Language & Power

Question 1

What is influential power?

Answer 1

Persuasive & inclines us to want to behave in a certain way

“Please do not touch the wet paint”

Question 2

What type of power is law?

Answer 2

Instrumental power

Question 3

What type of verb does instrumental language usually obtain?

Answer 3

Modal verb (auxiliary verb)

Can could should would shan’t may might must will ought

Question 4

Define epistemic modality

Answer 4

Suggests possibilities that are most likely to be true

Question 5

Define deontic modality

Answer 5

Displays certainty (how something ought to be)

“You must do that”

Question 6

What is Initiation Response Feedback? Who designed this method?

Answer 6

Sinclair and Coulthard (1975) noticed a pattern of discussion between the teacher and the learner. The teacher initiates, the learner responds, the teacher gives feedback

Question 7

List features in classroom language

Answer 7

Discourse markers 
Pejorative 
Vocatives
Deontic
Imperatives
Questions (tag/rhetorical)

Question 8

What is instrumental power

Answer 8

Enforcing your authority/opinions into others

E.g. “Shut up now!”

Question 9

What is political power?

Answer 9

Power held by those working in law, e.g. lawyers, politicians, police

Question 10

What is personal power?

Answer 10

Power as a result of occupation, e.g. teacher, employee

Question 11

What is social power?

Answer 11

Power as a result of membership of a group

Question 12

What is an ideology?

Answer 12

A set of beliefs held by an individual or group

Question 13

What is Synthetic Personalisation? (Fairclough)

Answer 13

Building a relationship between text producer and text receiver by using personal pronouns e.g. ‘your’ or ‘you’

Question 14

What are Members’ Resources? (Fairclough)

Answer 14

Creating an image of text using shared knowledge or the background knowledge of a reader

Question 15

What is Building Consumer? (Fairclough)

Answer 15

Positioning the receiver as the ideal reader and therefore consumer of the product

Question 16

Classroom setting (Sinclair & Coulthard)

Answer 16

Initial Response Feedback

Question 17

Initial Response Feedback formulation (Sinclair & Coulthard)

Answer 17

Teacher rewording contribution of student in order to impose a meaning or understanding

Question 18

What is Power Symmetry/Unequal Encounter? (Fairclough)

Answer 18

The power one speaker has over the other

Question 19

What is a Powerful Participant?

Answer 19

A speaker with higher status in given context who is able to impose a degree of power

Question 20

What is a Less Powerful Participant?

Answer 20

A speaker with less status in a given context who are subject to constraints imposed by the powerful participants

Question 21

What are constraints?

Answer 21

A way in which the powerful participant blocks or controls the contributions of the less powerful participants e.g. by interrupting or controlling content

Question 22

What is face (Brown & Levinson)?

Answer 22

An individuals self-esteem or emotional needs

Question 23

What is positive face (Brown & Levinson)?

Answer 23

The need to feel wanted, liked and appriciated

Question 24

What is negative face ((Brown & Levinson)?

Answer 24

The need to have freedom of thought without feeling imposed on