An institutional language is a formal language which is used in a reduced group of an institution.

To be well-versed in the politics of institutional language, in short, means that a person must use a variety of abilities:

- Constructing power relations between oneself and others, particularly institutional representatives;

- Determining how institutional agents will receive information and selecting information accordingly;

- Developing plans and skills to obviate unwelcome institutional influences;

- Naming the assumptions underpinning the actions of public servants;

- Using language persuasively in transinstitutional contexts;

- Forming questions needed to uncover the reasons behind institutional procedures;

- Locating oneself within larger social and historical forces;

- Evaluating language strategies and refining them accordingly;

- Uncovering tensions and paradoxes within institutional procedures.