Power and identity embedded in the Persian first person pronoun /mæn/: a sociolinguistic perspective

This study reports on the use of the first person singular pronoun /mæn/,1 ‘I’, in Persian, and its different social functions in terms of power and identity. The motivation for this investigation originates from the frequent use of this pronoun by Persian speakers, particularly males, which is often linguistically expressed as ‘mæn-æm zædæn’, meaning ‘to boast about one’s power – physical or mental – and knowledge’. We hypothesise that the use of /mæn/ reflects an exaggerated expression of one’s ability; hence an identity marker. Based on the assumption that an individual’s perception of the world is linked to the language they speak, this study uses Bakhtin’s dialogism (Bakhtin 1981; Bourdieu 1991; Hall, Vitanova and Marchenkova 2004) to analyse five pairs of conversations by Persian speakers, who have lived in Australia for a range of 5 to 10 years, with a focus on this distinct identity marker – /mæn/. Six types of /mæn/ have been identified as marking power. Two of these directly indicate power imposition, and the rest either implicitly convey the same message or intend to expose the supremacy of the speaker’s knowledge over his interlocutor(s). The results contribute to our understanding of the power dynamics in social interactions, which may affect the perception of the recipient in conversations in terms of the speaker’s control of power.