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The Power of Words

Lucy Swedberg

How language connects, differentiates, and enlightens us

Four new books investigate how language connects, differentiates, and enlightens us. Viorica Marian’s The Power of Language explores the benefits of multilingualism. People who are multilingual perform better on executive-functioning tasks, for instance, and draw more novel connections.

In A Myriad of Tongues, author Caleb Everett notes that more than 7,000 languages exist today. And while academics traditionally looked for commonalities among languages, recent research has focused on how languages diverge, and what those differences can teach us.

A third book, Magic Words, by Wharton professor Jonah Berger, examines how specific words can carry an oversize impact, making them more likely to change hearts and minds or drive change.

By contrast, Dan Lyons’s STFU reminds readers that sometimes saying nothing is the best approach. “All of us,” he writes, “stand to gain by speaking less, listening more, and communicating with intention.” His book offers advice on how to do that, whether online, at work, or at home.

About a year ago, a friend suggested that I enroll in an adult tap-dance class held at our town’s community center. The suggestion wasn’t as random as it might seem. For nearly two decades in my youth, I had loved tapping in classes and onstage. And when I laced up those black leather shoes after a nearly 20-year hiatus, I felt instantly at home.

LS Lucy Swedberg is an executive editor at Harvard Business Publishing, focused on education.

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The power of language: How words shape people, culture

Speaking, writing and reading are integral to everyday life, where language is the primary tool for expression and communication. Studying how people use language – what words and phrases they unconsciously choose and combine – can help us better understand ourselves and why we behave the way we do.

Linguistics scholars seek to determine what is unique and universal about the language we use, how it is acquired and the ways it changes over time. They consider language as a cultural, social and psychological phenomenon.

“Understanding why and how languages differ tells about the range of what is human,” said Dan Jurafsky , the Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor in Humanities and chair of the Department of Linguistics in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford . “Discovering what’s universal about languages can help us understand the core of our humanity.”

The stories below represent some of the ways linguists have investigated many aspects of language, including its semantics and syntax, phonetics and phonology, and its social, psychological and computational aspects.

Understanding stereotypes

Stanford linguists and psychologists study how language is interpreted by people. Even the slightest differences in language use can correspond with biased beliefs of the speakers, according to research.

One study showed that a relatively harmless sentence, such as “girls are as good as boys at math,” can subtly perpetuate sexist stereotypes. Because of the statement’s grammatical structure, it implies that being good at math is more common or natural for boys than girls, the researchers said.

Language can play a big role in how we and others perceive the world, and linguists work to discover what words and phrases can influence us, unknowingly.

How well-meaning statements can spread stereotypes unintentionally

New Stanford research shows that sentences that frame one gender as the standard for the other can unintentionally perpetuate biases.

Algorithms reveal changes in stereotypes

New Stanford research shows that, over the past century, linguistic changes in gender and ethnic stereotypes correlated with major social movements and demographic changes in the U.S. Census data.

Exploring what an interruption is in conversation

Stanford doctoral candidate Katherine Hilton found that people perceive interruptions in conversation differently, and those perceptions differ depending on the listener’s own conversational style as well as gender.

Policeman with body-worn videocamera (body-cam)

Cops speak less respectfully to black community members

Professors Jennifer Eberhardt and Dan Jurafsky, along with other Stanford researchers, detected racial disparities in police officers’ speech after analyzing more than 100 hours of body camera footage from Oakland Police.

How other languages inform our own

People speak roughly 7,000 languages worldwide. Although there is a lot in common among languages, each one is unique, both in its structure and in the way it reflects the culture of the people who speak it.

Jurafsky said it’s important to study languages other than our own and how they develop over time because it can help scholars understand what lies at the foundation of humans’ unique way of communicating with one another.

“All this research can help us discover what it means to be human,” Jurafsky said.

Stanford PhD student documents indigenous language of Papua New Guinea

Fifth-year PhD student Kate Lindsey recently returned to the United States after a year of documenting an obscure language indigenous to the South Pacific nation.

dice marked with letters of the alphabet

Students explore Esperanto across Europe

In a research project spanning eight countries, two Stanford students search for Esperanto, a constructed language, against the backdrop of European populism.

Chris Manning: How computers are learning to understand language

A computer scientist discusses the evolution of computational linguistics and where it’s headed next.

Map showing frequency of the use of the Spanish pronoun 'vos' as opposed to 'tú' in Latin America

Stanford research explores novel perspectives on the evolution of Spanish

Using digital tools and literature to explore the evolution of the Spanish language, Stanford researcher Cuauhtémoc García-García reveals a new historical perspective on linguistic changes in Latin America and Spain.

Language as a lens into behavior

Linguists analyze how certain speech patterns correspond to particular behaviors, including how language can impact people’s buying decisions or influence their social media use.

For example, in one research paper, a group of Stanford researchers examined the differences in how Republicans and Democrats express themselves online to better understand how a polarization of beliefs can occur on social media.

“We live in a very polarized time,” Jurafsky said. “Understanding what different groups of people say and why is the first step in determining how we can help bring people together.”

Analyzing the tweets of Republicans and Democrats

New research by Dora Demszky and colleagues examined how Republicans and Democrats express themselves online in an attempt to understand how polarization of beliefs occurs on social media.

Examining bilingual behavior of children at Texas preschool

A Stanford senior studied a group of bilingual children at a Spanish immersion preschool in Texas to understand how they distinguished between their two languages.

Linguistics professor Dan Jurafsky in his office

Predicting sales of online products from advertising language

Stanford linguist Dan Jurafsky and colleagues have found that products in Japan sell better if their advertising includes polite language and words that invoke cultural traditions or authority.

Language can help the elderly cope with the challenges of aging, says Stanford professor

By examining conversations of elderly Japanese women, linguist Yoshiko Matsumoto uncovers language techniques that help people move past traumatic events and regain a sense of normalcy.

The Power of Words

How to build verbal agility

Posted August 23, 2022 | Reviewed by Hara Estroff Marano

Words are enormously powerful tools that most people don’t fully appreciate. Although people recognize the importance of communication skills, they don’t necessarily grasp how to become more effective communicators.

When people develop true mental agility in working with language, they gain a range of skills that make them more highly effective communicators. Attuned to the nuances of words, they become expert at working in teams because they can communicate clearly and translate the real meaning of what one person says to another person. They are able to separate their emotional reaction to a report or news article from their cognitive reaction and as a result can glean what’s really significant. They can “read” other people by the words they use and the way they use them.

Language is a neurocognitive tool by which we can:

· Transmit and exchange information

· Influence and control the behavior of others

· Establish and demonstrate social cohesion, and

· Imagine and create new ways of experiencing life.

To appreciate the power and majesty of words, we have to recognize that they mean more than their dictionary definitions. Words require context to make them meaningful. We understand them in relation to other words. A single word such as light can evoke different images and emotions at different times: The Charge of the Light Brigade , a light snack, the light at the end of the tunnel, lighthearted, lightweight, lightbulb, light of my life, and more.

We understand others best when we can identify the purpose that frames the words. For example, reports are intended to help people crystallize a problem. A good report contains information that is verifiable. A good report writer carefully avoids inferences, judgments, and inflammatory language that might bias the reader and affect the quality of the work.

On the other hand, preachers, parents, teachers, propagandists, politicians, and employers use directives to influence and control the future behavior of their listeners or readers. Directives promise rewards and/or consequences. Those that have the strongest impact engage people’s emotions through the dramatic application of tone, rhyme, rhythm, and repetition, devices through which the message is embedded in our memory .

Words are so much a part of our human experience that we need to disengage ourselves from them. We disengage by turning words into objects—by playing word games. People who play with words are more conscious of the subtleties and innuendos that conversations contain and are less likely to be swayed by emotional appeals or fall victim to their own prejudices.

Difficult crossword puzzles, such as the New York Times crossword puzzle, force solvers to pursue increasingly subtle clues as the week progresses and the puzzles get harder. Think about all those people you know who brag that they do the New York Times crossword puzzle in ink. Doing the puzzle in ink intimates that their verbal agility is such that they won’t make mistakes and need to erase answers in order to try again.

Wordle erupted in popularity in 2021, making players guess a five-letter word by staring with a random guess. As the player guesses letters correctly, they appear in yellow or green—yellow means it’s in the day’s word and green means that it’s in the day’s word and you’ve put it in the correct place. Players are limited to six guesses. Guessing the day’s word with no other context but your vocabulary and understanding of spelling conventions forces players to think about words differently.

Turning One Word into Another

It takes a long time to learn to read and even longer to learn to read well. Once that threshold has been crossed, we become efficient readers. We read automatically—traffic signs, cereal boxes, billboards, t-shirts. In fact, we can’t stop ourselves from reading when we see what looks like a word.

In the verbal puzzle below, you will need to bring out your Wordle skills to understand how one word can follow a pattern to turn into a series of different words. The word on the far left on the first line is SEED and the word on the far right is PICK . In the example, you can see how changing one letter each time can get you from SEED to PICK. But you need to take into account what that last word is so that you can make the appropriate guesses.

