ABSTRACT
THE language of power or dominance produces effects that vary as a function of contextual differences. This is the important claim of-fered in Liska’s chapter and developed at some length therein. This claim is compatible with the most recent research on message effects that has examined with some fervor contextual influences upon message recipients’ reactions to stylistic variation. In this commentary I, too, will discuss the role of context, offering some supplementary observations. Additionally, I will address some other issues that have emerged from my reading of both Liska’s chapter and the research literature on language and power, such as types of evaluative reactions to power of style, style as a trait versus style as a state, and explanations for consistently obtained effects in experiments. The several issues will be presented serially, moving from rather particular or localized issues to others that are quite general.
