Linguistic Imperialism
The Linguistic imperialism of Robert Phillipson
1. Linguistic Imperialism
1.1 The spread of English
The stated aim of Phillipson’s 1992 book Linguistic Imperialism was to set out how English became so dominant and why, and to examine the role ELT pedagogy had in contributing to it becoming “the international language par excellence in which the fate of most of the worlds millions is decided.” (Phillipson 1992 p.6) While many writers had tackled the question before no one had done so from the type of critical, socio-linguistic standpoint taken by Phillipson. Whereas for David Crystal, and other commentators, the rise of English is a largely neutral phenomenon, achieved “by repeatedly finding itself at the right place at the right time” (Crystal 1997, p.110) for Phillipson, the spread of English is no happy accident and his book is no dispassionate examination of the natural evolution of a language. According to Phillipson the English language has been, and continues to be, propelled by the deliberate manipulation of economic, political, intellectual and social forces in order to “legitimate, effectuate and reproduce an unequal division of power and resources.” (Phillipson 1992 p.47) and create a culture of what Phillipson calls, linguistic imperialism.
For Phillipson the ELT industry and ELT pedagogy are not innocent bystanders in the rise of English language hegemony but are complicit in a neo-colonial agenda that he sees as driving English to its current position. He contends that the popular view of the spread of English as ‘an incontrovertible boon’ is misplaced and that the discourse that currently ties learning English to ‘progress and prosperity’ is in fact ‘scientifically fallacious’ (ibid p.8). While accepting that English is no longer imposed by force as it was in colonial times he is deeply suspicious of the popular view that the demand for English is governed by such benign forces as “the state of the market (‘demand’) and force of argument
1. Linguistic Imperialism
1.1 The spread of English
The stated aim of Phillipson’s 1992 book Linguistic Imperialism was to set out how English became so dominant and why, and to examine the role ELT pedagogy had in contributing to it becoming “the international language par excellence in which the fate of most of the worlds millions is decided.” (Phillipson 1992 p.6) While many writers had tackled the question before no one had done so from the type of critical, socio-linguistic standpoint taken by Phillipson. Whereas for David Crystal, and other commentators, the rise of English is a largely neutral phenomenon, achieved “by repeatedly finding itself at the right place at the right time” (Crystal 1997, p.110) for Phillipson, the spread of English is no happy accident and his book is no dispassionate examination of the natural evolution of a language. According to Phillipson the English language has been, and continues to be, propelled by the deliberate manipulation of economic, political, intellectual and social forces in order to “legitimate, effectuate and reproduce an unequal division of power and resources.” (Phillipson 1992 p.47) and create a culture of what Phillipson calls, linguistic imperialism.
For Phillipson the ELT industry and ELT pedagogy are not innocent bystanders in the rise of English language hegemony but are complicit in a neo-colonial agenda that he sees as driving English to its current position. He contends that the popular view of the spread of English as ‘an incontrovertible boon’ is misplaced and that the discourse that currently ties learning English to ‘progress and prosperity’ is in fact ‘scientifically fallacious’ (ibid p.8). While accepting that English is no longer imposed by force as it was in colonial times he is deeply suspicious of the popular view that the demand for English is governed by such benign forces as “the state of the market (‘demand’) and force of argument
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