Abstract

The research explores the graduation in President Ho Chi Minh’s Declaration of Independence, aiming to provide linguistic evidence that facilitates the effective teaching, learning, and research of this historical document. The research uses the Appraisal theoretical framework, discourse analysis methods, and descriptive statistical methods. The research findings show that President Ho Chi Minh employed the two primary methods: “force” and “focus”. In the “force” method, intensification means are preferred over quantitative means. Within the intensification means, President Ho Chi Minh tended to favor lexical-grammatical means over other forms such as repetition, lexicalization, and maximization. This demonstrates how President Ho Chi Minh denounced the feudal regime, French colonialism, and Japanese fascism in Vietnam from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. In addition to using the “force” method, President Ho Chi Minh also uses the “focus” method to express graduation in the Declaration of Independence. In this method, he uses sharpening mean such as words with imperative meanings, negative meanings, double negation, and pairs of relational words that convey emphasis, without using softening mean. This reveals President Ho Chi Minh’s intention to communicate to the Vietnamese people and the international community the nation’s unwavering determination to fight for independence and freedom. At the same time, he firmly affirmed that the independence and freedom of the Vietnamese people and the nation of Vietnam are inevitable and undeniable truths.