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Journal ArticleDOI

The Linguistic Imperialism of Neoliberal Empire

04 Mar 2008-Critical Inquiry in Language Studies (Taylor & Francis Group)-Vol. 5, Iss: 1, pp 1-43
TL;DR: The authors explored the transition from the linguistic imperialism of the colonial and post-colonial ages to the increasingly dominant role of English as a neo-imperial language in the U.S. empire.
Abstract: The article explores the transition from the linguistic imperialism of the colonial and postcolonial ages to the increasingly dominant role of English as a neoimperial language. It analyzes ‘global’ English as a key dimension of the U.S. empire. U.S. expansionism is a fundamental principle of the foreign policy of the United States that can be traced back over two centuries. Linguistic imperialism and neoimperialism are exemplified at the micro and macro levels, and some key defining traits explored, as are cultural and institutional links between the United Kingdom and the United States, and the role of foundations in promoting ‘world’ English. Whereas many parts of the world have experienced a longstanding engagement with English, the use of English in continental Europe has expanded markedly in recent years, as a result of many strands of globalization and European integration. Some ongoing tensions in language policy in Europe, and symptoms of complicity in accepting linguistic hegemony, are explored....
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism are discussed. And the history of European ideas: Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 721-722.

13,842 citations

Journal Article
Aaron Pollack1
TL;DR: This article argued that the British Empire was a " liberal" empire that upheld international law, kept the seas open and free, and ultimately benefited everyone by ensuring the free flow of trade.
Abstract: From a world history perspective, the most noticeable trend in the history of the late 19th century was the domination of Europeans over Non­Europeans. This domination took many forms ranging from economic penetration to outright annexation. No area of the globe, however remote from Europe, was free of European merchants, adventurers, explorers or western missionaries. Was colonialism good for either the imperialist or the peoples of the globe who found themselves subjects of one empire or another? A few decades ago, the answer would have been a resounding no. Now, in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the more or less widespread discrediting of Marxist and Leninist analysis, and the end of the Cold War, political scientists and historians seem willing to take a more positive look at Nineteenth Century Imperialism. One noted current historian, Niall Ferguson has argued that the British Empire probably accomplished more positive good for the world than the last generation of historians, poisoned by Marxism, could or would concede. Ferguson has argued that the British Empire was a \" liberal \" empire that upheld international law, kept the seas open and free, and ultimately benefited everyone by ensuring the free flow of trade. In other words, Ferguson would find little reason to contradict the young Winston Churchill's assertion that the aim of British imperialism was to: give peace to warring tribes, to administer justice where all was violence, to strike the chains off the slave, to draw the richness from the soil, to place the earliest seeds of commerce and learning, to increase in whole peoples their capacities for pleasure and diminish their chances of pain. It should come as no surprise that Ferguson regards the United States current position in the world as the natural successor to the British Empire and that the greatest danger the U.S. represents is that the world will not get enough American Imperialism because U.S. leaders often have short attention spans and tend to pull back troops when intervention becomes unpopular. It will be very interesting to check back into the debate on Imperialism about ten years from now and see how Niall Ferguson's point of view has fared! The other great school of thought about Imperialism is, of course, Marxist. For example, Marxist historians like E.J. Hobsbawm argue that if we look at the l9th century as a great competition for the world's wealth and …

2,001 citations

01 Jan 1995

1,882 citations

01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: This book discusses the development of English as a global language in the 20th Century and some of the aspects of its development that have changed since the publication of the first edition.
Abstract: A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 521 82347 1 hardback ISBN 0 521 53032 6 paperback Contents List of tables page vii Preface to the second edition ix Preface to the first edition xii 1 Why a global language? 1 What is a global language? 3 What makes a global language? 7 Why do we need a global language? 11 What are the dangers of a global language? 14 Could anything stop a global language? 25 A critical era 27 2 Why English? The historical context 29 Origins 30 America 31 Canada 36 The Caribbean 39 Australia and New Zealand 40 South Africa 43 South Asia 46 Former colonial Africa 49 Southeast Asia and the South Pacific 54 A world view 59 v Contents

