English, Panacea or Pandemic

Abstract

The paper explores the key elements in the conference topic – universities, global, English, medium – in relation to current language policy trends and scenarios. It explores these central concepts by situating universities and globalisation historically, and assessing whether the continued use of English in postcolonial contexts and its current expansion in Europe is purely positive – the lure of the panacea – or life-threatening for other languages and cultures, a pandemic sympton. It argues for the maintenance of multilingualism, with English in balance with other languages. It begins with a set of statements that serve to clarify factors that ought to determine university language policy. I am afraid our universities are the blotting-sheets of the West. We have borrowed the superficial features of the Western universities, and flattered ourselves that we have founded living universities here. Do they reflect or respond to the needs of the masses?

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