Linguistic Imperialism

Abstract

Abstract The study of linguistic imperialism entails analyzing the policies by which dominant languages, nationally and internationally, have been consolidated and what the consequences are for other languages. The presence of European languages worldwide reflects language policy as a key dimension of colonial empires—Anglo‐American, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish—both in countries where Europeans settled and in exploitation colonies. This entry presents the key constituents of linguistic imperialism together with some critiques of it. It gives examples of the way English was promoted in the UK and USA and how European languages were exported and consolidated worldwide, showing the devastating consequences for other cultures and languages. In the postcolonial age, the pedagogy promoted by the UK, the USA, and the World Bank for the learning of English was founded on five fallacies: the monolingual fallacy, the native speaker fallacy, the early start fallacy, the maximum exposure fallacy, and the subtractive fallacy. Elite formation in the age of globalization and neoliberalism also takes place in monolingual “international” schools, which are spreading worldwide. The ways in which English is privileged in education systems, and discourses justifying it, need critical scrutiny, as do the language policies of the European Union. Policies that strengthen linguistic diversity are needed to counteract linguistic imperialism. There are many places where linguistic imperialism is in full force, such as in Turkey and China.

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