Colin HARRISON | Université De La Rochelle (original) (raw)
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Attitudes towards the phenomenon of English and its current influence vary. On the on hand, there... more Attitudes towards the phenomenon of English and its current influence vary. On the on hand, there are those who consider the spread of the English to be "natural, neutral and beneficial". To quote Pennycook, for such people, the spread of language is natural in the sense that its "expansion is seen as a result of inevitable global forces. It is seen as neutral because it is assumed that once English has in some sense become detached from its original cultural contexts [...] it is now a neutral and transparent medium of communication. And it is considered beneficial because a rather blandly optimistic view of international communication assumes that this occurs on a co-operative and equitable footing." (1994, p.9). At the other extreme are those for whom the spread of English is a culturally destructive force, a kind of linguistic imperialism (the title of Phillipson's 1992 work) to be viewed in the same light as the former colonial domination of the world by Great Britain.
As an Australian in the US, witnessing my first NFL Superbowl, I struggled to draw some comfort f... more As an Australian in the US, witnessing my first NFL Superbowl, I struggled to draw some comfort from its many points of superficial similarity to the (for me) much more familiar Rugby League, and yet was reminded every few seconds that beneath this suggestively familiar surface is a game whose motivation, aims and rules appear totally foreign. To borrow a locution from Douglas Adams:
Attitudes towards the phenomenon of English and its current influence vary. On the on hand, there... more Attitudes towards the phenomenon of English and its current influence vary. On the on hand, there are those who consider the spread of the English to be "natural, neutral and beneficial". To quote Pennycook, for such people, the spread of language is natural in the sense that its "expansion is seen as a result of inevitable global forces. It is seen as neutral because it is assumed that once English has in some sense become detached from its original cultural contexts [...] it is now a neutral and transparent medium of communication. And it is considered beneficial because a rather blandly optimistic view of international communication assumes that this occurs on a co-operative and equitable footing." (1994, p.9). At the other extreme are those for whom the spread of English is a culturally destructive force, a kind of linguistic imperialism (the title of Phillipson's 1992 work) to be viewed in the same light as the former colonial domination of the world by Great Britain.
As an Australian in the US, witnessing my first NFL Superbowl, I struggled to draw some comfort f... more As an Australian in the US, witnessing my first NFL Superbowl, I struggled to draw some comfort from its many points of superficial similarity to the (for me) much more familiar Rugby League, and yet was reminded every few seconds that beneath this suggestively familiar surface is a game whose motivation, aims and rules appear totally foreign. To borrow a locution from Douglas Adams: