Linguistic ImperialismImpacts of global language dominance

Linguistic Imperialism:

The transfer of a dominant language (and aspects of its culture) to speakers of other languages.

Photo: Public domainDefinition reference: Gerald Knowles, Encyclopædia Britannica.

Linguistic Imperialism:

Assumes the active promotion of the language by the dominant class as an active expression of power of the powerful over the powerless.

(Robert Phillipson, 1992)

“Notions of imperialism understate agency, rendering participants cultural dupes orpassive puppets of an ideological order, or cogs in a mechanistic universe.”

(Talbot, Atkinson, & Atkinson, 2003:273)

References: Robert Phillipson, Linguistic Imperialism (1992); Henry Widdowson (1998a), p. 398. EIL: squaring the Circles. A Reply. World Englishes 17/3 397-401. Talbot, Atkinson, & Atkinson, 2003:273

Different views of the source of Linguistic Imperialism

“It may take a militarily powerful nation to establish a language, but it takes an economically powerful one to maintain it and expand it”

David Crystal (1997:1)

“Linguistic Imperialism is a sub-type of Cultural Imperialism. Linguistic Imperialism permeates all the other types of imperialism, since language is the means used to mediate and express them”

Robert Phillipson (1992, 65)

Lady, you need to get your

English right

You can’t even speak English

properly!

How good is your English?

How good is your English?

A good command of the English language is required for this role

A good command of the English language is required for this role

We speak English here

Do you speak English?

Speak English!Speak English!

I have a problem with your accent

You get points for

good English

• English is the language of international air control

•¾ of academic journals are first published in English

•85 % of global international organisations use English as an official language

•1/3 of newspapers are published in countries where English has special status

Statistics: David Crystal (2003) English as a Global Language.

Historical examples of active Linguistic Imperialism exercised by Conquerors/Oppressors

FRENCH over ENGLISH following the French invasion of England in 1066

JAPANESE over KOREAN following the annexation of Korea by Japan in the early 20th Century

RUSSIAN over UKRANIAN following Soviet oppression of the Ukraine in the early 20th century

Book cover copyright Xinran, 2006

2006 published series of essays originally published in The Guardian (UK) newspaper and related to modern day issues facing Chinese people throughout the world.

2010 published non fiction book describing realities of everyday life for North Korean citizens and defectors from North to South Korea.

I found a very cheap place in north London. It had three bedrooms and one living room, and was occupied by 15 Chinese men who all worked in restaurants. They shared a tiny kitchen and a bathroom, but kept a storeroom aside to let to a translator who could help them deal with local government.

I tried to explain that I was not well qualified enough to take their very cheap room because my English was poor, I had no knowledge of the law and of how things worked in this country. I could not understand their papers from the Home Office.

But I saw how scared, insecure and lost they were, the massive worry in their begging eyes and thirsty words. I felt so sorry I couldn’t help them.

Xinran (2006) pg 64.

The full content of

many official documents

like legal documents

are produced only in English or primarily in

English

Negative mental health

impacts on non speakers of language of

power

Local government communicates using the globally dominant language. This results in loss of independence for non- speakers and language learners

Book cover copyright Barbara Demick 2010

“After years of fighting the South Korea Medical Board she bit the bullet and at age forty began a four-year medical program.

Her studies, she told me, were difficult, not because her training in North Korea had left her ill prepared but because the South Korean medical school used English terminology that was completely unfamiliar to her.

The only foreign language she had studied was Russian.”

Barbara Demick (2010) pp. 259-260

When a globally dominant language is imposed even within cultures it does not

originate from, it can be a battle for native speakers

to fight for the right to use their native language

If a language has not been actively promoted

and/or is not used globally by speakers of power, that language is

likely to be less available for practical use in global

language situations

Professionals who migrate to a new country or language community can be profoundly disadvantaged by aspects

of Linguistic Imperialism found in the ‘re-qualification’ requirements of the adopted country.

Conclusion

Ongoing Questions about the English language and Linguistic Imperialism:

•Active or Accidental?

•Morally wrong or morally irrelevant?

•Survival of the fittest or deliberate dominance?

•Can any negative impacts be mitigated?

REFERENCES

Crystal, D. (1997). English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Crystal, D. (2003). English as a Global Language. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University.

Demick, B (2010). Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. New York: Spiegel & Grau

English Language Imperialism: Year In Review 1997. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved October 05, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1016976/language-imperialism

Phillipson, R.H.L. (1992). Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Talbot, M., Atkinson, K., & Atkinson, D. (2003). Language and power in the modern world. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press

Widdowson, H.G. (1998a) EIL: squaring the Circles. A Reply. World Englishes pp.397-401.

Xinran (2006) What the Chinese Don’t Eat. Great Britain: Vintage.