SEED SEEK PEEK PECK PICK

HANK ____ ____ ____ PORT

HARE ____ ____ ____ COOK

MAUL ____ ____ ____ WILD

ROOD ____ ____ ____ LICK

HELP ____ ____ ____ ROAM

TEST ____ ____ ____ PORE

DILL ____ ____ ____ BOOT

TUBA ____ ____ ____ DONE

DIVE ____ ____ ____ HART

DUNK ____ ____ ____ BEET

MUST ____ ____ ____ DOCK

LIFE ____ ____ ____ DEBT

HAIR ____ ____ ____ DEAN

DELL ____ ____ ____ VOTE

MITT ____ ____ ____ PACE

What makes the puzzle hard is that you have to switch between thinking abstractly and thinking concretely. The puzzle would be easy if all you had to do was randomly replace letters. By having to come up with a legitimate word each time, as in Wordle , you have to think through the words you know. Puzzles like this one help breed verbal agility.

HANK HARK PARK PART PORT

HARE CARE CORE CORK COOK

MAUL MALL WALL WILL WILD

ROOD ROOK ROCK LOCK LICK

HELP HEAP REAP REAM ROAM

TEST PEST POST PORT PORE

DILL DOLL BOLL BOLT BOOT

TUBA TUBE TUNE TONE DONE

DIVE HIVE HAVE HATE HART

DUNK BUNK BUNT BENT BEET

MUST DUST DUSK DUCK DOCK

LIFE LIFT LEFT DEFT DEBT

HAIR HEIR HEAR DEAR DEAN

DELL DOLL DOLE DOTE VOTE

MITT MITE MICE MACE PACE

Donalee Markus, Ph.D., specializes in the clinical application of neuroscience to rehabilitate concussion, stroke, and traumatic brain injury, enhance academic performance, and maintain memory skills.

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The Irrefutable Power Of Words

You’ve experienced the power of words in a way you will never forget. Even now, the memory lingers.

How could a few small words have such a big impact on your life?

Words have power . And only when you experienced that power yourself — either as the giver or as the receiver — did you begin to understand it.

You can use the power of words to heal or comfort others. Or you can use it to tear them down. Your character shapes and is shaped by the way you use this power.

So, how can you make the most of it?

Examples of the Power of Spoken Words

Examples of the power of written words, why are words so powerful for humans, 1. speak the truth., 2. avoid exaggerations., 3. don’t use double standards., 4. don’t use your words to manipulate others., 5. be consistent in what you say., 6. speak mindfully., 7. use words to benefit others..

When was the last time you heard spoken words that changed your perspective on something or someone? Maybe the words felt like a sucker punch.

Or maybe they lit you up inside and inspired you to make a change.

Consider the following examples of spoken words:

Speeches and Lectures
Song Lyrics
Conversations (spoken)
Audiobooks or Podcasts
Movies or TV shows

Now, see if you can recall any memories of negative words for each of these samples.

Are there songs you find difficult to listen to because of the negative lyrics? Or have you been avoiding someone because of a recent negative outburst?

Maybe you’re thinking of negative words you’ve never heard but that felt, in your mind, as though they’d been spoken aloud – and directly to you.

Guess what’s next.

Written words also have power — for the one who writes them and for those who read them.

You’ve felt this power. And maybe you’ve wielded it yourself.

Maybe you even consider it your superpower. You’re not wrong to call it that.

Consider the following examples:

Journal entries
Articles / Blog Posts
Letters, Notes, and Emails
Stories and Poems
Awards / Commendations or Written Reprimands
Books and Book Reviews

Never underestimate the power of a thoughtful note — or a love poem — or a compelling story.

The right words draw you in and build connections. The wrong words destroy relationships or prevent them from ever being built.

This is why marketers pay well for effective copywriting .

If your words can connect with your target audience and persuade them that paying for a particular product or service will change their life for the better, you most definitely have a superpower.

Use it for good.

Humans are the only species on this planet that has the power of speech and of the written word (as far as we know).

But in spite of the creative potential this power gives us, we spend more time exploring its destructive potential.

And we sabotage our own health and happiness when we do.

According to functional MRI scans (fMRI ), just looking at a list of negative words (including the word “NO”) worsens anxiety and depression.

And dwelling on those words can actually damage key structures in the brain — including those responsible for memory, feelings, and emotions.

Vocalizing that negativity releases more stress hormones, not only in you but in those who hear you.

Even silent worrying (about money, relationships, work, etc.) stimulates the release of neurochemicals that make you and those around you feel worse.

Empaths are particularly sensitive to this, but everyone around you is affected to some degree. And you as the ruminator suffer the most.

So, how can you turn things around?

7 Tips for Making Your Written and Spoken Words Powerful

“Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.” — Gautama Buddha

Trust is built on honesty; people want to know they can depend on you to tell them the truth, even when it hurts to hear it (and even if it makes you look bad).

There are times when lying can save a life. But in most cases, with relationships, a reputation for lying will rob you of your power to connect with them.

Without truth behind them, your words lose their meaning and become empty noise.

Saying “You never….” or “You always…” to berate others ensures that your negative message about them (which is personal) will eclipse whatever message you’re trying to send.

Very few people are consistent enough to “always” leave the toilet seat up or to “never” take out the garbage. And they know that.

So, if you accuse them of a perfect record of thoughtlessness, their own disagreement with your memory will make it difficult to pick up on the underlying request.

Double standards are when you have different rules or different expectations of two or more different people of equal ability in the same situation.

For example, if your employer, Biff, tells one employee, Jack, that all he needs to do is X and Y but then he tells Sally she’ll have to X, Y, and Z — and in less time — to receive the same reward (or 79% of it), he’s using the power of words (and money) to impose a double standard.

And once he does and word gets around, Biff’s own words will create an atmosphere of injustice.

No one wants to work for an employer who devalues and exploits others.

Article contents

Language and power.

Sik Hung Ng Sik Hung Ng Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China
and Fei Deng Fei Deng School of Foreign Studies, South China Agricultural University
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.436
Published online: 22 August 2017

Five dynamic language–power relationships in communication have emerged from critical language studies, sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, and the social psychology of language and communication. Two of them stem from preexisting powers behind language that it reveals and reflects, thereby transferring the extralinguistic powers to the communication context. Such powers exist at both the micro and macro levels. At the micro level, the power behind language is a speaker’s possession of a weapon, money, high social status, or other attractive personal qualities—by revealing them in convincing language, the speaker influences the hearer. At the macro level, the power behind language is the collective power (ethnolinguistic vitality) of the communities that speak the language. The dominance of English as a global language and international lingua franca, for example, has less to do with its linguistic quality and more to do with the ethnolinguistic vitality of English-speakers worldwide that it reflects. The other three language–power relationships refer to the powers of language that are based on a language’s communicative versatility and its broad range of cognitive, communicative, social, and identity functions in meaning-making, social interaction, and language policies. Such language powers include, first, the power of language to maintain existing dominance in legal, sexist, racist, and ageist discourses that favor particular groups of language users over others. Another language power is its immense impact on national unity and discord. The third language power is its ability to create influence through single words (e.g., metaphors), oratories, conversations and narratives in political campaigns, emergence of leaders, terrorist narratives, and so forth.

power behind language
power of language
intergroup communication
World Englishes
oratorical power
conversational power
leader emergence
al-Qaeda narrative
social identity approach

Introduction

Language is for communication and power.

Language is a natural human system of conventionalized symbols that have understood meanings. Through it humans express and communicate their private thoughts and feelings as well as enact various social functions. The social functions include co-constructing social reality between and among individuals, performing and coordinating social actions such as conversing, arguing, cheating, and telling people what they should or should not do. Language is also a public marker of ethnolinguistic, national, or religious identity, so strong that people are willing to go to war for its defense, just as they would defend other markers of social identity, such as their national flag. These cognitive, communicative, social, and identity functions make language a fundamental medium of human communication. Language is also a versatile communication medium, often and widely used in tandem with music, pictures, and actions to amplify its power. Silence, too, adds to the force of speech when it is used strategically to speak louder than words. The wide range of language functions and its versatility combine to make language powerful. Even so, this is only one part of what is in fact a dynamic relationship between language and power. The other part is that there is preexisting power behind language which it reveals and reflects, thereby transferring extralinguistic power to the communication context. It is thus important to delineate the language–power relationships and their implications for human communication.

This chapter provides a systematic account of the dynamic interrelationships between language and power, not comprehensively for lack of space, but sufficiently focused so as to align with the intergroup communication theme of the present volume. The term “intergroup communication” will be used herein to refer to an intergroup perspective on communication, which stresses intergroup processes underlying communication and is not restricted to any particular form of intergroup communication such as interethnic or intergender communication, important though they are. It echoes the pioneering attempts to develop an intergroup perspective on the social psychology of language and communication behavior made by pioneers drawn from communication, social psychology, and cognate fields (see Harwood et al., 2005 ). This intergroup perspective has fostered the development of intergroup communication as a discipline distinct from and complementing the discipline of interpersonal communication. One of its insights is that apparently interpersonal communication is in fact dynamically intergroup (Dragojevic & Giles, 2014 ). For this and other reasons, an intergroup perspective on language and communication behavior has proved surprisingly useful in revealing intergroup processes in health communication (Jones & Watson, 2012 ), media communication (Harwood & Roy, 2005 ), and communication in a variety of organizational contexts (Giles, 2012 ).

