English and the Discourses of Colonialism

ISBN-13: 9780415178471 / Angielski / Twarda / 1998 / 256 str.

Alastair Pennycook

Opis

Is the English language neutral, global and open to everyone? This text suggest not. Alastair Pennycook argues that the context of colonialism produced particular cultural constructs - discourses - that became linked to English. He questions the extent to which English is, as commonly assumed, an unencumbered medium of communication, and to what extent it is, by contrast, a language that comes laden with meanings. By examining colonial language policies in India, Malaysia and Hong Kong, this book shows how various policies emerged which both reflected and produced colonial discourses. Caught between Anglicism and Orientalism, colonial language policy was a significant site of production of images of English and images of the other. If the language we use is loaded, what are the implications for how we can construct a politics of opposition? Resistance is not simply a matter of arguing back; Pennycook ends by calling for joint strategies on a number of fronts to combat such discursive constructions.

Recenzje

'This is a complex book, containing areas that will appeal to a variety of readers.' - Language in Society

'...elegantly and provocatively written...It is a timely and thoughtful book written with historical sensitivity and above all, an appreciation of the need to place the question of post colonialism...Pennycook has produced an acute, entertaining and often surprising book.' - Rumina Sethi