Power Dynamics in Discourse Analysis
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Thi Thuy Tien PhanPower Dynamics in Discourse Analysis
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Thi Thuy Tien PhanLANGUAGE & POWER
Discourse and Power | Norman Fairclough | Chapter 3
Presenter: Le Hoang Hoai Khanh
Content
CHAPTER 3 | LANGUAGE & POWER
1. 2. 3.
Power in Power behind Social
Discourse Discourse Struggle in
Discourse
According to Fairclough (1989), there are two major aspects of the power/
language relationship:
power in discourse & power behind discourse.
POWER IN DISCOURSE
Chapter 3 | PART 1
Power in Discourse
Power is exercised directly through
control over interaction.
“Power in discourse is to do with
powerful participants controlling
and constraining the contributions
of non-powerful participants.”
Example
In Text 3.1, a doctor interrupts and
controls a medical student’s
examination.
Techniques used by powerful
participants:
• Interruption
• Sequencing commands
• Evaluative feedback
(e.g., “Very good”)
• Strategic questioning
Three Types of
Constraints
Keyword definitions:
Subject position:
• The social identity a
participant takes in a
discourse.
Constraint:
• Limitations imposed by
power-holders on
discourse.
Content constraints Relational Subject constraints –
– What can be said. constraints – Social What social
roles and positions speakers
relationships can occupy.
enacted.
Power in Cross-Cultural Encounters
Cultural Misinterpretation
Differences
In gatekeeping encounters, such as job Interviewers may misinterpret responses based
interviews, cultural and linguistic backgrounds on their own cultural assumptions, attributing
can lead to miscommunication. perceived weaknesses to the interviewee's lack of
knowledge rather than differing discoursal
Dominant cultural norms often dictate conventions.
interview conventions, which may be
unfamiliar to minority participants.
Institutionalized
Racism
Such miscommunications can lead to systematic denial of
opportunities, contributing to institutionalized racism and the
domination of minority groups by the majority.
Hidden Power in Mass Media
One-Sided Producer Control
Communication
Mass media discourse is one-sided, with a Producers exercise power by determining
clear divide between producers and what is included or excluded, how events
consumers. are represented, and even the subject
Producers design content for mass positions of their audiences.
audiences, addressing an "ideal subject" This power is often hidden, embedded in
rather than adapting to diverse individuals. media practices.
Source Influence
The media's reliance on certain sources (e.g., government ministers) and the
adoption of specific perspectives (e.g., referring to industrial disputes as
"trouble") systematically favor existing power-holders.
POWER BEHIND DISCOURSE
Chapter 3 | PART 2
Power Behind Discourse:
Standardization
Economic Basis Institutional Codification and
Standardization of language, Colonization Prescription
(standard British English) Standard English grew by The process involved codifying
=> economic, political, and "colonizing" major social prescribed language forms in
cultural unification institutions (literature, grammars and dictionaries,
Þ facilitating commodity government, education), reinforcing its "correctness" and
production and communication becoming the language of stigmatizing non-standard
in a unified market. political and cultural power, dialects as "vulgar" or
often at the expense of other "slovenly."
dialects.
Power Behind Discourse:
Medical Examinations
Subject Positions
Setting
Strict limitations exist on who can
GynaecologicalConstraints
examinations are
occupy roles (doctor, nurse, patient),
confined to "medical space" with
with specific dress codes and
specific paraphernalia, reinforcing their
demeanour requirements reinforcing
medical nature and legitimacy.
the professional hierarchy.
Synthetic Routinized Activities
Personalization
Despite efforts to balance The examination follows a highly
disengagement with sensitivity (e.g., routinized procedure, with verbal and
soft voice), these are often routine non-verbal cues (e.g., depersonalizing
devices, creating an impression of language) maintaining professional
individual treatment while maintaining disengagement.
institutional control.
Power and Access to
Discourse
Constraints on Access
The myth of "free speech" is challenged by numerous constraints on access to
various forms of discourse, analogous to unequal distribution of wealth or good
jobs.
Educational System's Role
The educational system plays a major role in differentiating access, with higher
levels showing a predominance of individuals from dominant class backgrounds,
reproducing existing social divisions.
Formality as a Barrier
Formality in prestigious discourses restricts access by demanding specialized
knowledge and skills, generating awe among the excluded and reinforcing social
hierarchies.
Social Struggle in Discourse
Chapter 3 | PART 3
Is power ever truly held by individuals, or is it
always embedded within social groups and
structures?
Social Struggle in
Discourse
Power is not fixed; it is contested and
challenged.
Example: Youth resisting headmaster’s
authority in school (Text near end).
Discourse reflects situational,
institutional, and societal struggles.
“Power is not something which is
simply held by one person or
group and imposed on others, it is
something which is won, exercised,
sustained, and lost in the course of
struggle.”
(Fairclough, Language and Power, 2nd ed., 2001, p. 76)
Thank You
Presenter: Le Hoang Hoai Khanh