LANGUAGE AND

POWER RELATIONS
GROUP 5 (Montaño, Custodio, Laya, Gargaran)
 OBJECTIVES

01 02
Define Language and Discuss the
Power. relationship between
Language and Power.

03
Identify a Research Study
Associated with Language
and Power.
Language is a natural human system
of conventionalized symbols that
have understood meanings.
(Rice & Galbraith, 2008)
Power
According to linguist Shân Wareing (1999), there are three
main types of power:
● Political power - power held by people with authority,
such as politicians and the police.
● Personal power - power based on an individual's
occupation or role in society.
● Social group power - power held by a group of people
due to certain social factors, such as class, ethnicity,
gender, or age.
Language–Power Relationships
Power Behind
Language
● Language Reveals Power
● Language Reflects Power
1. Language Reveals Power
The literature on linguistic deception illustrates the
widespread deceptive use of language-reveals-power
to produce intended effects despite resistance
(Robinson, 1996). Language is used to produce an
intended effect despite resistance by deceptively
revealing a nonexisting power base and planting it in
the mind of the message recipient.
2. Language Reflects Power
Ethnolinguistic Vitality
The language that a person uses reflects the language
community’s power. A useful way to think about a language
community’s linguistic power is through the ethnolinguistic
vitality model (Bourhis et al., 1981; Harwood et al., 1994).
Language communities in a country vary in absolute size
overall and, just as important, a relative numeric
concentration in particular regions.
World Englishes and Lingua Franca English
Another field of research on the power behind and
reflected in language is “World Englishes.” At the height of
the British Empire English spread on the back of the
Industrial Revolution and through large-scale migrations of
Britons to the “New World,” which has since become the
core of an “inner circle” of traditional native English-speaking
nations now led by the United States (Kachru, 1992).
World Englishes and Lingua Franca English
English is becoming a global language with official or
special status in at least 75 countries (British Council, n.d.). It
is also the language choice in international organizations
and companies, as well as academia, and is commonly used
in trade, international mass media, and entertainment, and
over the Internet as the main source of information.
Power of Language
● Language maintains existing dominance
● Language unites and divides a nation
● Language creates influence through words,
conversations, speeches, oratories, etc.
“Words so innocent and powerless
as they are, as standing in a
dictionary, how potent for good and
evil they become in the hands of
one who knows how to combine
them. “ - Nathaniel Hawthorne
“Language is a skin: I rub my
language against the other. It is as
if I had the words instead of fingers,
or fingers at the tip of my words. My
language trembles in desire.” -
Roland Barthes
“If Language is not correct, then
what is said is not what is meant. If
what is said is not what is meant,
then what ought to be done,
remains undone.”
- Confucius
 LANGUAGE MAINTAINS EXISTING DOMINANCE

Language is seen to maintain dominance

by using the lingua franca English and its
spreading throughout the world even during
these times. Nonnative English speaking
countries use the language in order to
participate in Global Trade, this phenomenon
was referred to by Phillipson (2009) as “linguistic
imperialism.”.
 LANGUAGE MAINTAINS EXISTING DOMINANCE

Language continues to evolve as people do.

There are changes in beliefs such as what is
acceptable and unacceptable, and the influence of
elites such as professors, and linguists that have big
impacts. Some examples of these changes that are
observable are sexist words are being re adjusted in
order both genders are being treated equally and
slowly eradicating male dominance in language.
 LANGUAGE MAINTAINS EXISTING DOMINANCE

There are specific languages used in certain

types of professions and are identified as jargons, or
specialized languages. In types of documents that
include legal terms, medical terms, or depending on
what profession it is inclined to, it will give
dominance to the people under that profession.
 LANGUAGE UNITES AND DIVIDES A NATION

A nation would have many individuals, this would

mean that every individual would have different
culture, ethnic background, and language.
Differences often lead to misunderstandings and
eventually lead to conflict. Nation leaders such as the
government would benefit if they are able to unify
the different languages into one and use it to
communicate. This language they have chosen is
called National Language.
 LANGUAGE UNITES AND DIVIDES A NATION

Another example of using language and its power

is in China by Emperor Qin Shi Huang who
standardized chinese script (hanzi) it unified the
country as he defeated other stated and eventually
ended the Warring States Period (475-221 BC)
 LANGUAGE UNITES AND DIVIDES A NATION

Language is a double edge sword as it can be

used to divide a nation, the problems that would
cause chaos in the people that includes language are
when there are competing claims to official language
status made by minority language communities,
language rights at schools, bilingual education,
outright language wars, and language wars.
 LANGUAGE UNITES AND DIVIDES A NATION