The major theoretical foundation that has underpinned the intergroup perspective is social identity theory (Tajfel, 1982 ), which continues to service the field as a metatheory (Abrams & Hogg, 2004 ) alongside relatively more specialized theories such as ethnolinguistic identity theory (Harwood et al., 1994 ), communication accommodation theory (Palomares et al., 2016 ), and self-categorization theory applied to intergroup communication (Reid et al., 2005 ). Against this backdrop, this chapter will be less concerned with any particular social category of intergroup communication or variant of social identity theory, and more with developing a conceptual framework of looking at the language–power relationships and their implications for understanding intergroup communication. Readers interested in an intra- or interpersonal perspective may refer to the volume edited by Holtgraves ( 2014a ).

Conceptual Approaches to Power

Bertrand Russell, logician cum philosopher and social activist, published a relatively little-known book on power when World War II was looming large in Europe (Russell, 2004 ). In it he asserted the fundamental importance of the concept of power in the social sciences and likened its importance to the concept of energy in the physical sciences. But unlike physical energy, which can be defined in a formula (e.g., E=MC 2 ), social power has defied any such definition. This state of affairs is not unexpected because the very nature of (social) power is elusive. Foucault ( 1979 , p. 92) has put it this way: “Power is everywhere, not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere.” This view is not beyond criticism but it does highlight the elusiveness of power. Power is also a value-laden concept meaning different things to different people. To functional theorists and power-wielders, power is “power to,” a responsibility to unite people and do good for all. To conflict theorists and those who are dominated, power is “power over,” which corrupts and is a source of social conflict rather than integration (Lenski, 1966 ; Sassenberg et al., 2014 ). These entrenched views surface in management–labor negotiations and political debates between government and opposition. Management and government would try to frame the negotiation in terms of “power to,” whereas labor and opposition would try to frame the same in “power over” in a clash of power discourses. The two discourses also interchange when the same speakers reverse their power relations: While in opposition, politicians adhere to “power over” rhetorics, once in government, they talk “power to.” And vice versa.

The elusive and value-laden nature of power has led to a plurality of theoretical and conceptual approaches. Five approaches that are particularly pertinent to the language–power relationships will be discussed, and briefly so because of space limitation. One approach views power in terms of structural dominance in society by groups who own and/or control the economy, the government, and other social institutions. Another approach views power as the production of intended effects by overcoming resistance that arises from objective conflict of interests or from psychological reactance to being coerced, manipulated, or unfairly treated. A complementary approach, represented by Kurt Lewin’s field theory, takes the view that power is not the actual production of effects but the potential for doing this. It looks behind power to find out the sources or bases of this potential, which may stem from the power-wielders’ access to the means of punishment, reward, and information, as well as from their perceived expertise and legitimacy (Raven, 2008 ). A fourth approach views power in terms of the balance of control/dependence in the ongoing social exchange between two actors that takes place either in the absence or presence of third parties. It provides a structural account of power-balancing mechanisms in social networking (Emerson, 1962 ), and forms the basis for combining with symbolic interaction theory, which brings in subjective factors such as shared social cognition and affects for the analysis of power in interpersonal and intergroup negotiation (Stolte, 1987 ). The fifth, social identity approach digs behind the social exchange account, which has started from control/dependence as a given but has left it unexplained, to propose a three-process model of power emergence (Turner, 2005 ). According to this model, it is psychological group formation and associated group-based social identity that produce influence; influence then cumulates to form the basis of power, which in turn leads to the control of resources.

Common to the five approaches above is the recognition that power is dynamic in its usage and can transform from one form of power to another. Lukes ( 2005 ) has attempted to articulate three different forms or faces of power called “dimensions.” The first, behavioral dimension of power refers to decision-making power that is manifest in the open contest for dominance in situations of objective conflict of interests. Non-decision-making power, the second dimension, is power behind the scene. It involves the mobilization of organizational bias (e.g., agenda fixing) to keep conflict of interests from surfacing to become public issues and to deprive oppositions of a communication platform to raise their voices, thereby limiting the scope of decision-making to only “safe” issues that would not challenge the interests of the power-wielder. The third dimension is ideological and works by socializing people’s needs and values so that they want the wants and do the things wanted by the power-wielders, willingly as their own. Conflict of interests, opposition, and resistance would be absent from this form of power, not because they have been maneuvered out of the contest as in the case of non-decision-making power, but because the people who are subject to power are no longer aware of any conflict of interest in the power relationship, which may otherwise ferment opposition and resistance. Power in this form can be exercised without the application of coercion or reward, and without arousing perceived manipulation or conflict of interests.

Language–Power Relationships

As indicated in the chapter title, discussion will focus on the language–power relationships, and not on language alone or power alone, in intergroup communication. It draws from all the five approaches to power and can be grouped for discussion under the power behind language and the power of language. In the former, language is viewed as having no power of its own and yet can produce influence and control by revealing the power behind the speaker. Language also reflects the collective/historical power of the language community that uses it. In the case of modern English, its preeminent status as a global language and international lingua franca has shaped the communication between native and nonnative English speakers because of the power of the English-speaking world that it reflects, rather than because of its linguistic superiority. In both cases, language provides a widely used conventional means to transfer extralinguistic power to the communication context. Research on the power of language takes the view that language has power of its own. This power allows a language to maintain the power behind it, unite or divide a nation, and create influence.

In Figure 1 we have grouped the five language–power relationships into five boxes. Note that the boundary between any two boxes is not meant to be rigid but permeable. For example, by revealing the power behind a message (box 1), a message can create influence (box 5). As another example, language does not passively reflect the power of the language community that uses it (box 2), but also, through its spread to other language communities, generates power to maintain its preeminence among languages (box 3). This expansive process of language power can be seen in the rise of English to global language status. A similar expansive process also applies to a particular language style that first reflects the power of the language subcommunity who uses the style, and then, through its common acceptance and usage by other subcommunities in the country, maintains the power of the subcommunity concerned. A prime example of this type of expansive process is linguistic sexism, which reflects preexisting male dominance in society and then, through its common usage by both sexes, contributes to the maintenance of male dominance. Other examples are linguistic racism and the language style of the legal profession, each of which, like linguistic sexism and the preeminence of the English language worldwide, has considerable impact on individuals and society at large.

Space precludes a full discussion of all five language–power relationships. Instead, some of them will warrant only a brief mention, whereas others will be presented in greater detail. The complexity of the language–power relations and their cross-disciplinary ramifications will be evident in the multiple sets of interrelated literatures that we cite from. These include the social psychology of language and communication, critical language studies (Fairclough, 1989 ), sociolinguistics (Kachru, 1992 ), and conversation analysis (Sacks et al., 1974 ).

Figure 1. Power behind language and power of language.

Power Behind Language

Language reveals power.

When negotiating with police, a gang may issue the threatening message, “Meet our demands, or we will shoot the hostages!” The threatening message may succeed in coercing the police to submit; its power, however, is more apparent than real because it is based on the guns gangsters posses. The message merely reveals the power of a weapon in their possession. Apart from revealing power, the gangsters may also cheat. As long as the message comes across as credible and convincing enough to arouse overwhelming fear, it would allow them to get away with their demands without actually possessing any weapon. In this case, 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. The literature on linguistic deception illustrates the widespread deceptive use of language-reveals-power to produce intended effects despite resistance (Robinson, 1996 ).

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. Francophone Canadians, though fewer than Anglophone Canadians overall, are concentrated in Quebec to give them the power of numbers there. Similarly, ethnic minorities in mainland China have considerable power of numbers in those autonomous regions where they are concentrated, such as Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang. Collectively, these factors form the demographic base of the language community’s ethnolinguistic vitality, an index of the community’s relative linguistic dominance. Another base of ethnolinguistic vitality is institutional representations of the language community in government, legislatures, education, religion, the media, and so forth, which afford its members institutional leadership, influence, and control. Such institutional representation is often reinforced by a language policy that installs the language as the nation’s sole official language. The third base of ethnolinguistic vitality comprises sociohistorical and cultural status of the language community inside the nation and internationally. In short, the dominant language of a nation is one that comes from and reflects the high ethnolinguistic vitality of its language community.

An important finding of ethnolinguistic vitality research is that it is perceived vitality, and not so much its objective demographic-institutional-cultural strengths, that influences language behavior in interpersonal and intergroup contexts. Interestingly, the visibility and salience of languages shown on public and commercial signs, referred to as the “linguistic landscape,” serve important informational and symbolic functions as a marker of their relative vitality, which in turn affects the use of in-group language in institutional settings (Cenoz & Gorter, 2006 ; Landry & Bourhis, 1997 ).

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 ). The emergent wealth and power of these nations has maintained English despite the decline of the British Empire after World War II. In the post-War era, English has become internationalized with the support of an “outer circle” nations and, later, through its spread to “expanding circle” nations. Outer circle nations are made up mostly of former British colonies such as India, Pakistan, and Nigeria. In compliance with colonial language policies that institutionalized English as the new colonial national language, a sizeable proportion of the colonial populations has learned and continued using English over generations, thereby vastly increasing the number of English speakers over and above those in the inner circle nations. The expanding circle encompasses nations where English has played no historical government roles, but which are keen to appropriate English as the preeminent foreign language for local purposes such as national development, internationalization of higher education, and participation in globalization (e.g., China, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Egypt, Israel, and continental Europe).

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. English native speakers can now follow the worldwide English language track to find jobs overseas without having to learn the local language and may instead enjoy a competitive language advantage where the job requires English proficiency. This situation is a far cry from the colonial era when similar advantages had to come under political patronage. Alongside English native speakers who work overseas benefitting from the preeminence of English over other languages, a new phenomenon of outsourcing international call centers away from the United Kingdom and the United States has emerged (Friginal, 2007 ). Callers can find the information or help they need from people stationed in remote places such as India or the Philippines where English has penetrated.

As English spreads worldwide, it has also become the major international lingua franca, serving some 800 million multilinguals in Asia alone, and numerous others elsewhere (Bolton, 2008 ). The practical importance of this phenomenon and its impact on English vocabulary, grammar, and accent have led to the emergence of a new field of research called “English as a lingua franca” (Brosch, 2015 ). The twin developments of World Englishes and lingua franca English raise interesting and important research questions. A vast area of research lies in waiting.

Several lines of research suggest themselves from an intergroup communication perspective. How communicatively effective are English native speakers who are international civil servants in organizations such as the UN and WTO, where they habitually speak as if they were addressing their fellow natives without accommodating to the international audience? Another line of research is lingua franca English communication between two English nonnative speakers. Their common use of English signals a joint willingness of linguistic accommodation, motivated more by communication efficiency of getting messages across and less by concerns of their respective ethnolinguistic identities. An intergroup communication perspective, however, would sensitize researchers to social identity processes and nonaccommodation behaviors underneath lingua franca communication. For example, two nationals from two different countries, X and Y, communicating with each other in English are accommodating on the language level; at the same time they may, according to communication accommodation theory, use their respective X English and Y English for asserting their ethnolinguistic distinctiveness whilst maintaining a surface appearance of accommodation. There are other possibilities. According to a survey of attitudes toward English accents, attachment to “standard” native speaker models remains strong among nonnative English speakers in many countries (Jenkins, 2009 ). This suggests that our hypothetical X and Y may, in addition to asserting their respective Englishes, try to outperform one another in speaking with overcorrect standard English accents, not so much because they want to assert their respective ethnolinguistic identities, but because they want to project a common in-group identity for positive social comparison—“We are all English-speakers but I am a better one than you!”

Many countries in the expanding circle nations are keen to appropriate English for local purposes, encouraging their students and especially their educational elites to learn English as a foreign language. A prime example is the Learn-English Movement in China. It has affected generations of students and teachers over the past 30 years and consumed a vast amount of resources. The results are mixed. Even more disturbing, discontents and backlashes have emerged from anti-English Chinese motivated to protect the vitality and cultural values of the Chinese language (Sun et al., 2016 ). The power behind and reflected in modern English has widespread and far-reaching consequences in need of more systematic research.

Power of Language

Language maintains existing dominance.

Language maintains and reproduces existing dominance in three different ways represented respectively by the ascent of English, linguistic sexism, and legal language style. For reasons already noted, English has become a global language, an international lingua franca, and an indispensable medium for nonnative English speaking countries to participate in the globalized world. Phillipson ( 2009 ) referred to this phenomenon as “linguistic imperialism.” It is ironic that as the spread of English has increased the extent of multilingualism of non-English-speaking nations, English native speakers in the inner circle of nations have largely remained English-only. This puts pressure on the rest of the world to accommodate them in English, the widespread use of which maintains its preeminence among languages.

A language evolves and changes to adapt to socially accepted word meanings, grammatical rules, accents, and other manners of speaking. What is acceptable or unacceptable reflects common usage and hence the numerical influence of users, but also the elites’ particular language preferences and communication styles. Research on linguistic sexism has shown, for example, a man-made language such as English (there are many others) is imbued with sexist words and grammatical rules that reflect historical male dominance in society. Its uncritical usage routinely by both sexes in daily life has in turn naturalized male dominance and associated sexist inequalities (Spender, 1998 ). Similar other examples are racist (Reisigl & Wodak, 2005 ) and ageist (Ryan et al., 1995 ) language styles.

Professional languages are made by and for particular professions such as the legal profession (Danet, 1980 ; Mertz et al., 2016 ; O’Barr, 1982 ). The legal language is used not only among members of the profession, but also with the general public, who may know each and every word in a legal document but are still unable to decipher its meaning. Through its language, the legal profession maintains its professional dominance with the complicity of the general public, who submits to the use of the language and accedes to the profession’s authority in interpreting its meanings in matters relating to their legal rights and obligations. Communication between lawyers and their “clients” is not only problematic, but the public’s continual dependence on the legal language contributes to the maintenance of the dominance of the profession.

Language Unites and Divides a Nation

A nation of many peoples who, despite their diverse cultural and ethnic background, all speak in the same tongue and write in the same script would reap the benefit of the unifying power of a common language. The power of the language to unite peoples would be stronger if it has become part of their common national identity and contributed to its vitality and psychological distinctiveness. Such power has often been seized upon by national leaders and intellectuals to unify their countries and serve other nationalistic purposes (Patten, 2006 ). In China, for example, Emperor Qin Shi Huang standardized the Chinese script ( hanzi ) as an important part of the reforms to unify the country after he had defeated the other states and brought the Warring States Period ( 475–221 bc ) to an end. A similar reform of language standardization was set in motion soon after the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty ( ad 1644–1911 ), by simplifying some of the hanzi and promoting Putonghua as the national standard oral language. In the postcolonial part of the world, language is often used to service nationalism by restoring the official status of their indigenous language as the national language whilst retaining the colonial language or, in more radical cases of decolonization, relegating the latter to nonofficial status. Yet language is a two-edged sword: It can also divide a nation. The tension can be seen in competing claims to official-language status made by minority language communities, protest over maintenance of minority languages, language rights at schools and in courts of law, bilingual education, and outright language wars (Calvet, 1998 ; DeVotta, 2004 ).

Language Creates Influence

In this section we discuss the power of language to create influence through single words and more complex linguistic structures ranging from oratories and conversations to narratives/stories.

Power of Single Words

Learning a language empowers humans to master an elaborate system of conventions and the associations between words and their sounds on the one hand, and on the other hand, categories of objects and relations to which they refer. After mastering the referential meanings of words, a person can mentally access the objects and relations simply by hearing or reading the words. Apart from their referential meanings, words also have connotative meanings with their own social-cognitive consequences. Together, these social-cognitive functions underpin the power of single words that has been extensively studied in metaphors, which is a huge research area that crosses disciplinary boundaries and probes into the inner workings of the brain (Benedek et al., 2014 ; Landau et al., 2014 ; Marshal et al., 2007 ). The power of single words extends beyond metaphors. It can be seen in misleading words in leading questions (Loftus, 1975 ), concessive connectives that reverse expectations from real-world knowledge (Xiang & Kuperberg, 2014 ), verbs that attribute implicit causality to either verb subject or object (Hartshorne & Snedeker, 2013 ), “uncertainty terms” that hedge potentially face-threatening messages (Holtgraves, 2014b ), and abstract words that signal power (Wakslak et al., 2014 ).

The literature on the power of single words has rarely been applied to intergroup communication, with the exception of research arising from the linguistic category model (e.g., Semin & Fiedler, 1991 ). The model distinguishes among descriptive action verbs (e.g., “hits”), interpretative action verbs (e.g., “hurts”) and state verbs (e.g., “hates”), which increase in abstraction in that order. Sentences made up of abstract verbs convey more information about the protagonist, imply greater temporal and cross-situational stability, and are more difficult to disconfirm. The use of abstract language to represent a particular behavior will attribute the behavior to the protagonist rather than the situation and the resulting image of the protagonist will persist despite disconfirming information, whereas the use of concrete language will attribute the same behavior more to the situation and the resulting image of the protagonist will be easier to change. According to the linguistic intergroup bias model (Maass, 1999 ), abstract language will be used to represent positive in-group and negative out-group behaviors, whereas concrete language will be used to represent negative in-group and positive out-group behaviors. The combined effects of the differential use of abstract and concrete language would, first, lead to biased attribution (explanation) of behavior privileging the in-group over the out-group, and second, perpetuate the prejudiced intergroup stereotypes. More recent research has shown that linguistic intergroup bias varies with the power differential between groups—it is stronger in high and low power groups than in equal power groups (Rubini et al., 2007 ).

Oratorical Power

A charismatic speaker may, by the sheer force of oratory, buoy up people’s hopes, convert their hearts from hatred to forgiveness, or embolden them to take up arms for a cause. One may recall moving speeches (in English) such as Susan B. Anthony’s “On Women’s Right to Vote,” Winston Churchill’s “We Shall Fight on the Beaches,” Mahatma Gandhi’s “Quit India,” or Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream.” The speech may be delivered face-to-face to an audience, or broadcast over the media. The discussion below focuses on face-to-face oratories in political meetings.

Oratorical power may be measured in terms of money donated or pledged to the speaker’s cause, or, in a religious sermon, the number of converts made. Not much research has been reported on these topics. Another measurement approach is to count the frequency of online audience responses that a speech has generated, usually but not exclusively in the form of applause. Audience applause can be measured fairly objectively in terms of frequency, length, or loudness, and collected nonobtrusively from a public recording of the meeting. Audience applause affords researchers the opportunity to explore communicative and social psychological processes that underpin some aspects of the power of rhetorical formats. Note, however, that not all incidences of audience applause are valid measures of the power of rhetoric. A valid incidence should be one that is invited by the speaker and synchronized with the flow of the speech, occurring at the appropriate time and place as indicated by the rhetorical format. Thus, an uninvited incidence of applause would not count, nor is one that is invited but has occurred “out of place” (too soon or too late). Furthermore, not all valid incidences are theoretically informative to the same degree. An isolated applause from just a handful of the audience, though valid and in the right place, has relatively little theoretical import for understanding the power of rhetoric compared to one that is made by many acting in unison as a group. When the latter occurs, it would be a clear indication of the power of rhetorically formulated speech. Such positive audience response constitutes the most direct and immediate means by which an audience can display its collective support for the speaker, something which they would not otherwise show to a speech of less power. To influence and orchestrate hundreds and thousands of people in the audience to precisely coordinate their response to applaud (and cheer) together as a group at the right time and place is no mean feat. Such a feat also influences the wider society through broadcast on television and other news and social media. The combined effect could be enormous there and then, and its downstream influence far-reaching, crossing country boarders and inspiring generations to come.

To accomplish the feat, an orator has to excite the audience to applaud, build up the excitement to a crescendo, and simultaneously cue the audience to synchronize their outburst of stored-up applause with the ongoing speech. Rhetorical formats that aid the orator to accomplish the dual functions include contrast, list, puzzle solution, headline-punchline, position-taking, and pursuit (Heritage & Greatbatch, 1986 ). To illustrate, we cite the contrast and list formats.

A contrast, or antithesis, is made up of binary schemata such as “too much” and “too little.” Heritage and Greatbatch ( 1986 , p. 123) reported the following example:

Governments will argue that resources are not available to help disabled people. The fact is that too much is spent on the munitions of war, and too little is spent on the munitions of peace [italics added]. As the audience is familiar with the binary schema of “too much” and “too little” they can habitually match the second half of the contrast against the first half. This decoding process reinforces message comprehension and helps them to correctly anticipate and applaud at the completion point of the contrast. In the example quoted above, the speaker micropaused for 0.2 seconds after the second word “spent,” at which point the audience began to applaud in anticipation of the completion point of the contrast, and applauded more excitedly upon hearing “. . . on the munitions of peace.” The applause continued and lasted for 9.2 long seconds.

A list is usually made up of a series of three parallel words, phrases or clauses. “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” is a fine example, as is Obama’s “It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day , in this election , at this defining moment , change has come to America!” (italics added) The three parts in the list echo one another, step up the argument and its corresponding excitement in the audience as they move from one part to the next. The third part projects a completion point to cue the audience to get themselves ready to display their support via applause, cheers, and so forth. In a real conversation this juncture is called a “transition-relevance place,” at which point a conversational partner (hearer) may take up a turn to speak. A skilful orator will micropause at that juncture to create a conversational space for the audience to take up their turn in applauding and cheering as a group.

As illustrated by the two examples above, speaker and audience collaborate to transform an otherwise monological speech into a quasiconversation, turning a passive audience into an active supportive “conversational” partner who, by their synchronized responses, reduces the psychological separation from the speaker and emboldens the latter’s self-confidence. Through such enjoyable and emotional participation collectively, an audience made up of formerly unconnected individuals with no strong common group identity may henceforth begin to feel “we are all one.” According to social identity theory and related theories (van Zomeren et al., 2008 ), the emergent group identity, politicized in the process, will in turn provide a social psychological base for collective social action. This process of identity making in the audience is further strengthened by the speaker’s frequent use of “we” as a first person, plural personal pronoun.

Conversational Power

A conversation is a speech exchange system in which the length and order of speaking turns have not been preassigned but require coordination on an utterance-by-utterance basis between two or more individuals. It differs from other speech exchange systems in which speaking turns have been preassigned and/or monitored by a third party, for example, job interviews and debate contests. Turn-taking, because of its centrality to conversations and the important theoretical issues that it raises for social coordination and implicit conversational conventions, has been the subject of extensive research and theorizing (Goodwin & Heritage, 1990 ; Grice, 1975 ; Sacks et al., 1974 ). Success at turn-taking is a key part of the conversational process leading to influence. A person who cannot do this is in no position to influence others in and through conversations, which are probably the most common and ubiquitous form of human social interaction. Below we discuss studies of conversational power based on conversational turns and applied to leader emergence in group and intergroup settings. These studies, as they unfold, link conversation analysis with social identity theory and expectation states theory (Berger et al., 1974 ).

A conversational turn in hand allows the speaker to influence others in two important ways. First, through current-speaker-selects-next the speaker can influence who will speak next and, indirectly, increases the probability that he or she will regain the turn after the next. A common method for selecting the next speaker is through tag questions. The current speaker (A) may direct a tag question such as “Ya know?” or “Don’t you agree?” to a particular hearer (B), which carries the illocutionary force of selecting the addressee to be the next speaker and, simultaneously, restraining others from self-selecting. The A 1 B 1 sequence of exchange has been found to have a high probability of extending into A 1 B 1 A 2 in the next round of exchange, followed by its continuation in the form of A 1 B 1 A 2 B 2 . For example, in a six-member group, the A 1 B 1 →A 1 B 1 A 2 sequence of exchange has more than 50% chance of extending to the A 1 B 1 A 2 B 2 sequence, which is well above chance level, considering that there are four other hearers who could intrude at either the A 2 or B 2 slot of turn (Stasser & Taylor, 1991 ). Thus speakership not only offers the current speaker the power to select the next speaker twice, but also to indirectly regain a turn.

Second, a turn in hand provides the speaker with an opportunity to exercise topic control. He or she can exercise non-decision-making power by changing an unfavorable or embarrassing topic to a safer one, thereby silencing or preventing it from reaching the “floor.” Conversely, he or she can exercise decision-making power by continuing or raising a topic that is favorable to self. Or the speaker can move on to talk about an innocuous topic to ease tension in the group.

Bales ( 1950 ) has studied leader emergence in groups made up of unacquainted individuals in situations where they have to bid or compete for speaking turns. Results show that individuals who talk the most have a much better chance of becoming leaders. Depending on the social orientations of their talk, they would be recognized as a task or relational leader. Subsequent research on leader emergence has shown that an even better behavioral predictor than volume of talk is the number of speaking turns. An obvious reason for this is that the volume of talk depends on the number of turns—it usually accumulates across turns, rather than being the result of a single extraordinary long turn of talk. Another reason is that more turns afford the speaker more opportunities to realize the powers of turns that have been explicated above. Group members who become leaders are the ones who can penetrate the complex, on-line conversational system to obtain a disproportionately large number of speaking turns by perfect timing at “transition-relevance places” to self-select as the next speaker or, paradoxical as it may seem, constructive interruptions (Ng et al., 1995 ).

More recent research has extended the experimental study of group leadership to intergroup contexts, where members belonging to two groups who hold opposing stances on a social or political issue interact within and also between groups. The results showed, first, that speaking turns remain important in leader emergence, but the intergroup context now generates social identity and self-categorization processes that selectively privilege particular forms of speech. What potential leaders say, and not only how many speaking turns they have gained, becomes crucial in conveying to group members that they are prototypical members of their group. Prototypical communication is enacted by adopting an accent, choosing code words, and speaking in a tone that characterize the in-group; above all, it is enacted through the content of utterances to represent or exemplify the in-group position. Such prototypical utterances that are directed successfully at the out-group correlate strongly with leader emergence (Reid & Ng, 2000 ). These out-group-directed prototypical utterances project an in-group identity that is psychologically distinctive from the out-group for in-group members to feel proud of and to rally together when debating with the out-group.

Building on these experimental results Reid and Ng ( 2003 ) developed a social identity theory of leadership to account for the emergence and maintenance of intergroup leadership, grounding it in case studies of the intergroup communication strategies that brought Ariel Sharon and John Howard to power in Israel and Australia, respectively. In a later development, the social identity account was fused with expectation states theory to explain how group processes collectively shape the behavior of in-group members to augment the prototypical communication behavior of the emergent leader (Reid & Ng, 2006 ). Specifically, when conversational influence gained through prototypical utterances culminates to form an incipient power hierarchy, group members develop expectations of who is and will be leading the group. Acting on these tacit expectations they collectively coordinate the behavior of each other to conform with the expectations by granting incipient leaders more speaking turns and supporting them with positive audience responses. In this way, group members collectively amplify the influence of incipient leaders and jointly propel them to leadership roles (see also Correll & Ridgeway, 2006 ). In short, the emergence of intergroup leaders is a joint process of what they do individually and what group members do collectively, enabled by speaking turns and mediated by social identity and expectation states processes. In a similar vein, Hogg ( 2014 ) has developed a social identity account of leadership in intergroup settings.

