Relationship between Power and Language - Literature review Example

SUMMARY OF KEY THEMES Name Professor Institution Course Date Option 2: Summary of Key Themes Topic Description: Summarise key themes from the first module of class and try to show the different ways in which we can go about looking at questions of language and power In the course of understanding diverse questions concerning language and power, scholars propose different ways for effectiveness and efficiency. In the first instance, it is possible to assess the role of language in enhancing empowerment of the minority groups as well as oppressed society members. According to Pollard (2003), language has been a critical tool in the generation of the language of Rastafari thus the concept of empowerment. In addition, it is possible to assess the role of language in promotion of social issues within the society such as the concept of gender equality. Some scholars also consider evaluating the concept of language and power while considering the concept of power in diverse institutions. This approach focuses on evaluation as well as assessment of power and language in the legal and medical perspectives. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate and summarize key themes in relation to understanding the concept of language and power in accordance with the classroom discussions and presentations as well as key readings. The platform for quality essay in this context would require an extensive illustration of the concept of language while seeking to understand the role of language in pursuit of power. According to Joseph (2006), language is not a thing, but an element of diversity. This illustration tends to indicate the role and characteristic of language to express diverse forms as well as meaning in according to the target audiences, language practitioners, social conditions, and ethnicity of the speaker and target audiences. From this perspective, language tends to consider internal and external environmental analysis with the intention of understanding and grasping the context of the dialogue. Language is a key element in transformation of the modern politics. Societies tend to exploit languages in organisation and manipulation of the members thus the political nature of the concept. From a natural perspective, language is extremely social because it tends to involve more than one person in the curse of communication. According to Joseph (2006), this attribute is essential in making language an excellent source for generating power while illustrating intelligence, social, and industrious characteristics of the individuals engaging in the communication. There is also a close relationship between language and power because of the identity networking between the two elements. From this connection, it is possible for an individual to oppress another person by focusing on attacking his or her identity under the influence of language as well as limiting the usage of language. From another perception, it is possible for individuals to exploit the concept of language in the course of liberating themselves against oppression thus the essence of empowerment. The above illustration notes the diabolical approach in relation to the use of language. In the political field, language can be a source of power as well as an opening or a tool towards the achievement of liberation. Moreover, language is critical in the placement of individuals within the context of the social structure hence making it a crucial social tool for organisation of interaction within the society. Empowerment comes out as one of the numerous ways in which scholars focus on assessing different or diverse questions of language in relation to power. As evident in the introductory paragraph, the case of Rastafari within the Jamaican society is an effective illustration of the role of language in aiding the growth and development of the subculture hence an ideal empowerment tool. The purpose of this subculture is to offer substantial identity as well as a new voice for the oppressed members thus an indication of a sense of belonging. In the course of achieving these goals and targets, language came into existence thus an expression of a form of identity demonstrating the empowerment of the community from oppression and exploitation. According to Pollard (2003, p. 60), people tend to evolve a language with the purpose of describing as well as controlling their circumstances. This is an illustration that language is vital in shifting power and the crucial control from the dominant forces of the society to the oppressed as well as controlled entities within the society. Language has the ability to spread through diverse facets such as music in the case of the Rastafari community, which relates to the reggae music. It is also essential to understand the role of language in offering instruction on the mechanisms of controlling diverse situations prior to different alterations. This provides the perfect opportunity for the oppressed individuals to experience empowerment aspect of the language while exploiting the opportunity by taking charge of not only how they perceive or view situations and acts in accordance with those perceptions. Language is an essential tool towards overcoming diverse social issues such as social inequality among the genders. From this perspective, language is one of the empowerment tools to aid the fight against social inequality. From another view, language is one of the essential elements in handling attempts by the society to promote equality among male and female society members. In this context, language provides the perfect platform to enable individuals act or execute their gender in relation to interactions in the gendered contexts and populations. Language is a critical tool vital in differentiating male from female society members while referring to the gendered subjects. Nevertheless, the usage of gendered language provides the platform for acquisition of power as well as the eventual dominance thus social structure. Categorically, the removal or transformation of gender-specific terms has the ability to enhance or encourage the essence of gender equality since both women and men seem to occur in similar and equal terms or contexts (Cameron, 2005). Some of the examples towards transformation of gender terms include utilisation of ‘actor’ to substantiate ‘actress’ and exploitation of the concept of ‘humanity’ rather than the usage of ‘man’ in the case of referring to the human race. This is an illustration of the usage of language to create change in the social status within the society thus equality between male and female entities within the society. Language is a critical tool in representing a person as an individual scale in terms of their gender representations. It is ideal to note that language possesses a crucial effect on the subject of the speech in relation to empowerment as well as controlling of diverse subjects hence an illustration of the source of power or the relationship between language and power. Societies also focus on exploitation of social hierarchies to facilitate effective and efficient development of the identity. In this context, language is one of the critical tools enabling cultures to solidify their social hierarchies as well as essential power structures in different institutions with reference to legal and medical contexts (Crawford, 1999). Language plays a critical role in creating a gap between different groups within the institutions in accordance with their ethnic backgrounds as well as level of education, which is critical in language mastery. From this illustration, language barriers as well as the politics of valuing on language in comparison to another has the ability to force individuals into critical positions of oppression and dominance thus the relationship between language and power. In the Australian context, language tends to force individuals or society members into existing or emerging social hierarchies. Medical and legal practitioners focus on exploitation of diverse languages to change the meaning or twisting the usage of words hence an opportunity for the individuals to experience elements of dominance and oppression in accordance with the existing social hierarchies (Eades, 2006). In order to overcome these elements of oppression, individuals tend to use their knowledge of the language to empower their course hence acquisition of power. Conclusively, there is a close relationship between power and language thus demonstrating the concept of empowerment in relation to social issues such as oppression and dominance. According to the findings of this essay, there are numerous approaches to evaluate the relationship between language and power in the modern society. For instance, most scholars focus on exploitation of the empowerment role of the language in the acquisition of power by the oppressed individuals within the society. On the other hand, some scholars evaluate the role of language in maximization of the concept of social equality among the genders and social features within the society. Language tends to consider internal and external environmental analysis with the intention of understanding and grasping the context of the dialogue. Language has a diabolical effect in relation to the demands and perceptions of the society members. In the political field, language can be a source of power as well as an opening or a tool towards the achievement of liberation. Moreover, language is critical in the placement of individuals within the context of the social structure thus the concepts of dominance and oppression demonstrating the political nature of language. List of References Cameron, D. 2005, “Language, Gender, and Sexuality: Current Issues and New Directions.” Applied Linguistics, Vol. 26, Issue 4, pp. 482-502. Crawford, A. 1999, “We Can’t all understand the Whites’ language:” An Analysis of Monolingual Health Services in a Multilingual Society, International Journal of the Sociology of Language, Vol. 136, pp. 27-45. Eades, D. 2006, “Lexical Struggle in Court: Aboriginal Australians versus the State,” Journal of Sociolinguistics, Vol. 10, Issue 2, 153-180. Joseph, J. 2006, “How Politics Permeates Language (and vice versa).” Chapter 1 in Language and Politics, Edinburgh: University Press. Pollard, V. 2003, “Sound and Power: the Language of the Rastafari.” In S. Makoni G. Smitherman, A. Ball & A. Spear (Eds), Black Linguistics: Language, Society, and Politics in Africa and the Americas. London: Routledge. Read More