Language, Power and

Identity
Dr. Ghazala Kausar
 What is language?
If you talk to a man in a language he
understands, that goes to his head. If
you talk to him in his language, that
goes to his heart. Nelson Mandela
 Introduction
In our daily lives, we often encounter
combinations of words and images of all
kinds. We take them as given, we use
them to communicate and interpret
information. We communicate with others
in many different languages (including
sign languages). We engage with new
genres, often with interest or skepticism;
these confront us almost daily due to
rapid, global technological advances.
 Use of Language
Thus, we no longer communicate only in traditional
written or spoken genres, but also using new ones,
such as text messages, e-mail, tweets and Facebook
posts. These force us to get accustomed to the
reduction of geographical distance and of time-spans
(timespace distanciation, Giddens 1990: 8788) due
to the GLOBALISATION OF COMMUNICATION.
However, in all available genres, the use of language
and communication as a social practice enables
dialogue, negotiation, argument and discussion,
learning and remembering, and other functions.
 Identity Construction
We also present ourselves to others through
our choice of language or language variety.
Language choice, and language itself, are part
of IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION (both individual
and collective)
Depending on the context, we almost
unthinkingly speak and act in ways appropriate
to the situation, because we have learnt how
to do this from a young age, in the family, in
kindergarten and in our formal education.
 Language and Identity
All human identities are social in nature because
identity is about meaning, and meaning is not an
essential property of words and things: meaning
develops in context dependent use. Meanings are
always the outcome of agreement or disagreement,
always a matter of contention, to some extent shared
and always negotiable (Jenkins 1996: 45).
Language and identity thus have a dialectic
relationship. Languages and using language manifest
who we are, and we define reality partly through our
language and linguistic behaviour (e.g. Anderson 1983;
Ricoeur 1992; Triandafyllidou & Wodak 2003; Wodak et
al. 2009).
Wodaks assumptions about identity

Identities are always re/created in specific

contexts. They are co-constructed in interactive
relationships.
They are usually fragmented, dynamic and
changeable everyone has multiple identities.
Identity construction always implies inclusionary
and exclusionary processes, i.e. the definition of
ONESELF and OTHERS.
Identities that are individual and collective,
national and transnational are also re/produced
and manifested symbolically.
 But who determines who can speak with
whom, and how? Who decides on the
norms of language use; who sets these
norms and enforces them; who determines
whether languages, linguistic behaviour
and identities are accepted? Who, for
example, decides, in the end, which
language and which form of language is
good enough to pass a language test to
attain citizenship or resident status?
 Power
Power the capability to influence others
to continue a course of action, change
what is being done, or refrain from acting
It has three types
1-Political power
2-economic power
3-military power
Politics is the exercise of power and
resolution of conflicts.
 Power is a notoriously difficult concept to
use. For instance , David crystal tells
us that a language become an
international language for one chief
reason :the political power of its people
__especially their military power ; later he
tells us that while a military powerful
nation establishes a language world wide
it takes an economically powerful one to
maintain and expand it (crystal )
 The language of power is not the spoken language of
everyday life and therefore, has to be learned .
This language has certain characteristics;
it is a standardized variety of a language ,
It is a print language.
It is highly valued ;
it is not spoken by common people ,
It is an elitist possession.
Not only it is a standard language is the sense of
possessing fixed spellings, written grammar,
dictionaries, but it is also used by the ruling elite in the
domains of power.