Language and Occupation

• Language in occupation


  • Language helps facilitate effective communication
  • It helps foster shared meaning and enable successful task execution
• Jargon/field specific lexis


  • Specialised vocabulary within a specific professional context
  • It allows individuals in a field to communicate efficiently and convey nuanced information not understood outside that domain
• Halliday - Systemic functional linguistics


  • Language serves three primary functions: the ideational function (conveying information about the world), the interpersonal function (social aspects of communication) and textual function (organisation and coherence of language in discourse)
  • The SFL framework suggests that language is a tool for meaning-making and linguistic choices are associated with distinct communicative functions
  • Jargon is therefore a systematic and purposeful use of language which contributes to effective communication within specific domains
• Bernstein - Communicative purpose


  • Language should serve a communicative purpose without excluding or alienating others
  • He advocated for a balance between technical language and general accessibility
• Discourse communities


  • Social groups with shared communication practices and language conventions
  • In the context of occupations, these communities include professionals who use specialized vocabulary, genres, and communication styles specific to their field
  • Members of a discourse community share common goals and activities, fostering effective communication within their professional context
  • Understanding discourse communities is essential for studying language dynamics in various occupational settings
• Registers


  • Distinct varieties of language used for specific social purposes or in particular occupational settings
  • These varieties encompass specialized vocabulary, tone, and style appropriate for a given context
  • In professional communication, individuals often employ different registers depending on the formality, audience, and goals of their communication
  • Understanding registers is vital for effective communication within diverse contexts, ensuring that language use aligns with the expectations and conventions of a specific setting
• Austin - Speech acts


  • Speech acts refer to the functions of utterances beyond conveying information. They involve the performative aspect of language, where speaking is an action itself
  • Examples of speech acts include making requests, giving commands, offering apologies, or expressing opinions
  • In the context of occupations, recognizing and understanding speech acts is crucial for effective communication
  • Different professional situations may require specific speech acts to achieve desired outcomes, and individuals must navigate these linguistic actions appropriately to convey intentions and maintain productive interactions within the workplace
• Medical Jargon


  • The patient presented with dyspnea and tachycardia, indicating a potential cardiac issue.
• Legal Terminology


  • The plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing a breach of contract.
• IT and Tech Speak

  • We need to troubleshoot the API integration to resolve the connectivity issues.
• Financial Language


  • The fiscal quarter-end report highlights a positive return on investment.
• Academic Discourse


  • The study employs a qualitative research design to investigate social behavior.
• Engineering Jargon


  • The structural analysis revealed stress concentrations in specific load-bearing components.
• Marketing and Advertising Language

  • Our campaign aims to enhance brand visibility and engagement through targeted strategies.
• Human Resources Terminology


  • The onboarding process includes orientation sessions and compliance training.
• Military Communication


  • The squadron executed a tactical maneuver to secure the strategic position.
• Construction Industry Language


  • The project requires reinforced concrete for the foundation to meet structural specifications.
• Swales - Discourse communities

  • Swales conducted research on discourse communities, defining them as groups with members who share common goals, communicate internally using specific modes, employ specialist lexis and discourse, and possess a required level of knowledge
  • Facilitate communication and ensure functionality of conversations
• Koester - Phatic Talk

  • Phatic talk, defined as communication that fosters social relationships, involves discussions about the weather, jokes, or traffic
  • Koester emphasizes the importance of sociability and banter within occupational groups to cultivate a positive and productive work environment
  • Encouraging personal conversations among group members contributes to a more personable atmosphere, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of the working environment
• Nelson - Business Lexis

  • Business lexis corresponds to a semantic field encompassive categories like business, money and technology and outlines the absence of personal and social subjects
  • It also had a lack of negative language, emphasising a neutral and informative tone
• Drew and Heritage - Institutional talk


  • They identified 6 features of 'institutional talk': goal orientation, turn taking rules, allowable contributions, professional lexis, structure and asymmetry
• Herbert and Straight - Compliments

  • Compliments must be given from the person of higher authority to the person of lower authority
  • If the reverse were to happen, the lower-ranking employee may be seen as being condescending or self-important, potentially harming workplace relationships
• Hornyak - Conversational shifts


  Shifts from work to personal talk are initiated by the figure with more authority
• Pateman - Oppressive + Repressive discourse strategy

  • Oppressive discourse strategy: Showing power by being direct
  • Repressive discourse strategy: Showing power by being indirect, e.g. hidden directives
• Fairclough - Coervice power

  • Coercive power: forcing someone to do something with the threat of punishment
  • Consent power: winning consent to the exercise of power
  • Many interactions are unequal encounters which cause power relationships
  • The powerful participant is a speaker status, able to impose a degree of power, they control the content and how answers are formed and they also place constraints upon the contribution of others
  • The less powerful participant is those're who have less status in a given context and are subject to constraints
• Holmes, Stubbs and Vine - Overt and Covert


  • People 'do power' by either overtly or covertly
  • Overt language – Setting the agenda, giving direct orders and approving others
  • Covert – Small talk management
  • The control of small talk often highlights the powerful participant
• Goffman - Dramaturgical analogy


  • Frontstage/backstage – performing identity
  • Asymmetrical conversations – superiors being dominant
• Brown and Levinson - Face theory


  • We must be careful not to offend our interlocutors and 'save face'
  • Positive face – The want to be likes
  • Negative face – The want to be independent and not coerced
  • Face threatening act: Making someone lose face by linguistic choices
  • Threatening positive face makes people feel embarrassed
  • Threatening negative face makes people feel imposed upon
• Grice - Maxims


  Four maxims of conversation cooperation: quality, quantity, relation and manner
• Giles - Accommodation theory


  • Accommodation theory argues that we speak based on who the recipient is
  • Convergence – To fit in with the other speaker
  • Divergence – Social distance using language varieties
• Hasan and Ventola - Service encounters

  • A service encounter is a transactional interaction in which one person provides goods or services
  • Offers, requests, transactions, salutations
• Vygotsky - Authoritative language


  Sophisticated/Authoritative language ensures that one person is seen as in charge and in control by the other
• Pateman - Oppressive and repressive discourse

  • Oppressive power – Showing power by being direct
  • Repressive discourse – Showing power by being indirect
• Holmes and Marra - Gender and occupation


  • Women use as much humour in the workplace
  • More likely to encourage supportive/collaborative humour
  • Female managers more likely to negotiate consensus
• Linc - Genuine enquiry


  • When participants are engaged in genuine enquiry or information sharing, language tends to become more grammatically complex
  • The common use of technical vocabulary binds its users together , whatever their relative formal status
• Holmes


  Women managers are more likely to negotiate consensus than male managers ensuring everyone genuinely agrees with decisions