A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Power Relationships in Institutional Talks

As a special form of conversation, the institutional talk has been described as characteristically asymmetrical in contrast to the ordinary conversational interaction between participants of equal status. On the basis of Fairclough's three-dimensional CDA analytical model, the present study concentrates on the complex and invisible power relationships between the participants by probing into the grammatical features and the interactional conventions in institutional talks. Findings show that there are unequal power relationships between the participants in the talks. This study concludes by discussing the implications of the findings and proposing the suggestions for future research.