Job Discussion Forums

[Malsol]

I believe that the South China Morning News will run an article on Linguistic Imperialism in the next few days.

Could someone post the article here as it is not available where I am.

Thanks.

[tedkarma]

Some say globalization is Western imperialism. Some say Islam is Arab imperialism. Hmmm - and linguistics?

[Aramas]

They're probably thinking of linguini imperium - a particularly tasty pasta dish with a cream and truffle sauce, served with a little laurel wreath on top.

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

^ linguini imperium?



Linguistic Imperialism
Friday, November 17, 2006
South China Morning Post


Say it in Putonghua by Peter Kammerer

Putonghua is one of mainland China's big-growth exports.
Beijing-backed Confucius Institutes, which teach the language, are
cropping up by the score in a seemingly relentless linguistic march
around the globe. Some may see this as a new form of imperialism - a
central government plot to impart ideology - or merely as a passing
fad. I prefer to think of it in terms of joint-venture opportunism.

My theory is simple, and uncluttered by dark mutterings of backroom
schemes: where there is a buck, people tend to go for it. And there
are certainly big bucks to be made from teaching languages, especially
ones like Putonghua, which people think will advance their careers.

It was reported this week that there are now 120 Confucius Institutes
in 50 countries on five continents, and a further 40 in the pipeline.
Conspiracy theorists may see this as less a matter of learning than
indoctrinating.

The institutes are set up jointly by the government's Office of
Chinese Language Council International and foreign partners.
Suspicions were doubtless confirmed when the office's
director-general, Zhao Guocheng , noted that students not only learned
Putonghua, but were likely to have their "misconceptions about the
country" dispelled.

For conspiracy theorists, such remarks are proof that Putonghua
teachers are using language as a vehicle to send out pro-communist,
anti-western ideology. British academic Robert Phillipson took on
board some of this thinking in his influential 1992 book Linguistic
Imperialism, which expounds the theory that English has achieved
dominance through a series of complex hegemonic processes.

With the British Council leading the charge, he asserts, English has
been promoted as being God-given, interesting and a gateway to the
world - which makes it widespread and therefore easier to learn. Other
arguments are that English represents modernity, is the universal
language of business and symbolises efficiency.

The Confucius Institute would seem to have a battle on its hands to
compete with these perceptions - since English has had centuries of
lead time. The rush to learn Putonghua would need to be more hectic
and sustained to achieve dominance any time soon.

There is, after all, another truth. While an estimated 100 million
around the world are taking Putonghua classes, six times as many
mainland Chinese are learning English. This was pointed out yesterday
by psycholinguistics expert Niu Qiang: for the past 20 years, she
said, English has been compulsory for all students at the primary,
middle, senior and college levels.

There are apparently 1 million native Chinese teachers of English on
the mainland, 150,000 foreigners teaching the language legally and
another 100,000 doing so without a permit. The publishing industry
based around teaching English as a foreign language had gross revenues
of almost US$2 billion last year.

I do not hear complaints from Beijing that learning English is bad
because western dogma comes along with the linguistic package. In
fact, it's quite the opposite: China's economic boom presents salient
opportunities.

"To get a good job in a big company brings a big salary and high
social status," said Dr Niu from her office in Chongqing . "While it's
presently fashionable for young people to take English to learn about
another culture, there is another, more important, reason: the
financial aspect."

Her colleague Martin Wolff takes the English-versus-Putonghua debate a
step further, wondering whether the world's estimated 420 million
native English speakers stand much of a chance against China's 1.3
billion Putonghua speakers. He and Dr Niu have a theory of their own.
"We predict an eventual regional English in China that will become the
new global language of international communication," he said.

My experience with English on the mainland has not been good, and Dr
Niu admitted that standards were not always the best. I'm not sure how
comprehensible this form of English - with Chinese characteristics -
will be.

Peter Kammerer is the Post's foreign editor.



credit: reposted from DalianXpat








Thailand teaching and travel resources available here :: The Master Index Thailand ::

[Malsol]

Thank you.

[tedkarma]

People who point to China - and sometimes suggest the death of the EFL industry - are usually forgetting that India now has a larger population than China and that English is the unifying language there. While India's GNP/GDP growth is not as rapid as China's, India is definitely on the rise.

Slightly off topic - but food for thought.

[carnac]

Tedkarma-
India having a larger population than China - I believe the projection for this to occur is estimated for the year 2025, and not a present statistic, but darn close.
The thought occurred to me: What can be called "Standard English"? The number of North American speakers far exceeds UK speakers presently, and I suspect Indian speakers will soon exceed NA speakers.
How does one set what is to be termed a "standard"?
Do we accept the Hindi-influenced use of the the Present Progressive/Continuous as in "I am liking going every day to the beach." (or do we say there is another standard, and if so, what is it? If the Australians suddenly experience a baby-boom, will Australian English become the standard?
Veering off the topic, but interested in your thoughts.
C

[Guy Courchesne]

There was an article in Newsweek in March 2005 written by Carla Power called 'Not The Queen's English'. Good read for an analysis of the varieties of English in the world, including what she termed 'World Standard English', which nobody speaks. I use a printed copy of the article in the TEFL course.

Google it if you can..the link I had to it died.

[thelmadatter]

At the risk of getting bashed as some kind of dittohead....

"linguistic imperialism" is one of those terms that get my defenses up. I have 3 degrees in linguistics, so Ive heard the story about how teaching/learning English somehow compels others to adapt Western (read "United Statesian") values or believe that they are somehow better. Language as more oppression by the "evil white man."

While it may be true for some learners, it has not been my experience as a language learner or teacher abroad. Ive studied 5 different languages and something about the cultures of each one (also spent years in Germany and Mexico). While the experiences have changed me, Ive simply been exposed to new ideas, kept the ones I like and rejected the ones I dont. Learning a language is simply a means to an end... what that end is, is up to the student.

I have found here that the ones most prone to think about "American hegemony" (even though most dont have that phrase for it) are the ones who never really learn the language anyway. They pass their tests (or sometimes dont) and go on their way. I teach mostly advanced students and it seems to me that those who do best is learning a language have a definite goal that the language will help them reach. This semester I gave my students a little mini-essay on whether they thought being an advanced English speaker somehow changes who they are. All but 3 of my 60 some-odd students stated that it didnt ... it was just a tool for them. And only one felt somehow that she experienced a kind of identity loss (dont worry she got a 95 on that essay, it was well-written. I dont penalize students for having "wrong" opinions. I can look up what exactly she wrote if youre interested). The other two felt that they were simply more "international" for speaking English.

[furiousmilksheikali]

[Guy Courchesne]

[Aramas]

Actually the number of English speakers in India already outnumbers the US. There was an article on the BBC a couple of weeks ago about 'Hinglish'.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6122072.stm

[Malsol]

[Guy Courchesne]

Good work Malsol...a biscuit awaits you in Nirvana.

[wildchild]

thelmadatter said: