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LANGUAGE AND POWER - Coggle Diagram
LANGUAGE AND POWER
ROBIN LAKOFF:
Lakoff developed the "Politeness Principle," in which she devised three maxims that are usually followed in interaction. In her book " The Logic of Politeness" Layoff argues that politeness governs conversation and that there are specific rules which should be followed to ensure that a conversation is cooperative and successful the rules are as follows
DON'T IMPOSE: similar to negative politeness e.g 'I'm sorry to bother you'. This rule looks at our distance and formality. We must look at how close we are with the person we are talking to. This may be in terms of our age, social status, occupation, family relations or many other things. If there is a large disparity in the distance then this rule is applied. We shall not ask about their personal affairs nor shall we disclose our own personal affairs. With regards to formality, usually we will use formal language to ensure that status distinctions are kept. This can be implemented with use of title and last name as well as adopting the passive voice rather than the active.
GIVE OPTIONS: avoids putting pressure on a person e.g 'it's entirely up to you'. Layoff stresses the point that the speaker should not take complete control of the conversation. The speaker gives the addressee options to express uncertainty over the conversation. It is also important to allow our interlocutors to either refuse or accept an idea. Layoff says that the speaker knows what they want but thinks it is important to let the addressee choose for themselves. In order to be polite we should not insist on the way forward. This can be done by using vague language or open ended questions that allow the interlocutor to choose their response. Pauses and fillers are also a characteristic such as 'er' 'um' 'ah' that allow the addressee time to speak.
MAKE RECIEVER/AUDIENCE FEEL GOOD: flatter and appreciate e.g 'what would I do without you?' This is concerned with the metal trust and friendship between the speaker and the listener. It is important to make the interlocutor feel appreciated for who they are and that the conversation is balanced. One can do this by using names or nicknames which give the impression of informal relationship between speaker and addressee. One must also be friendly to their interlocutor as it is a sign of courtesy. This is achieved by using inclusive pronouns such as 'we' and 'us'.
WAREING (1999)
- INSTRUMENTAL POWER - power used by individuals or groups to establish and maintain authority. This is the power expressed by those who already have power due to their role within a social hierarchy e.g MPs / judges / teachers / ect. The listeners listen to a speaker because they have to.
THIS IS TO MAKE PEOPLE DO THINGS OR MAKE THINGS HAPPEN, USED IN COMMANDS OR SETTING CONDITIONS E.G legal documents, rules, or in spoken discourse a boss may use this language to their employee a teacher to their student ect
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- Modal auxiliaries e.g must, will, can
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- Faceless language e.g impersonal constructions, official job titles
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- Mitigation (trying to sound polite in order to soften the bluntness of a statement
INFLUENTIAL POWER - power used to influence and persuade others e.g advertisers. The listeners listen to a speaker because they want to.
- Embedded assumptions ( you will want to read this)
- Metaphoric references (e.g a healthy economy)
- Assertions (opinions stated as facts)
- Loaded language (lexis chosen to evoke strong positive or negative association)
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Power is the ability to do to act, capability of doing or accomplishing something.
"PEOPE VARY IN THE TYPE OF LANGUAGE THEY USE DEPENDENT ON THE SITUATION THEY ARE IN" - David Crystal
- language does not just serve a transactional function, but also a relational function which focuses on developing relationships
- language is embedded with the complex nature of human relationships and power struggles, the words we use reflect the feelings we wish to convey or the identity we want to present