Examples of conflicts in nations because of

language were Belgium. It was divided between
Walloons who speak French, and Flemings who
speak Flemish. During the year 2010, the elected
mayor was barred from taking office because he sent
out election literature in French to French speakers
and not in Dutch that the law requires.
LANGUAGE CREATES INFLUENCE

● Power of Single Words

● Oratorical Power
● Conversational Power
 “People fail to get along because
they fear each other; they fear each
other because they don’t know
each other; they don’t know each
other because they have not
communicated with each other.” -
Martin Luther King Jr.
“I wish to show those who deny
us patriotism that we know
how to die for our country and
convictions.” - Jose Rizal
“I’m the president of the United
States. I’m not the emperor of
the United States.” -Barack
Obama
 POWER OF SINGLE WORDS
Power of single words does not only
base on their metaphors that are usually
used in novels as it inspires many people
but it could be used to mislead also, it is
usually seen when reporters asks questions
that are leading.
 ORATORICAL POWER
A speaker can influence people with
their right usage of words that would
inspire people and raise their morale
whenever they are down, an example
would be Winston Churchill “We Shall
Fight on the Beaches” raising the morale of
his forces that has lost many.
 CONVERSATIONAL POWER
It involves casual or formal conversation that would
have a speech exchange system. Within the system
there are order of turns but will depend on the positions
of the people and their relationship with each other.
The taking turns depend if they are family, lovers,
friends, in work, or in any other events. This will depend
who is considered the senior to that type of relationship
and situation.
"Language, Ideology and Power
Relations in Nigerian Newspaper
Headlines."
(Rotimi Taiwo)
Introduction
Linguists' interest in discourse in recent times is
gradually shifting from the traditional focus on the linguistic
structure of text to how texts figure in the social process. An
understanding of grammar, morphology, semantics and
phonology of a text does not necessarily constitute
understanding of the text.
 The rhetoric intent, the coherence and the worldview
that the author and receptor bring to the text are equally
essential (Kaplan, 1990). Language, therefore, is no longer
seen as merely reflecting our reality, but as central to
creating reality. Our words are never neutral, they carry the
power that reflects the interests of those who speak or write
(see Fiske, 1994; Fowler, et.al., 1979).
 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This paper is an attempt to look at how language is used

in news tabloids, particularly in headlines to reflect specific
societal ideologies and power relations. The role headlines
play as precursors to the news makes them to be
constructed in such a way that they usually evoke readers’
emotions. Most editors ensure that the choice of expressions
in headlines reflects the feelings, opinions and attitudes of
people about issues in the news.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

From the analysis of the data, a large percentage of the

headlines were on political matters (93 : 31.00%). Nigeria had
experienced many years of military rule and the current
democratic dispensation is coming with a lot of issues
generating discussion across the nation. Next in number to
politics are headlines on Crime and Corruption (69 : 23%). The
crusade against corruption makes it a major focus in the
news.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

It was observed that the use of speech as headlines is

very significant. Since news is woven around personalities,
the speeches of these personalities matter to the press
because they can be used for sensational news. Sometimes,
they are paraphrased and used to arouse negative feelings
towards unpopular leaders.
 CONCLUSION

This study examines how ideology plays a vital role in

the construction of newspaper headlines. Working within
the discipline of Critical Discourse Analysis, our findings
show clearly that beyond the generally observed rhetorical
and graphological devices employed in newspaper
headlines, there are also hidden ideological meanings
behind those written words. The type of headlines that
dominate the Nigerian newspapers studied within the
period of this study – headlines on politics shows clearly that
the country is in a period of democratizing.
 REFERENCES:

Guardian News and Media. (2019, June 17). Language wars: The 19 greatest linguistic spats of all time. The
Guardian. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jun/17/language-wars-18-greatest-linguistic-spats

Language and power. StudySmarter UK. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2023, from
https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english/key-concepts-in-language-and-linguistics/language
-and-power/

Language, ideology and power relations in Nigerian newspaper headlines. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2023,
from
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rotimi-Taiwo/publication/26456692_Language_Ideology_and_Power
_Relations_in_Nigerian_Newspaper_Headlines/links/588f23e892851cef1363c4cc/Language-Ideology-and-P
ower-Relations-in-Nigerian-Newspaper-Headlines.pdf

Ng, S. H., & Deng, F. (2017, August 22). Language and power. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of
Communication. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from
https://oxfordre.com/communication/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-978019022
8613-e-436;jsessionid=67031EF79D6255EAC1D2A655A3F0E6D5#:~:text=The%20other%20three%20languag
e%E2%80%93power,social%20interaction%2C%20and%20language%20policies.
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