Narrative Power

Narratives and stories are closely related and are sometimes used interchangeably. However, it is useful to distinguish a narrative from a story and from other related terms such as discourse and frames. A story is a sequence of related events in the past recounted for rhetorical or ideological purposes, whereas a narrative is a coherent system of interrelated and sequentially organized stories formed by incorporating new stories and relating them to others so as to provide an ongoing basis for interpreting events, envisioning an ideal future, and motivating and justifying collective actions (Halverson et al., 2011 ). The temporal dimension and sense of movement in a narrative also distinguish it from discourse and frames. According to Miskimmon, O’Loughlin, and Roselle ( 2013 ), discourses are the raw material of communication that actors plot into a narrative, and frames are the acts of selecting and highlighting some events or issues to promote a particular interpretation, evaluation, and solution. Both discourse and frame lack the temporal and causal transformation of a narrative.

Pitching narratives at the suprastory level and stressing their temporal and transformational movements allows researchers to take a structurally more systemic and temporally more expansive view than traditional research on propaganda wars between nations, religions, or political systems (Halverson et al., 2011 ; Miskimmon et al., 2013 ). Schmid ( 2014 ) has provided an analysis of al-Qaeda’s “compelling narrative that authorizes its strategy, justifies its violent tactics, propagates its ideology and wins new recruits.” According to this analysis, the chief message of the narrative is “the West is at war with Islam,” a strategic communication that is fundamentally intergroup in both structure and content. The intergroup structure of al-Qaeda narrative includes the rhetorical constructions that there are a group grievance inflicted on Muslims by a Zionist–Christian alliance, a vision of the good society (under the Caliphate and sharia), and a path from grievance to the realization of the vision led by al-Qaeda in a violent jihad to eradicate Western influence in the Muslim world. The al-Qaeda narrative draws support not only from traditional Arab and Muslim cultural narratives interpreted to justify its unorthodox means (such as attacks against women and children), but also from pre-existing anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism propagated by some Arab governments, Soviet Cold War propaganda, anti-Western sermons by Muslim clerics, and the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians. It is deeply embedded in culture and history, and has reached out to numerous Muslims who have emigrated to the West.

The intergroup content of al-Qaeda narrative was shown in a computer-aided content analysis of 18 representative transcripts of propaganda speeches released between 2006–2011 by al-Qaeda leaders, totaling over 66,000 words (Cohen et al., 2016 ). As part of the study, an “Ideology Extraction using Linguistic Extremization” (IELEX) categorization scheme was developed for mapping the content of the corpus, which revealed 19 IELEX rhetorical categories referring to either the out-group/enemy or the in-group/enemy victims. The out-group/enemy was represented by four categories such as “The enemy is extremely negative (bloodthirsty, vengeful, brainwashed, etc.)”; whereas the in-group/enemy victims were represented by more categories such as “we are entirely innocent/good/virtuous.” The content of polarized intergroup stereotypes, demonizing “them” and glorifying “us,” echoes other similar findings (Smith et al., 2008 ), as well as the general finding of intergroup stereotyping in social psychology (Yzerbyt, 2016 ).

The success of the al-Qaeda narrative has alarmed various international agencies, individual governments, think tanks, and religious groups to spend huge sums of money on developing counternarratives that are, according to Schmid ( 2014 ), largely feeble. The so-called “global war on terror” has failed in its effort to construct effective counternarratives although al-Qaeda’s finance, personnel, and infrastructure have been much weakened. Ironically, it has developed into a narrative of its own, not so much for countering external extremism, but for promoting and justifying internal nationalistic extremist policies and influencing national elections. This reactive coradicalization phenomenon is spreading (Mink, 2015 ; Pratt, 2015 ; Reicher & Haslam, 2016 ).

Discussion and Future Directions

This chapter provides a systematic framework for understanding five language–power relationships, namely, language reveals power, reflects power, maintains existing dominance, unites and divides a nation, and creates influence. The first two relationships are derived from the power behind language and the last three from the power of language. Collectively they provide a relatively comprehensible framework for understanding the relationships between language and power, and not simply for understanding language alone or power alone separated from one another. The language–power relationships are dynamically interrelated, one influencing the other, and each can draw from an array of the cognitive, communicative, social, and identity functions of language. The framework is applicable to both interpersonal and intergroup contexts of communication, although for present purposes the latter has been highlighted. Among the substantive issues discussed in this chapter, English as a global language, oratorical and narrative power, and intergroup leadership stand out as particularly important for political and theoretical reasons.

In closing, we note some of the gaps that need to be filled and directions for further research. When discussing the powers of language to maintain and reflect existing dominance, we have omitted the countervailing power of language to resist or subvert existing dominance and, importantly, to create social change for the collective good. Furthermore, in this age of globalization and its discontents, English as a global language will increasingly be resented for its excessive unaccommodating power despite tangible lingua franca English benefits, and challenged by the expanding ethnolinguistic vitality of peoples who speak Arabic, Chinese, or Spanish. Internet communication is no longer predominantly in English, but is rapidly diversifying to become the modern Tower of Babel. And yet we have barely scratched the surface of these issues. Other glaring gaps include the omission of media discourse and recent developments in Corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis (Loring, 2016 ), as well as the lack of reference to languages other than English that may cast one or more of the language–power relationships in a different light.

One of the main themes of this chapter—that the diverse language–power relationships are dynamically interrelated—clearly points to the need for greater theoretical fertilization across cognate disciplines. Our discussion of the three powers of language (boxes 3–5 in Figure 1 ) clearly points in this direction, most notably in the case of the powers of language to create influence through single words, oratories, conversations, and narratives, but much more needs to be done. The social identity approach will continue to serve as a meta theory of intergroup communication. To the extent that intergroup communication takes place in an existing power relation and that the changes that it seeks are not simply a more positive or psychologically distinctive social identity but greater group power and a more powerful social identity, the social identity approach has to incorporate power in its application to intergroup communication.

THE POWER OF WORDS

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The Impact of Language: The Power and Evolution of Words

1. introduction.

Language is a means of communication; it contains different elements pertaining to grammar, syntax, and semantics. It is a vital attribute an individual possesses, which serves as a tool for communicating ideas, thoughts and feelings. Words are stringed together to form sentences, phrases, and orations. Language is complex because of how different elements are combined. Its components are difficult to keep track of; this is why this essay will only focus on the power and evolution of words.

1.1. Definition of Language

Human beings are embodied creatures who are constituted by language, and are subsequently affected by it. Language is by far the most common way humans communicate, and understanding the intricacies of it is essential. The English definition of a language is: "the system of communication in speech and writing". But the question is: how accurate is this definition? For the fact of the matter is that a language is so much more than a tool used to communicate. For a language is a system of connections and unifications; language allows information to be exchanged, emotions to be expressed and relationships to be formed. And as such, a language is a resource, it is knowledge, it is a power.

1.2. Importance of Language in Communication

Language is paramount in understanding and being able to communicate with each other. It assists in the transmission of thoughts, emotions, and ideas. In other words, language allows us to express qualities and emotions of other individuals. Whether spoken or written, language enables us to connect, express, and understand the world. However, in order to communicate effectively, specific guidelines must be followed. Examples of these are sentence structure, correct pronunciation, or grammar. Incorrect language usage might lead to ambiguities or misunderstandings, which could ruin, exacerbate or postpone conversations or deal-making. Therefore, when managing language and communication, a clear agreement must be communicated.

2. The Power of Words

The examples that we have listed earlier only scratch the surface of the power that words can hold. In the following paragraph, we shall deal with a personal story. It is important because it provides a different perspective. Throughout most of his life, the author considered that the aforementioned examples aptly summarized the diverse ways in which words influence people. However, it was only until two years ago that his perspectives changed.

2.1. Words as Tools of Influence

The usage by people of words such as "love", "hate" and "war" not only influence their behaviour and thoughts, but also the behaviour and thoughts of others who receive the words. Any attempt by one person to influence another person's behaviour produces words. An obvious example is when a person overtly attempts to influence another person by giving them advice, instructions or putting forward a reasoned argument. However the use of other non-verbal sign systems such as writing or electronic communication are also attempts to influence the behaviour of others. The content or style of public speech, media and that of another person's speech have the power to influence the thoughts and so the subsequent behaviour of receivers. Thus, even if a direct influence on another person's immediate behaviour is not intended there is often an indirect influence in the form of a change in the thoughts of the receiver caused by exposure to words. The influence on thoughts and behaviour by words can therefore be understood to have as its basis the human "need" for signs. Note that any attempt by one person to influence another person's behaviour produces signs.

2.2. Words as Catalysts for Change

The study focuses on specific words and their power mean designed mainly to realize an impact. As such, the numerous ways words have been used to create change will be looked at in comparison. Common strategies that will be included in the essay are words in campaigns for social change, slogans and catchphrases, and political addresses among others.

2.3. Words as Weapons of Destruction

Words have also served as destructive forces since the dawn of mankind. Some may argue this capacity for harm has been ever present, just witness to the histories of propaganda and hate speech. While some people are careful to remember the prescription of 'sticks and stones...', it is without doubt that words can cause harm. This paper will investigate into how words can be intentionally used to manipulate and destroy lives, and also the power that words have in inducing great, social change when used to criticise and condemn past instances of systematic and pervasive institutional abuse. Technical terms, such as 'deontic modality' and 'speech acts', will be defined to demonstrate how they are used by persons and institutions to distort discussion and supress it, and other such tools to intentionally distort discussions and prevent those who have committed wrongful acts to be brought to justice.

