LS(lord sugar): Could've, would've, should've (1) yeah could've but you didn't (.) yeah (.) right (.) no (.)but you didn't yeah. I think i've heard enough(.) for me to make a very very difficult decision here today.
Claire: Sir Alan may i say one more thing please?
LS: (3) if you insist.
The theory that I chose to link this text to was Norman Fairclough's theory of unequal encounters, and Wareing's types of power.
Before I began to annotate I knew that we would see an unequal encounter because it is a clip from the apprentice whereby Lord Sugar has the most power as he can choose to fire contestants. As Lord Sugar is more dominant he doesn't have to worry about using standard English as he isn't trying to impress anyone. On the other hand the contestants need to use standard English and be polite as they are trying to gain respect and ultimately win the show.
Lord Sugar has both influential and instrumental power, this is because he is the authoritative figure and has the power to fire the contestants if they do not follow his instructions and complete the tasks that he had set. Ultimately the contestants want to please lord sugar to gain power over the other contestants in the hope that they will win the show.
The part of the transcript that interested me the most was the line spoken by claire, firstly she addresses him by the name "Sir Alan" the use of the proper noun "Sir" is used to benefit Lord Sugar's status. She is also using politeness forms in order to protect herself from a face threatening act "may", "please" here she is demonstrating Brown and Levinson's politness strategies. Her politeness has the desired affect as Lord Sugar allows her to speak. Although he makes her wait for what seems like a long pause in order to make her feel more nervous and to make the tension in the boardroom higher to create an atmosphere and a feeling that anyone could be fired, the three second pause that he makes her wait is yet again another example of how he is using his authority over the contestants.
The theory that I chose to link this text to was Norman Fairclough's theory of unequal encounters, and Wareing's types of power.
Before I began to annotate I knew that we would see an unequal encounter because it is a clip from the apprentice whereby Lord Sugar has the most power as he can choose to fire contestants. As Lord Sugar is more dominant he doesn't have to worry about using standard English as he isn't trying to impress anyone. On the other hand the contestants need to use standard English and be polite as they are trying to gain respect and ultimately win the show.
Lord Sugar has both influential and instrumental power, this is because he is the authoritative figure and has the power to fire the contestants if they do not follow his instructions and complete the tasks that he had set. Ultimately the contestants want to please lord sugar to gain power over the other contestants in the hope that they will win the show.
The part of the transcript that interested me the most was the line spoken by claire, firstly she addresses him by the name "Sir Alan" the use of the proper noun "Sir" is used to benefit Lord Sugar's status. She is also using politeness forms in order to protect herself from a face threatening act "may", "please" here she is demonstrating Brown and Levinson's politness strategies. Her politeness has the desired affect as Lord Sugar allows her to speak. Although he makes her wait for what seems like a long pause in order to make her feel more nervous and to make the tension in the boardroom higher to create an atmosphere and a feeling that anyone could be fired, the three second pause that he makes her wait is yet again another example of how he is using his authority over the contestants.
good. You are selecting a focus well and evlauting the significance of techniques in the light of theory. Could Sugar's use of NSE be covert prestige in this context? Divergence? Identify which politeness strategy the candidate is using. Link more explicitly to the wider purpose of entertaining the audience as well as looking more closely at how the interaction reveals an asymmetrical power relationship.
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