This A-Level English Language AQA Essay covers the Language and Power topic of the course, and achieved an A*. The essay title is: 'Evaluate the idea that powerful people use powerful language'. This is perfect for Year 12 and 13 students currently studying AQA A-Level English Language.
Evaluate the idea that powerful people use powerful language (30)
The context in which powerful language is used very much determines the extent to which it is
used by powerful people. In a boardroom meeting, the boss of a company is almost certainly
going to use powerful language however at home, this language is likely to be more colloquial
and relaxed. This argument surrounding powerful people and their associated language can
cause debates surrounding gender, occupational asymmetry and child development differences.
It’s often debated that there are differences between the ways in which men and women use
language, with the former more powerful and dominant. Zimmerman and West found that 96%
of interruptions in mixed sex conversations came from males which could signify how men
prefer to be in the powerful conversational position of holding the floor whereas women are
quieter and in a more deficient role. Deborah Tannen also claimed that the actual language men
and women use are wildly opposing. She claimed that males are competitive whilst females are
co-operative (seen through the use of the ‘I’ 1st person singular pronoun in contrast to the ‘we’
collective pronouns). Similarly, she claimed that males can be seen as more powerful through
ordering (the use of declaratives and imperatives) while women propose suggesting that women
are again deficient, quiet and reluctant. However there are flaws to this idea which include how
in society today, gender roles are arguably becoming more balanced and women can be equally
as dominant and powerful (such as seen on television shows such as The Apprentice). Beattie
also claimed- in contrast to the study of Zimmerman and West- that interruptions should convey
interest and enthusiasm, not an assertion of gender hierarchy and power.
In communities of practice, hierarchies are often formed between those who are the most
powerful and those who are the least. This can undoubtedly influence the type of language used
by those in power. According to Drew and Heritage and their study of Talk At Work, hierarchies
reinforce positions of power and the language they use is reflective of such power, such as less
powerful people will have fewer allowable contributions, a shorter MLU and more likely to use
politeness and face-saving strategies. In contrast to this, powerful people will likely use
declaratives, interrogatives, have a longer MLU and their language quantity and manner will be
a lot less restricted. Powerful people will also be able to use jargon (particularly exclusive
jargon, such as medical jargon) to other people in a similar position of power in order to facilitate
efficient and quick communication, however when talking to a patient who’s less powerful they
may choose to converge their language to prevent alienation and confusion.
When a child is growing up and developing their language capabilities, often a parent or
caregiver will assert their power through using powerful language in order to help develop a
child’s language. A parent will use Child Directed Speech techniques such as recasting and
expansion as an attempt to assert their power to develop a child’s language such as if a child
says “dook” rather than “cook” the parent will use approbation and CDS techniques in order to
rectify this virtuous error. However a caregiver may not always use powerful language, in some
contexts, a parent might use diminutive forms of language, using prosodic features such as
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