3. The Evolution of Language

It is widely understood that the evolution of language is driven by the need to communicate. The desire of man is to communicate and express his needs and thoughts led to the development of language. The oldest language in the world is said to be Sanskrit, which means many of the languages of the world developed from it. Basque is another language, which is known to share no common ancestry with any other language in the world. This language has prehistoric origins and till today is spoken by the people living in the Basque region, although its use is not very widespread. There are many more languages which have developed over the years and that reveal an interesting tale in history. The migration of people or voyages undertaken in the quest of exploring the unknown territories were the reasons which put forth a few languages as extinct or endangered. Also, it is seen that the fast disappearing animals species not only take with them their species, but also some languages and culture. Technology is also playing a key role with the increased amount of intermingling of populations due to travel and globalization. It is becoming important to understand and learn languages of different foreign nationals. Entering an era of business and education, the choice is becoming limited with the need to learn commonly spoken language spoken for instance, Spanish as compared to the rare ones. So surely, Science and technology is seen to be affecting the world in a totally different way and has recognized another aspect in which it would progress.

3.1. Historical Development of Language

The development of language is thought to have been an unexpected and major outcome of early man's use of unarticulated sounds to communicate. It is believed that people began using language to communicate around 100,000 years ago, during the Middle Stone Age. In prehistoric times, it is believed that language developed independently in different regions of the world. This independent development of language is supported by studying the languages which are spoken today by different tribes in Africa, the Australian aborigines and aborigines of South America. These tribal languages have sounds which are not heard in other tribal languages. The languages also have words which are similar to one another, this theory suggests that as people migrated out of Africa and into the rest of the world, the sounds used in the languages changed, but words used in the conversation between the tribes stayed the same.

3.2. Modern Changes in Language

A further significant change, particularly in England and the United States, is the split between spoken and written language. For most of history, spoken and written language was much more similar than they are today. As such, the rules of spelling and grammar changed over time to adapt to these changes. As late as the 17th century, it was common for people to simply write down whatever they said, as whatever communication was intended for was spoken rather than read. By contrast, Shakespeare himself spelt his name in over 80 different forms, ranging from “Shakspeare” to “Shakespear”, and “Shakespeare”, which is the accepted form in modern times.

3.3. Impact of Technology on Language

Although, the evolution of language has always been subject to change and expansion, modern technology has forever altered language and has different between how language evolves today in comparison to our generation. Social media and mainstream television have impacted language more so than the printing press or Morse code ever did. This is because language evolution was a result of physical necessity and new discoveries. New words were added as a result of these discoveries and language evolution was traditionally linear; from a to b to c. Technology, on the other hand, encourages words to have several meanings and interpretations. The language evolution had a set pattern: from both speaker and listener and writer and reader. Technology has changed this age old tradition.

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Power Verbs for Essays (With Examples)

The ProWritingAid Team

Adding power verbs to your academic paper will improve your reader’s experience and bring more impact to the arguments you make.

While the arguments themselves are the most important elements of any successful academic paper, the structure of those arguments and the language that is used influence how the paper is received.

Academic papers have strict formal rules, but as long as these are followed, there is still plenty of scope to make the key points of the paper stand out through effective use of language and more specifically, the effective use of power verbs.

Power verbs are verbs that indicate action and have a more positive and confident tone. Using them brings strength and confidence to the arguments you are making, while also bringing variation to your sentences and making your writing more interesting to the reader.

The best academic papers will use such verbs to support their arguments or concepts, so it is important that your paper contains at least three power verbs.

ProWritingAid will check your writing for power verbs and will notify you if you have less than three throughout your whole academic paper.

Power Verbs Boost Ideas

Examples of power verbs.

Academic papers of all disciplines are often filled with overlong and complicated sentences that are attempting to convey specific ideas and concepts. Active and powerful verbs are useful both to the reader and the author of the paper.

For the reader who is trying to tackle these ideas and concepts, the power verbs provide clarity and purpose. Compare the following sentences:

This paper will say that there were two reasons for the start of the civil war.
This paper asserts that there were two reasons for the start of the civil war.

Clearly the second sentence is more confident, direct, and authoritative because it has replaced the dull ‘says’ with ‘asserts.’ For the writer, the power verb expresses confidence in the idea being presented.

The following are examples of power verbs that are useful in academic writing, both for supporting an argument and for allowing you to vary the language you use.

Power Verbs for Analysis: appraise, define, diagnose, examine, explore, identify, interpret, investigate, observe.

Power Verbs to Introduce a Topic: investigate, outline, survey, question, feature.

Power Verbs to Agree with Existing Studies: indicate, suggest, confirm, corroborate, underline, identify, impart, maintain, substantiate, support, validate, acknowledge, affirm, assert.

Power Verbs to Disagree with Existing Studies: reject, disprove, debunk, question, challenge, invalidate, refute, deny, dismiss, disregard, object to, oppose.

Power Verbs to Infer: extract, approximate, surmise, deduce.

Power Verbs for Cause and Effect : impacts, compels, generates, incites, influences, initiates, prompts, stimulates, provokes, launches, introduces, advances.

Legal Power Verbs: sanctions, consents, endorses, disallows, outlaws, prohibits, precludes, protects, bans, licenses, authorizes.

Power Verbs that Say: convey, comment, state, establish, elaborate, identify, propose.

Power Verbs that Show: reveal, display, highlight, depict, portray, illustrate.

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Importance Of Reading Essay

Importance of Reading Essay

500+ words essay on reading.

Reading is a key to learning. It’s a skill that everyone should develop in their life. The ability to read enables us to discover new facts and opens the door to a new world of ideas, stories and opportunities. We can gather ample information and use it in the right direction to perform various tasks in our life. The habit of reading also increases our knowledge and makes us more intellectual and sensible. With the help of this essay on the Importance of Reading, we will help you know the benefits of reading and its various advantages in our life. Students must go through this essay in detail, as it will help them to create their own essay based on this topic.

Importance of Reading

Reading is one of the best hobbies that one can have. It’s fun to read different types of books. By reading the books, we get to know the people of different areas around the world, different cultures, traditions and much more. There is so much to explore by reading different books. They are the abundance of knowledge and are best friends of human beings. We get to know about every field and area by reading books related to it. There are various types of books available in the market, such as science and technology books, fictitious books, cultural books, historical events and wars related books etc. Also, there are many magazines and novels which people can read anytime and anywhere while travelling to utilise their time effectively.

Benefits of Reading for Students

Reading plays an important role in academics and has an impactful influence on learning. Researchers have highlighted the value of developing reading skills and the benefits of reading to children at an early age. Children who cannot read well at the end of primary school are less likely to succeed in secondary school and, in adulthood, are likely to earn less than their peers. Therefore, the focus is given to encouraging students to develop reading habits.

Reading is an indispensable skill. It is fundamentally interrelated to the process of education and to students achieving educational success. Reading helps students to learn how to use language to make sense of words. It improves their vocabulary, information-processing skills and comprehension. Discussions generated by reading in the classroom can be used to encourage students to construct meanings and connect ideas and experiences across texts. They can use their knowledge to clear their doubts and understand the topic in a better way. The development of good reading habits and skills improves students’ ability to write.

In today’s world of the modern age and digital era, people can easily access resources online for reading. The online books and availability of ebooks in the form of pdf have made reading much easier. So, everyone should build this habit of reading and devote at least 30 minutes daily. If someone is a beginner, then they can start reading the books based on the area of their interest. By doing so, they will gradually build up a habit of reading and start enjoying it.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Importance of Reading Essay

What is the importance of reading.

1. Improves general knowledge 2. Expands attention span/vocabulary 3. Helps in focusing better 4. Enhances language proficiency

What is the power of reading?

1. Develop inference 2. Improves comprehension skills 3. Cohesive learning 4. Broadens knowledge of various topics

How can reading change a student’s life?

1. Empathy towards others 2. Acquisition of qualities like kindness, courtesy

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Essay on Knowledge is Power: Samples in 100, 200, 300 Words

Updated on
Dec 15, 2023

‘ Knowledge is power’ phrase is derived from a Latin term, which is attributed to Sir Francis Bacon, a well-known essayist of all times. Knowledge is power has been accepted widely and timelessly as it underscores the significance of knowledge in empowering people, societies and countries .

Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.’ Knowledge not only improves a person’s understanding of the world but also teaches them life lessons to develop decision-making skills and contribute to the betterment of society. Below we have discussed some essays on knowledge is power in different word limits.

Table of Contents

1 Essay on Knowledge is Power in 100 Words
2 Essay on Knowledge is Power in 200 Words
3 Essay on Knowledge is Power in 300 Words

Also Read: Traditions and Celebrations for Christmas Around the World

Essay on Knowledge is Power in 100 Words

‘Knowledge is power’ is a timeless truth. A person with knowledge can empower himself to make informed decisions, enhance personal growth and contribute to the development of society. Knowledge equips us with effective tools to navigate the challenges of life and achieve our goals in real-time. The pursuit of knowledge is education. A person who is educated and has the right knowledge will find success in life.

The world we live in is driven by knowledge-based education and innovations. From agriculture to healthcare, every activity and field requires you to have proper knowledge and understanding of it. Whether it is at the individual level or global level, people who prioritize education and knowledge enjoy economic prosperity and influence.