1,857 citations

01 Jan 1970
TL;DR: In this paper, a team of Englischdidaktiker/innen from PHs and Universitäten in ganz Deutschland is described in a zweifarbigen layout with Definitionen and Beispielen.
Abstract: Alle Themen und Aspekte der Englischdidaktik: Akteur/innen, Gegenstände, Kompetenzen, Institutionen, Rahmenbedingungen etc. Direkt einsetzbar in der universitären Lehre Die einzelnen Kapitel eignen sich als Grundlagentexte für Seminarsitzungen in einer Einführungsveranstaltung in die Englischdidaktik Im zweifarbigen Layout, mit Definitionen und Beispielen Geschrieben von einem jungen Team von Englischdidaktiker/innen von verschiedenen PHs und Universitäten in ganz Deutschland

476 citations

References
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Book
01 Jan 1983
TL;DR: In this paper, Anderson examines the creation and global spread of the 'imagined communities' of nationality and explores the processes that created these communities: the territorialisation of religious faiths, the decline of antique kingship, the interaction between capitalism and print, the development of vernacular languages-of-state, and changing conceptions of time.
Abstract: What makes people love and die for nations, as well as hate and kill in their name? While many studies have been written on nationalist political movements, the sense of nationality - the personal and cultural feeling of belonging to the nation - has not received proportionate attention. In this widely acclaimed work, Benedict Anderson examines the creation and global spread of the 'imagined communities' of nationality. Anderson explores the processes that created these communities: the territorialisation of religious faiths, the decline of antique kingship, the interaction between capitalism and print, the development of vernacular languages-of-state, and changing conceptions of time. He shows how an originary nationalism born in the Americas was modularly adopted by popular movements in Europe, by the imperialist powers, and by the anti-imperialist resistances in Asia and Africa. This revised edition includes two new chapters, one of which discusses the complex role of the colonialist state's mindset in the development of Third World nationalism, while the other analyses the processes by which all over the world, nations came to imagine themselves as old.

25,018 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism are discussed. And the history of European ideas: Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 721-722.

13,842 citations


"The Linguistic Imperialism of Neoli..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…as a result of wars and economic and financial changes, and to this day, linguistic globalisation remains a goal rather than a reality, an ‘imagined community’ akin to nationalist constructions (Anderson, 1983), a project in the minds of those who celebrate the dissemination of English worldwide....

    [...]

  • ...Empires have taken different forms over the past two centuries as a result of wars and economic and financial changes, and to this day, linguistic globalisation remains a goal rather than a reality, an ‘imagined community’ akin to nationalist constructions (Anderson, 1983), a project in the minds of those who celebrate the dissemination of English worldwide....

    [...]

Book
01 Jan 1991
TL;DR: In this article, the economy of language exchange and its relation to political power is discussed. But the authors focus on the production and reproduction of Legitimate language and do not address its application in the theory of political power.
Abstract: Preface Editor's Introduction General Introduction Part I The Economy of Linguistic Exchanges Introduction 1. The Production and Reproduction of Legitimate Language 2. Price Formation and the Anticipation of Profits Appendix: Did You Say 'Popular'? Part II The Social Institution of Symbolic Power Introduction 3. Authorized Language: The Social Conditions for the Effectiveness of Ritual Discourse 4. Rites of Institution 5. Description and Prescription: The Conditions of Possibility and the Limits of Political Effectiveness 6. Censorship and the Imposition of Form Part III Symbolic Power and the Political Field 7. On Symbolic Power 8. Political Representation: Elements for a Theory of the Political Field 9. Delegation and Political Fetishism 10. Identity and Representation: Elements for a Critical Reflection on the Idea of Region 11. Social Space and the Genesis of 'Classes' Note Index

9,970 citations

Book
01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: From Jane Austen to Salman Rushdie, from Yeats to the media coverage of the Gulf War, this is an account of the roots of imperialism in European culture.
Abstract: From Jane Austen to Salman Rushdie, from Yeats to the media coverage of the Gulf War, this is an account of the roots of imperialism in European culture. While many historians and commentators have analyzed the phenomenon of the imperial power wielded by Britain (and France) in the 19th century, this book analyzes its impact on the culture of the period. The author focusses on the way this cultural legacy has embedded itself in the Western view of the East, and affects our relationship with the formerly colonized world at every level, both social and political. The author also wrote "Orientalism".

5,623 citations

Book
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe how America's power grew and how capital bondage was used for accumulation by dispossession and consent to coercion by consenting to coercion.
Abstract: 1 All about Oil 2 How America's Power Grew 3 Capital Bondage 4 Accumulation by Dispossession 5 Consent to Coercion AFTERWORD Further Reading Bibliography Notes Index

3,822 citations