Eduqas A-Level English Language: Language and Power
Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a linguistic framework used to analyse the role that
language plays in the construction and maintenance of power. Fairclough’s model examines
how societal power relations are established and reinforced through language.
CDA recognises language as a social practice and analyses discourse within its wider social,
historical, and institutional contexts by considering what is said, where it is being said, and
who is saying it. It aims to analyse the existence of dominance, power, and control
expressed in language and how this affects social inequalities and power imbalances.
The main aims of CDA are:
Uncover power structures by analysing language use
Understand how power can be maintained and abused through language use
Understand how meaning and ideology are constructed through language
Understand the role that language plays within society
Determine who holds the most power and who holds the least
According to Fairclough, the analysis of power in discourse can be divided into two
categories:
1. Power in Discourse – the ways in which language choices, such as lexis, grammar,
and rhetorical strategies are used to create and reinforce power within a spoken
interaction. It involves analysing these linguistic power structures and how they are
used to establish authority. Common language features used to create power may
include imperatives, rhetorical questions, repetition, emotive language, and inclusive
pronouns.
2. Power Behind Discourse – the social, institutional, and ideological structures that
shape discourse. It explores the wider contexts that enable certain people to hold
more power in their communication, such as media, government, and educational
institutions. A person’s status or role may automatically grant them greater authority
in certain situations. For example, a headteacher would automatically assume power
over the students.
Language features that can be used to reinforce power include:
Rhetorical questions
Imperatives
Modal verbs
Inclusive language
Direct address
Metaphors
Emotive language
Statistics
Alliteration
Emphatic stress
Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a linguistic framework used to analyse the role that
language plays in the construction and maintenance of power. Fairclough’s model examines
how societal power relations are established and reinforced through language.
CDA recognises language as a social practice and analyses discourse within its wider social,
historical, and institutional contexts by considering what is said, where it is being said, and
who is saying it. It aims to analyse the existence of dominance, power, and control
expressed in language and how this affects social inequalities and power imbalances.
The main aims of CDA are:
Uncover power structures by analysing language use
Understand how power can be maintained and abused through language use
Understand how meaning and ideology are constructed through language
Understand the role that language plays within society
Determine who holds the most power and who holds the least
According to Fairclough, the analysis of power in discourse can be divided into two
categories:
1. Power in Discourse – the ways in which language choices, such as lexis, grammar,
and rhetorical strategies are used to create and reinforce power within a spoken
interaction. It involves analysing these linguistic power structures and how they are
used to establish authority. Common language features used to create power may
include imperatives, rhetorical questions, repetition, emotive language, and inclusive
pronouns.
2. Power Behind Discourse – the social, institutional, and ideological structures that
shape discourse. It explores the wider contexts that enable certain people to hold
more power in their communication, such as media, government, and educational
institutions. A person’s status or role may automatically grant them greater authority
in certain situations. For example, a headteacher would automatically assume power
over the students.
Language features that can be used to reinforce power include:
Rhetorical questions
Imperatives
Modal verbs
Inclusive language
Direct address
Metaphors
Emotive language
Statistics
Alliteration
Emphatic stress
