Style of language

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s style of language in the “Pearl Harbor” speech is formal and matches the seriousness of the topic he addresses: the Empire of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. 

When it comes to sentence structure, Roosevelt mainly uses short and middle-length sentences which make his speech clear and his message easy to focus on:

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

In this example, the short and middle-length sentences help Roosevelt give an accurate overview of the Pearl Harbor attack, which average Americans...