Power Flashcards
Political Power
Held by politicians, police, those involved in law courts
Personal Power
Those who have power because of their occupation or role e.g. teachers, employers, parents
Social Power
Those who have power because of social variables e.g. class, gender, age
Ideology
A set of belief systems, attitudes or a world view held by an individual or groups
Rhetoric
Effective or persuasive speaking or writing
In sentence: He is using a common figure of rhetoric, hyperbole
Direct address
Name, ‘you’, ‘your’
Facts and Statistics
Show knowledge/research, how much they care about the field of the discourse, add realism,
Emotive/Loaded language
Rhetoric used to influence an audience by using words and phrases with strong connotations
Hyperbole
Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally e.g. “So hungry i could eat a horse”, “Seen this movie a hundred times”
Litotes
Emphasises a point by stating a negative to further affirm a positive e.g. “I don’t hate it”, “That wasn’t half bad”
Rhetorical questions
Questions asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer e.g. “What time do you call this?”, “Do birds fly?”
Anecdote
A short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person
Power: word of mouth, adds realism
Tripling
Structure: beginning, middle, end
Lexis: e.g. ‘scared, lonely, distressed’
Collocation
A natural combination of words that are closely affiliated (associated) with each other e.g. “pay attention”, “fast food”, “make an effort”, “powerful engine”
Syndetic and Asyndetic listing
Syndetic: listing connected with conjunctions e.g. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head
Asyndetic: listing connected with a comma instead of a conjunction e.g. A man with no hat, with broken shoes, with an old rag tied round his head
Jargon
Special words or expressions used by a profession or group that are difficult for others to understand e.g. medicine, politics, music
Alliteration
Occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words e.g. ‘bounced the ball at the backyard bbq’
Inclusive/Exclusive pronouns
Including/Excluding certain audience e.g. by gender
Power in and behind discourse - Fairclough (2001)
In: the way power is presented through language
Behind: the focus on the social and ideological beliefs that cause the power to occur e.g. gender, class, age etc
2 types of power in Discourse - Fairclough (2001)
Instrumental: enforces authority and is imposed by the laws, state, conventions and organisations e.g. “Shut up now!”
Influential: persuasive and inclines or makes us want to behave in a certain way e.g. “Please do not touch the red paint”
Synthetic personalisation
Personalised language that helps to ‘connect’ with the audience and strengthen the persuasive intention e.g. second-person pronoun ‘you’ to construct a relationship between text producer and receiver, ‘have a nice day’, ‘welcome’
Anaphora and Epistrophe
Anaphora (reinforces meaning): repetition occurring at the beginning of sentences/ clauses
Epistrophe (adds weight to idea, more memorable): repetition occurring at the end
Power asymmetry/ Unequal encounter
Clear difference in the power status of individuals involved in discourse
Relationships that have an unequal division of power
Powerful/Less powerful participant
Powerful: a speaker with higher status in the context, they can impose power
Less powerful: a speaker with less status in the context, they are subject to the constraints imposed on them
