Allan Mutuku Kortbæk 3.1.1 mutuku@ruc.dk

An Examination of Language as an Instrument of Power

Introduction

The aim of this essay is to examine how language can reflect power dynamics within

society. In this regard, emphasis will be placed upon how the structure, grammar and

contextual implications of a particular text can be tailored in a manner that echoes the

power tendencies and patterns of a particular society. The point of departure for this

analysis is an excerpt from an SS handbook 1 from 1943 that argues for racial inequality

using trademark Nazi propaganda tools. I consider this material to be highly exemplary

when it comes to shedding light on the use of language as a power-wielding instrument.

The text

The text that this essay analyses is a mere excerpt from a rather detailed document on

Nazi ideologies pertaining to race. In this text, several enemies of the Nationalist

Socialist Worldview and their Doctrine of the Equality of Humanity are cited, namely the

Church, Liberalism, Marxism and “The Jew” The effectual deployment of persuasive

techniques as part of the process of the transmission of propaganda is evident throughout

the document, a candid illustration in itself of how language exemplifies not only the

inequalities of certain societies, but also the power dynamics within a given society. This

essay is not a discourse analysis per say, as It focuses more on the language and power

topic in the Text & Sign course as opposed to the “Analysing Discourse” theme. N:B

The excerpt is attached herewith, and its lines have been numbered for easier referencing.

Language As An Organ For The Transmission of Ideology

1 (Der Reichsführer SS/SS-Hauptamt, Rassenpolitik Berlin, 1943)

According to the Chambers school of sociolinguistics, Language reflects society 2 The

Russian linguist, Voloshinov seconds this postulation, stressing that language is a

medium of ideology and can therein not be separated from ideology. 3 As such, language

is not a neutral construct, but rather one that transmits some sort of ideology, a feature

which the concept of pragmatics concerns itself with in some depth. This notion is

supported rather extensively by J.L Austin’s influential work “How to do things with

words”

The notion of power

For one to comprehend the manner in which the text chosen for analysis reflects power

dynamics within Nazi Germany at the time, it is important to define the concept of

power. According to the sociologist, Max Weber, power denotes the probability of

persons or groups of persons carrying out their will even when opposed by others. Power

is based on access to resources such as economic assets and physical force (e.g. the

military). 4 Michael Foucault elaborates on this definition, postulating that power is an

ever-present construct that exists in all sorts of relations, including political, economic

and educational scenarios. 5

Propaganda and persuasion in the text

Power can be emphasized in various ways. This essay focuses primarily on the use of

propaganda and persuasive techniques as a conduit for the transmission of ideology.

Propaganda in Wartime Nazi Germany was a key factor behind the ability of Hitler’s

party’s ability to control the nation as forcefully as it did. Hitler repeatedly stressed the

importance of propaganda being repetitive, limited in scope and aimed at the emotions

and to a lesser and almost insignificant degree at the intellect. 6 The creation of

2 Anne Fabricius Text & Sign Compendium, Part 1. (Pg 73) 3 http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj75/parring.htm 4 http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/o12f99.htm 5 http://www.cla.purdue.edu/English/theory/newhistoricism/modules/foucaultpower.html 6 Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, pp. 180

associations and connotations, use of emotional language as well as the simplification of

reality are also essential as far as the transmission of propaganda is concerned. 7

The text in question exemplifies the use of propaganda and persuasion to impose an

ideology. In its opening phrase alone, powerful yet simple language is used to describe

Europeans having won from the “powers of darkness.” Instances of such-like powerful

language within the text can be found, amongst other places within the document, on

lines 14 (Marxism’s appeal to subhumans) and 37 (the parasitic nature of the Jew) It is

however worth note that whilst powerful language is indeed a key property of this text,

the wording of it is kept simple and easy to understand, in keeping with the intention of

the text to appeal to the working class.

Repetition is another central feature of the text under discussion. In addition to

hammering home the point the writer of the text is trying to make, repetition in this text

allies itself with the use of associations and connotations, thus complementing their aims.

The use of the words destruction / destructive in connection to anything related to

Judaism is prominent throughout, (see lines 8, 21, 30.) Repetition fosters reinforcement in

the mind of the reader of a text, reinforcement in this case of the notion of Jews being

destructive, a connotation / association that is implied by the writer of the text. This

association is bolstered on a couple of instances in the text where Germans are described

as being victorious over the destructive Jews. Line 67 refers to the German people not

being “destroyed in this war, but rather the Jew” Line 21 is perhaps an even better

indication of the reinforcement of the connotational insinuations created by the text.

Here, the Aryan race is likened to life itself, whilst destruction (likened throughout the

text to Judaism) is equated to death. The Nazi party’s doctrine (and concurrently the

Aryan race / German people) are described to be headed for “victory of Aryan culture

over the spirit of destruction, the victory of life over death.” The ultimate effect of

repetition in connection with the associations created by the writer of this text leads to

7 Anne Fabricius : Text & Sign Compendium, Part 1 (Pg 80)

what one terms lexical hardening, a term coined by Ehlich8. In other words, the word Jew

becomes directly and negatively associated with destructive notions.

Conclusion

The use of the aforementioned techniques formed the basis of the Nazi party’s strategy to

impose its power over The German working class. Persuasion and propaganda were the

tools that not only facilitated the transmission of Nazi ideology to the masses but moreso

secured the stranglehold it maintained over the German nation, reinforcing its dominion

and concurrently its power over the state of affairs at the time. The text this essay has

analysed reflects this, in itself a component of the ideological spirit of the time in Nazi

Germany.

Bibliography of Information sources

Books

• Text & Sign Compendium, Part one. Anne Fabricius 2010

• Mein Kampf. ISBN 0395925037. Adolf Hitler

• (Der Reichsführer SS/SS-Hauptamt, Rassenpolitik Berlin, 1943, excerpt in

appendix

Articles

• Issue 75 of INTERNATIONAL SOCIALISM, quarterly journal of the Socialist

Workers Party (Britain) Published July 1997

http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj75/parring.htm

8 Anne Fabricius : Text & Sign Compendium, Part I, (page 80)

• Anon: Power, Domination, Legitimation, and Authority

http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/o12f99.htm

• Felluga, Dino. "Modules on Foucault: On Power." Introductory Guide to Critical

Theory

http://www.cla.purdue.edu/English/theory/newhistoricism/modules/foucaultpower.ht

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