Discourse and Power

Discourse and Power
Prepared by: Mr. John Paul A. Adlawan

Discourse and Power
The purpose of this is to explore various dimensions of the relations of power and
language.
Two Major aspects:
● Power in Discourse - concerned with discourse as a place where relations of

power are actually exercised and enacted; I discuss power in ‘face-to-face’
spoken discourse, power in ‘cross-cultural’ discourse where participants
belong to different ethnic groupings, and the ‘hidden power’ of the discourse
of the mass media.
● Power Behind Discourse - shifts the focus to how orders of discourse, as
dimensions of the social orders of social institutions or societies, are
themselves shaped and constituted by relations of power
Power in Discourse: F2F
example scene.
The doctor talks to his
interns and is teaching them a
lesson, for example, on the
anatomy of the human organs.
The doctor then often
interrupts the interns, talk over
the interns and speak
sometimes in a manner that is
slow and speaks in run-on
sentences.
Explanation of Examples
On the basis of examples of this sort, we can say that power in discourse is to
do with powerful participants controlling and constraining the contributions of
non-powerful participants.
It is useful to distinguish broadly between three types of such constraints -

constraints on:
• contents, on what is said or done;

• relations, the social relations people enter into in discourse;
• subjects, or the ‘subject positions’ people can occupy.
‘Relations’ and ‘subjects’ are very closely connected, and all
three overlap and co-occur in practice, but it is helpful to be able to
distinguish them. Our example illustrates all three types of
constraint. In terms of contents, the student is required to conduct
an examination according to a learned routine, operating (relations)
in a professional relationship to his audience and a subordinate
relationship to the doctor, and occupying (subjects) the subject
positions of (aspirant) doctor as well as student. These constraints
imply particular linguistic forms
Power in Discourse: Hidden Power
Mass-media discourse is interesting

because the nature of the power
relations enacted in it is often not clear,
and there are reasons for seeing it as
involving hidden relations of power'
Difference between f2f discourse and Media discourse
● One sidedness of Media discourse.
● In media discourse, receivers cannot be
producers. Unlike in F2f discourse where
they can respond.
● In media discourse, since the media
product takes on some nature of a
commodity, between producers and
consumers.
Difference between f2f discourse and Media discourse
● media_discourse is designed for mass
audiences, and there is no way that producers
can even know who is in the audience, let
alone adapt to its diverse sections
The hidden power of media discourse and the capacity of the

capitalist class and other power-holders to exercise this power depend
on systematic tendencies in news reporting and other media activities.
Power Behind Discourse
● The idea of ‘power behind discourse’ is that the whole social order of
discourse is put together and held together as a hidden effect of power.
● Standardization is of direct economic importance in improving
communication: most people involved in economic activity come to
understand the standard, even if they don’t always use it productively. It
is also of great political and cultural importance in the establishment of
nationhood, and the nation-state is the favoured form of capitalism.
Power Behind Discourse
● By coming to be associated with the most salient and powerful
institutions - literature, Government and administration, law, religion,
education, etc. - standard English began to emerge as the language of
political and cultural power, and as the language of the politically and
culturally powerful.
● The establishment of the dominance of standard English and the
subordination of other social dialects was part and parcel of the
establishment of the dominance of the capitalist class and the
subordination of the working class.
Power and access to discourse
● The people in the dominant bloc (capitalists, middle class and
professions) have substantially more of them -than members of the
working class -they are richer in Cultural Capital.
● Literacy is highly valued in our society, and a great deal of socially
important and prestigious practice takes place in ‘the written word’.
Access to a high level of literacy is a precondition for a variety of
socially valued ‘goods’, including most rewarding and well-paid jobs.
Assignment
1. Write a 150 word essay on your reflection regarding the

lesson Discourse and Power. (Gdocs sent to
G-classroom)
a. What have you understood regarding its definition?
b. What are its two aspects?
c. Do you agree or disagree to the propositions made
in the lesson? Whether “yes” or “no”, please explain.

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Discourse and Power

Prepared by: Mr. John Paul A. Adlawan

Two Major aspects:

● Power in Discourse - concerned with discourse as a place where relations of

It is useful to distinguish broadly between three types of such constraints -

• contents, on what is said or done;

Mass-media discourse is interesting

The hidden power of media discourse and the capacity of the

1. Write a 150 word essay on your reflection regarding the

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