Essay on Knowledge is Power in 200 Words

Knowledge is so powerful that it can reshape the entire world or destroy it, depending on the purpose for which it is used. The phrase, ‘Knowledge is Power’ was given by Sir Francis Bacon. With knowledge, one can have a profound impact on their life and the people surrounding it.

Knowledge emperors a person in various ways, from personal growth to changes at the global level. With knowledge, we gain new skills, insights and perspectives about a particular subject. This equips us to excel in our chosen field, pursue all our aspirations and fulfil our dream life.

A person with the right knowledge can make informed decisions. If you are someone who possesses broad knowledge about different subjects, it will be very easy for you to critically analyze any situation, weigh options and make choices that best suit your plans. This not only leads to better personal outcomes but also fosters a sense of autonomy and self-determination. Knowledge is considered as the driving force behind progress. Scientific discoveries, technological innovations, cultural evolution and social developments are all fueled by accumulated knowledge. A very classic example of this is the history of human civilization. We must use knowledge knowledge ethically and ensure its equitable distribution or access.

Also Read – Essay on Unity in Diversity

Essay on Knowledge is Power in 300 Words

Knowledge is deemed as the most powerful tool a human possesses. It is the cornerstone of power in our modern society. The universally acknowledged phrase ‘Knowledge is power’ highlights the profound impact knowledge has on individuals and society, and both.

The first thing to know about knowledge is that it is the key to personal development and empowerment. When a person acquires knowledge, they open doors to personal growth and development. Depending on the person’s expertise and field, this empowerment can come in various forms. I person with the right knowledge often finds himself confident, adaptable, and capable of overcoming obstacles in life.

Moreover, knowledge equips you to make informed decisions. We are living in a world which is driven by information. A person who is well-equipped with knowledge about his or her specific field can critically assess a situation, evaluate the options and make choices that best suit their individual needs and values. This not only enhances their personal lives but also fosters a sense of agency and self-determination.

Knowledge is the driving force behind progress, development and innovation. From the time of industrialization to the invention of the internet, knowledge has been the deciding factor for transformative change, improving the quality of life for countless individuals.

The importance of knowledge is not only limited to individual benefits of scientific discoveries. It also plays a critical role in a country’s governance. It allows you to make informed political decisions, and actively participate in the democratic process. In this way, knowledge serves as a safeguard against tyranny and injustice.

At last, the phrase ‘knowledge is power’ remains a timeless truth that highlights the profound impact of knowledge on a person’s development and societal changes. With this power comes the responsibility to use knowledge ethically and ensure equal access for all, as knowledge remains a vital path to personal and collective empowerment in our ever-changing world.

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The phrase ‘knowledge itself is power’ denotes the meaning that knowing empowers your understanding of the world so that you can make informed decisions for yourself and others. In this way, knowledge is equal to power, as it can help in shaping the future of an individual to an entire country.

Knowledge is considered as an accumulation of information, skills facts and understanding acquired through deep learning, experience and observation. It represents a deep and organised awareness of the world around us, encompassing various fields of knowledge, such as culture, science and technology, history and practical know-how. Knowledge empowers individuals by providing the tools to make informed decisions, solve problems, and navigate life’s complexities. It serves as a foundation for personal growth, innovation, and societal progress, shaping our perceptions and actions.

A person can improve their knowledge by reading informative articles, newspapers and books, enrolling in courses related to their field of study, attending workshops and seminars, engaging in discussions, etc.

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu .

Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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Home — Essay Samples — Business — Leadership — Importance Of Power In Our Life

Importance of Power in Our Life

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Essay on Power of Education

Students are often asked to write an essay on Power of Education in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Power of Education

Introduction.

Education is a powerful tool that shapes our lives. It is like a key that opens the door to knowledge, shaping our thoughts, actions, and future.

The Role of Education

Education helps us understand the world around us. It teaches us to read, write, and communicate effectively, skills that are essential for a successful life.

Education and Society

Education plays a critical role in society. It helps to eradicate social evils, promote equality and justice, making society a better place.

In conclusion, the power of education is immense. It can transform individuals and societies, paving the way for a brighter future.

250 Words Essay on Power of Education

The intrinsic value of education.

Education is a powerful tool that has the potential to transform lives and societies. It is a catalyst for personal growth, providing the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the world and engage with others in a meaningful way. It fosters critical thinking, creativity, and intellectual curiosity, enabling individuals to understand and challenge the status quo.

Education and Social Empowerment

The power of education extends beyond personal development; it is a key driver of social change. Education promotes equality and social justice by providing opportunities for all, regardless of their social or economic background. It equips individuals with the tools to challenge societal norms, combat prejudice, and advocate for change.

Education as an Economic Engine

On an economic level, education fuels innovation and productivity. It equips individuals with the skills and knowledge necessary to contribute to the economy, fostering economic growth and prosperity. It also plays a crucial role in reducing poverty and inequality, as it provides individuals with the skills needed to secure decent employment and improve their living conditions.

The Future of Education

As our world continues to evolve, the power of education will only grow. With the advent of technology and the rise of the knowledge economy, education will play an increasingly important role in equipping individuals with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

In conclusion, education is a powerful tool for personal, social, and economic development. It is a catalyst for change, driving social progress and economic growth, and equipping individuals with the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate an increasingly complex world.

500 Words Essay on Power of Education

Education is a cornerstone of society, shaping the minds and hearts of individuals across the globe. It is a powerful tool that equips people with knowledge, skills, and values, empowering them to navigate the world and contribute to societal progress. The power of education is not only about the acquisition of information but also about the transformation of individuals and societies.

Education as a Catalyst for Personal Growth

Education is a catalyst for personal growth and development. It is the key to unlocking one’s potential, fostering critical thinking, and nurturing creativity. The knowledge and skills acquired through education enable individuals to understand the world better, make informed decisions, and solve complex problems. Education also promotes self-awareness and self-confidence, empowering individuals to pursue their passions and dreams.

Education and Social Transformation

Education is a potent tool for social transformation. It fosters understanding and tolerance, breaking down barriers of prejudice and discrimination. Education promotes social cohesion and inclusivity, creating societies where diversity is celebrated and respected. It also plays a crucial role in reducing poverty and inequality by providing individuals with the skills and knowledge needed for gainful employment and economic independence.

Education and Sustainable Development

Education is instrumental in achieving sustainable development. It equips individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to address complex global challenges such as climate change, poverty, and inequality. Education fosters innovation and creativity, driving scientific and technological advancements that contribute to sustainable development. Furthermore, education promotes responsible citizenship, empowering individuals to make decisions that benefit both people and the planet.

The Power of Lifelong Learning

In the rapidly changing world, the power of education extends beyond formal schooling. Lifelong learning, which encompasses all learning activities undertaken throughout life, is becoming increasingly important. It enables individuals to adapt to changes, acquire new skills, and remain competitive in the job market. Lifelong learning also promotes personal fulfillment and well-being, contributing to a more engaged and active society.

In conclusion, the power of education is immense. It is a tool for personal growth, social transformation, and sustainable development. It empowers individuals, transforms societies, and shapes the future. As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Therefore, it is vital to ensure access to quality education for all, fostering a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “The Power of Words” Complete English Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

The Power of Words

All over the world, words are the primary way people communicate with each other. It doesn’t matter where you live, what color you are, or what creed you follow; words convey your thoughts. There is no bigger medium of expression.

We use words to thank, to plead, to rejoice, to grieve, to instruct, to congratulate. It doesn’t matter if they are written or they are sung. You just can’t get away from words. From the time you are born and your mom whispers sweet nothings in your ears to the time that the priest reads the scriptures out to you at the end, you can’t get away from words. Yet we pay so little attention to them. We use them at random, sometimes our minds find it hard to keep pace with our tongues. Words have great power. The power to bring peace, the power to spread love , the power to give hope, the power to encourage, the power to guide, the power to comfort, the power to uplift, the power to heal. But they can also kill, they can make you feel small and insignificant, they can hurt you, they can humiliate you, they can rob you of your decency, steal your sleep and even make you sick. Then there are the words that humble you, elevate you, take you closer to God.

Never speak words that can rob another of his dignity and his pride. If you don’t have the words to encourage and elevate, best is to say nothing at all. A kind helping word of encouragement can make someone’s day so be ready with that word any time of the day. You never know whom you might be able to help with your good word of the day.

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Article contents

Introduction

Conceptual Approaches to Power

Language–Power Relationships

Power Behind Language

Language Reflects Power

World Englishes and Lingua Franca English

Power of Language

Language Unites and Divides a Nation

Language Creates Influence

Power of Single Words

Oratorical Power

Conversational Power

Narrative Power

Discussion and Future Directions

Further Reading

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The Impact of Language: The Power and Evolution of Words

1.1. Definition of Language

1.2. Importance of Language in Communication

2. The Power of Words

2.1. Words as Tools of Influence

2.2. Words as Catalysts for Change

2.3. Words as Weapons of Destruction

3. The Evolution of Language

3.1. Historical Development of Language

3.2. Modern Changes in Language

3.3. Impact of Technology on Language

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Essay on Knowledge is Power: Samples in 100, 200, 300 Words

Essay on Knowledge is Power in 100 Words

Essay on Knowledge is Power in 200 Words

Essay on Knowledge is Power in 300 Words

Shiva Tyagi

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