personal effort, and altruism (64 tokens), 

s a moral appeal to ethics, permeate every single commencement 

peech in our corpus, thus revealing themselves as the two defin- 

ng features of this type of genre. This is so because one’s success 

ttains its true significance if and only if it is linked to the com- 

unity that one is part of. Otherwise, it would be a success in 

acuo and would not contribute to the advancement of the com- 

unity. Even though self-commitment is the strategy that epit- 

mizes the conception of the American Dream —in the sense of 

ffering equal opportunities for every citizen ( Churchwell, 2021 ; 

chiller, 2017 ), it is combined with the strategy of ‘altruism’ —as 

he needed extension of a community-based perspective— in an 

ttempt to bridge the growing distrust between the graduating stu- 

ents, as elites, and the working classes. The combination of both 

trategies is likely to sound familiar in the audience’s minds. 

On the other hand, it is also worth emphasizing the important 

ole of the strategy of mythopoesis, which creates a very strong 

ink with the audience by tapping into very basic and shared hu- 

an experiences. As claimed by Charteris-Black (2018) , the use 

f language that is colorful and memorable seems to contribute 

o relating to the audience: (1) LIFE IS A JOURNEY, as a main 

toryline which gives structure and provides meaning to the stu- 

ents’ lives. Within this metaphor, the element of ‘purpose’ should 

e also highlighted due to its value as a type of “inner GPS”

 Winfrey, 2017 ); (2) EDUCATION IS AN ENABLER, which presents 

 very motivating narrative of the powerful dimension of educa- 

ion to make the American Dream come true. At the same time, 

oth story lines sound very persuasive to the audience since they 

elate to their worldview: both through the path of hard work (and 

uccess) and the ladder system of social mobility seen in LIFE IS A 

OURNEY and EDUCATION IS AN ENABLER. 

The linguistic evidence pointing to the existence of these two 

onceptual metaphors reveals the following: (a) ‘LIFE IS A JOUR- 

EY’ simplifies the complexity of what is talked about (‘life’) by 

ortraying it as a continuous path where there are “start and end 

oints connected by a path and entities that move along the path”

source-path-goal) ( Charteris-Black, 2011 : 66). This is the result of 

ur embodied experience where we know what is in front of us 

ecause we can see it; therefore, forward motion, which is in- 

erently positive as goals are ahead of us, is always valued very 

ositively. Besides, this schema is rhetorically attractive because it 

akes it easy for addressees to align with the speaker and see 
Appendix 1 

Table providing the categories analyzed and number of occurrences for each of the speak

Authorization 

Self-commitment 

“working hard”

Altr

goo

Their choice as speakers 

is evidence that they 

are all authorized 

voices 

number of tokens num

Albright, Madeleine V 5 4 

Bush, George V 4 3 

Clinton, Hillary V 5 4 

Cook, Tim V 5 7 

Davis, Viola V 5 6 

Jeong, Ken V 7 1 

Obama, Barack V 4 4 

Obama, Michelle V 7 6 

Romney, Mitt V 6 6 

Rice, Condoleezza V 2 2 

Sandberg, Sheryl V 2 3 

Sotomayor, Sonia V 5 4 

Spielberg, Steven V 6 5 

Washington, Denzel V 8 3 

Winfrey, Ophrah V 7 6 

TOTAL 78 64 

9

hemselves projected on the path making a purposeful journey; (b) 

EDUCATION IS AN ENABLER’ emphasizes the positive nature of ed- 

cation by focusing on what it makes possible: graduates are able 

o reach certain places (in line with the path schema), they feel 

mpowered to go beyond their limits or they are pushed up the 

ocial ladder by the force of education. This idea fits in perfectly 

ith the remark made by Larry Cuban in his last book (2021), 

here he claims that in the USA there is a strong confidence in 

ducation both as an escalator to achieve the individual’s goals and 

s a pathway to strengthen the American ideals enshrined in the 

eclaration of Independence ( Cuban, 2021 ). 

Finally, commencement speeches serve as an excellent chan- 

el to tell stories, even if they will be forgotten the day after, 

s claimed by some commencement speakers —Bush (2015) and 

pielberg (2016) . It should be mentioned that the graduation cer- 

mony is part of the ritual in which students need to participate, 

ymbolizing admission to join the privileged community of edu- 

ated people, which obviously is not internally homogenous, ow- 

ng to differences in social class, gender and race. Hence, telling 

tories —either through connecting with a shared worldview sus- 

ained on the myth of the American Dream (meritocracy and com- 

on good) or through conceptual metaphors— does two jobs at 

he same time: building common ground with the audience and 

ransmitting a persuasive view of what is expected of them on the 

ath that lies ahead. 

As Lilla Belle Pitts, professor at Teachers College (Columbia Uni- 

ersity), wrote several decades ago, “since the founding of our re- 

ublic” the aim of American education is “namely, to aid in devel- 

ping intelligent citizens, likely ‘to be publicly useful and privately 

appy’” ( Pitts, 1937 : 33). 

RediT authorship contribution statement 

Victoria Martín de la Rosa: Conceptualization, Methodology, 

nvestigation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, 

upervision. Luis Miguel Lázaro: Conceptualization, Investigation, 

esources. 

ata availability 

Data will be made available on request. 

ppendix 
ers. 

uism “common 

d”

Mythopoesis (1) LIFE IS 

A JOURNEY 

Mythopoesis (2) 

EDUCATION IS AN ENABLER 

ber of tokens number of tokens number of tokens 

6 - 

1 1 

3 –

7 –

2 –

7 –

8 –

9 2 

8 –

6 3 

7 –

3 8 

8 1 

13 –

3 –

92 15 



V. Martín de la Rosa and L.M. Lázaro Linguistics and Education 72 (2022) 101117 

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	Legitimating meritocracy as part of the American Dream through the ritual of commencement speeches
	1 Introduction: the genre of commencement speeches
	2 Theoretical framework: legitimation and critical metaphor analysis
	2.1 Legitimation as part of critical discourse analysis
	2.2 Critical metaphor analysis
	2.3 Meritocracy

	3 Data and method
	3.1 Corpus
	3.2 Methodology

	4 Findings
	4.1 Authorization
	4.2 Self-commitment
	4.3 Altruism
	4.4 Mythopoesis
	4.4.1 LIFE IS A JOURNEY
	4.4.2 EDUCATION IS AN ENABLER


	5 Discussion and conclusion
	CRediT authorship contribution statement
	Appendix
	References