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27 - The Politics of World Englishes

from Part IV - Current Challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2019

By
Mario Saraceni
Edited by
Daniel Schreier ,
Marianne Hundt  and
Edgar W. Schneider
Daniel Schreier
Affiliation:
Universität Zürich
Marianne Hundt
Affiliation:
Universität Zürich
Edgar W. Schneider
Affiliation:
Universität Regensburg, Germany
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Summary

Language is inherently political – the way we use it and the way we talk about it. In the field of World Englishes (WEs), the political character of language and language practice is particularly evident. Originating from 1960s and 1970s debates on the necessity (or not) of recognizing the validity of varieties other than British and American English, the egalitarian stance in the WEs paradigm is inherently political. Similarly, the positions of those who express more critical views with respect to the presence and uses of English(es) in the world are political, too. This chapter provides an overview of the intrinsically political nature of much of the discussions and debates that have unfolded about WEs and, in general, English as a global language over the years. It highlights the centrality of (in)equality in such contentions and concludes by observing how any argument in this regard is intimately embedded in, and cannot transcend, the analysis of the conditions of great social and economic inequality that characterize the world today.

Keywords

politicsvarieties of Englishinequalityequality
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of World Englishes , pp. 633 - 651
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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