Language, Ideology, and Institutional
Encounters
• Institutional practices which people draw upon
without thinking often embody assumptions
which…legitimise power relations. Practices which
appear commonsensical can often be shown to
originate in the dominant class…and to have become
naturalized (Fairclough, 2001:27).
• While names, words and language can be and are
used to inspire us, to motivate us, …they can also be
used to dehumanise human beings and to “justify”
their suppression and even their extermination
(Bosmajian, 2004: 9).
Understanding the place of
language in hierarchical societies
• Language and ideology-- ideology as part of
language
• Language and social status--social status as a
non-partial aspect of society connected to
‘authority”
• Ideology as the content of thinking characteristic
of an individual, group, or culture
• Social status: the relative position or standing of
things or especially persons in a society.
Power relations in hierarchical societies
• Politics: power relations within social groups in
the public arena
• Power: the social force that allows one person or
group to mobilize others and overcome resistance
• Authority; the “right” to take certain kinds of
actions. Based on the person’s ascribed and
achieved status.
• Influence: ability to achieve a desired end. Social
and moral pressure without force. Reinforced by
social position, status
Status and authority (power) are
not impartial forces of nature
they are created and maintained
by society
Coercion and Consent
• Coercion--through force or threat of force
--institutions instruments for power
--Example:Apartheid
• Consent --winning others' approval
--less costly, less risky
--ideology key mechanism of rule by consent
and language (discourse) is the main
instrument of ideology
Discourse
• Is language (speech) is a form of social
practice --linguistic units, several sentences,
affect our views on all things (Foucault
1926-1984).
• Embodies ideological assumptions: sustain
and legitimise existing relations of power
• Social conditions determine properties of
discourse: discourse reflects social reality
Assumptions and common-sense
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Implicit
Non awareness
Authority and hierarchy as natural
Aura of authority
Assumptions embedded in language
Hierarchical assumptions
embedded in language
• “If you take them right, you are going
to be in pretty good shape… and of
course, everybody uses birth control
pills.”
• Assumptions are ideologies
• Ideologies are connected to power
Language and Ideology
• Language = Belief systems = social orders
• Inherent superiority and inherent inferiority
• Messages  social order  consciousness
Development of ideologies about
language
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Standard languages
Naturalization of language
Only one correct form of language
Standard language and nation-states
Language and social control
Non-standard languages
• Less power
• Viable alternatives: group solidarity
• Resistance to power : French Kreol, Haiti
Standard language becomes
naturalized
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Common-sense unquestionable
Deviation as backwards, incorrect
Part of everyday thinking: political
Uncritical thinking
Manipulative usage of language
Language and status
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Rights and values manifested in language
Power of naming, classifying, etc
The power of defining others
Definire: to limit
Power to speak and the power to label
Paris 1909:
• A while ago...Gabriel Rene Moreno discovered
that the native and meztizo brains are cellularly
incapable, and that they weight from
five to seven or even ten ounces less than the brain
of the white man. Now he proclaims that mestizos
inherit the worst characteristics of their
forbears and this is why the Bolivian people do
not want to wash or learn, can’t read, only drink,
are two-faced, egotistic, lazy, and altogether
deplorable (Eduardo Galeano 1988).
Who are the people who have the
power to name or label others?
Why do they have this power?
Language is not neutral
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Exposes attitudes, intentionalities
Conveying authority
Talk is part of social and cultural meanings
Beliefs systems serve specific functions
Institutional Settings and
Discourse (i.e. The Media)
• Social arenas in which power relations are
manifested through discourse
• I.e. Educational, health, judiciary, the
media, etc.
• Contexts transmit and maintain societal
structures (hierarchies, inclusion and
exclusion)
Two types of discourse
• Face to face discourse (a class conversation)
• Media discourse (TV, Radio, Film, etc)
• Involves participants separated in place and
time
• Involves hidden power relations
*The nature of power relations
enacted in mass media is often
not clear
*There are differences between
face-to-face interactions and
media interactions
Differences: face-to-face
discourse and media discourse
• 1. One-sided nature of media discourse-sharp division: producer and audience
(interpreter)--no room for contestation
• 2. Lack of close interaction in media
discourse --adaptability of face-to-face
discourse--mass media design for mass
audiences
Why do the media need an ideal
audience?
Why do we need to understand media
discourse? Why is it important in the study of
language and culture?
• Influence of media unquestionable
• Construct and reconstruct particular realities
• Expressed bias: they highlight some items
and ignore others
• Aura of partiality of media is deceiving
The assumption of neutrality:
Media Discourse
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TV
Sustained by form and content
Form: familiarity
Familiarity creates a sense of trust
Printed Media
Neutrality by anonymity
Language control: institutional control
Language devices: nouns, verbs, etc
Syntactic Constructions and
Media Discourse
• Agents of actions as subjects
• Example:
--Anna ate a pizza
--The pizza was eaten by Anna
Shifting focus from agent of action to recipient of
action
--The pizza was eaten
Two headlines: The Times and
the Guardian
• RIOTING BLACKS SHOT DEAD BY POLICE AS
ANC LEADERS MEET---Eleven Africans were shot
dead and 15 wounded when Rhodesian police opened
fire on a rioting crowd of about 2,000 in the African
Highfield township of Salisbury this afternoon.
• POLICE SHOOT 11 DEAD IN SALISBURY RIOT---Riot police shot and killed 11 African demonstrators
and wounded 15 others here today in the Highfield
township on the outskirts of Salisbury.
They both focus on different
aspects of the story
• Times: focuses on recipients, minimizes
roles of agents, passive syntax, negative
connotations
• The Guardian: police as agents, no negative
connotation, more information of context
TV, Film
• Similar hidden messages
• Focus on particular topics
• Sounds influences moods
• Organization of images
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• How is the power of the media hidden?
• From whom is the power of the media
hidden?
• Is it hidden from audiences and from
media workers?
Discussion question
• To what extent are ideologies
variable within a society, and how
are such variations manifested in
discourse?