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Generic Power at the Gate
Author(s) -
Chew Phyllis GhimLian
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
world englishes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.6
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-971X
pISSN - 0883-2919
DOI - 10.1111/1467-971x.00073
Subject(s) - possession (linguistics) , interview , power (physics) , event (particle physics) , sociology , linguistics , epistemology , psychology , social psychology , law and economics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , anthropology
Generic power is the ability to anticipate elements in a predictable sequence in a communicative event. This paper examines the role of such power in a crucial situation, namely the admission interview in the Republic of Singapore. In such a strategic occasion, both the interviewer (IR) and the interviewee (IE) are strictly constrained by generic expectations which restrict their discoursal patterns and interpretations. This paper argues that knowledge of generic conventions cannot be divorced from the institutional and cultural constraints peculiar to each speech event and that the possession of ‘generic power’ in crucial sites can arm their owners with a critical advantage.