2 - The Power of Symbolic Representation

Summary

Taking as an example the well-known fable “The wolf and the lamb” by Jean de la Fontaine, this chapter shows how language doesn’t merely affix labels to the familiar social reality we live in, but presents it in ways that serve the interests of the parties involved. It evokes mental and bodily schemas of experience that are recognized by others; it performs social dos and don’ts that are sanctioned by the group; and it manipulates the politics of the situation to gain symbolic distinction. Drawing from work in cognitive and anthropological linguistics and in sociology, it shows through numerous examples taken from everyday life that the exercise of symbolic power is neither good nor evil, it is what we do when we use language to communicate with others – we try to assert ourselves at the same time that we strive to show others that we respect them, value them, and want to be in turn respected and valued by them. I show how any use of language is a political act, in the sense that it is an exercise of symbolic power to present ourselves and others in the best possible light. It contributes to building our “symbolic self”, that is, our reputation, credibility and good standing among the people we come in contact with.