Language and Power

During Spoken and written language, a certain person may insert their power by using certain language aspects.

Norman Fairclough - in 1989 wrote a book called language and power.
His theory was;

Synthetic Personalisation
This was the use of the pronoun 'you' when directly addressing someone.This shows power because it shows direct contact with someone. It can be used in various ways in advertisements and marketing discourse.

Different types of power;

Three Types Of Power
1. Political - power held by those working with the law e.g lawyers, politicians, police
2. Personal - power as a result of occupation e.g. teacher, employee
3. Social - power as a result of membership of a group

Then there is:
Instrumental Power - power used to mantain and enforce authority
Influential Power - power used to influence and persuade others
source: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1283612
During spoken discourse, when there is one person that is more powerful than the other (powerful participant), there may be power asymmetry. This may mean that one holds more power due to their occupation or due to their social class.

Power in spoken discourse
Power Asymmetry/ Unequal Encounter - the power one speaker has over the othere (Fairclough)
Powerful Participant - speaker with higher status in given context who is able to impose a degree of power
Less Powerful Participant - speakers with less status in a given context who are subject to constraints imposed by the powerful participants
Constraints - a way in which the powerful participant blocks or controls the contributions of the less powerful participants e.g by interupting or controlling content

Sinclair & Coulthard
Classroom setting
- Initiation Response Feedback
- Formulation -> teacher rewording contribution of student in order to impose a meaning or understanding
source: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1283612

Positive/Negative Face;
During spoken discourse, if someone holds more power, they may use various strategies in order to force their opponent to answer questions or do something for them.

Brown and Levinson came up with the theory; 

Politeness in Conversation
Face - a individuals self-esteem or emotional needs
Positive Face - the need to feel wanted, liked and appreciated
Negative Face - the need to have freedom of thought without feeling imposed on
(Brown & Levinson)

Politeness Strategies
Positive Politeness - e.g 'I really appreciated all the music you've lent me, can i borrow this soon?'
Negative Politeness - e.g 'I'm really sorry to ask you again..'
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1283612