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The Cultural Politics of English As an International Language Alastair Pennycook

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The Cultural Politics of English As an International Language Alastair Pennycook The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language A much-cited and highly influential text by Alastair Pennycook, one of the world authorities in sociolinguistics and English language education, The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language explores the globalization of English by examining its colonial ori- gins, its connections to linguistics and applied linguistics, and its relationships to the global spread of teaching practices. Nine chap- ters cover a wide range of key topics including: • international politics • colonial history • critical pedagogy • postcolonialliterature. The book provides a critical understanding of the concept of the 'worldliness of English', or the idea that English can never be removed from the social, cultural, economic or political contexts in which it is used. Reissued with a substantial preface, this Routledge Linguistics Classic remains a landmark text, which led a much-needed critical and ideologically informed investigation into the burgeoning topic of World Englishes. Key reading for all those working in the areas of Applied Linguistics, Sociolinguistics and World Englishes. Alastair Pennycook is Distinguished Professor of Language in Edu- cation at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. He is the author of many titles, including BAAL book prize winner 2008: Global Englishes and Transcultural Flows (Routledge, 2007), Language as a Local Practice (Routledge, 2010), and Metrolingualism: Language in the City (co- authored with Emi Otsuji, Routledge, 2015). ROUTLEDGE LINGUISTICS CLASSICS Authority in Language Investigating Standard English James Milroy and Lesley Milroy Local Literacies Reading and Writing in One Community David Barton and Mary Hamilton Verbal Hygiene Deborah Cameron Vocabulary Applied Linguistic Perspectives Previously published as part of the Ronald Carter Language in Social Life Series, Power and Politeness in the Workplace edited by Professor Christopher N. Candlin A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Talk at Work Janet Holmes and Maria Stubbe Language and Creativity The Art of Common Talk Ronald Carter Women, Men and Language A Sociolinguistic Account of Gender Differences in Language Jennifer Coates The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language Alastair Pennycook Previously published as part of the Language in Social Life Series, edited by Professor Christopher N. Candlin ~ ~~o~;!~n~~~up LONDON AND NEW YORK This edition reissued in Routledge Linguistics Classics series 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 Alastair Pennycook The right of Alastair Pennycook to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Preface vii All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or xxi reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, xxiii or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Every effort has been made to contact copyright-holders. Please advise the publisher of any errors or omissions, and these will be corrected in subsequent editions. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First published by Pearson Education Limited, 1994 Published 2013 by Routledge British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested ISBN: 978-0-415-78812-0 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-78813-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-3152-2559-3 (ebk) Typeset in Palatino by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents Preface Vll Author's acknowledgements xxi Publisher's acknowledgements xxiii 1. The world in English 1 Introduction: From Kurt Waldheim to Johnny Clegg 1 The natural, neutral and beneficial spread of English 7 The social, cultural and political contexts of English 11 The worldliness of English 24 Conclusion 35 2. Discourse and dependency in a shifting world 38 Introduction: rethinking internationalism 38 Development, aid and modernization 41 Dependency and imperialism 45 Culture, discourse, difference and disjuncture 54 Cricket, English and cultural politics 66 3. English and colonialism: origins of a discourse 73 Introduction: The complexities of colonialism 73 Anglicism and Orientalism: two sides of the colonial coin 75 English for the few: colonial education policies in Malaya 80 Anglicism and English studies 96 Conclusion 103 4. Spreading the word/disciplining the language 107 Introduction: anti-nomadic disciplines 107 The disciplining of linguistics 109 The disciplining of applied linguistics 126 The spreading and disciplining discourse of ElL 141 V vi THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF ENGLISH 5. EL T from development aid to global commodity 145 From cultural propaganda to global business: The British Council 146 'The West is better ...': discourses of ELT 159 Preface English Language Teaching practices as cultural practices 166 Conclusion: the compass of a discourse 179 6. The Worldliness of English in Malaysia 183 Contexts 183 Cultural politics after independence 186 Malay nationalism and English 191 A book that seeks to locate the global spread of English in its cultural English, class and ethnicity 197 and political contexts might, it is possible to assume, have become English and Islam 204 somewhat dated. This book was written not long after the fall of English and the media 210 the Berlin Wall, and at the time the salient shift in global politics The debates continue 217 appeared to be the final ascendancy of the USA as the preeminent 7. The Worldliness of English in Singapore 222 global power. The years that followed saw globalization become the English as a useful language 222 dominant framework for understanding the world, with the English The making of Singapore 226 language always in ascendancy. Those years also saw the rise of Singapore English 232 neoliberal ideologies as well as the massive growth of digital com- Pragmatism, multiracialism and meritocratism 238 munication, with English once again intertwined with these devel- Pragmatic, multiracial and meritocratic English 245 opments. Now, however, in the second decade of the twenty-first Conclusion 255 century, things have started to look very different. The rallying cry of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign – ‘Make America Great 8. Writing back: the appropriation of English 259 Again’ – is so evidently a response to the decline of the USA in the Postcolonial English 260 twenty-first century that the point does not need more elaboration Re-presenting postcolonial worlds 263 here. This new era looks as if it will be the Chinese, or perhaps more Worldly texts in a worldly language 271 broadly, the Asian century, as power and money shift inevitably Decentred voices: writing in Malaysia 274 eastwards after their relatively brief location in Europe and North Centred voices: writing in Singapore 279 America (Frankopan, 2015). From aestheticism to yuppyism: the new writing in And yet, there are at least two reasons why this book remains as Singapore 287 relevant now as it was when it was first written. The first is that it From writing back to teaching back 292 laid out a way of thinking about the global spread of English through 9. Towards a critical pedagogy for teaching English as a an understanding of cultural politics. The global spread of English, worldly language 295 with its connections to colonial exploitation and the contemporary Critical pedagogies 297 inequalities fostered by globalization and neoliberal ideologies, can- Discourse, language and subjectivity 306 not be understood without looking at these cultural, political and Insurgent knowledges, the classroom and the world 321 ideological forces. And English language teaching (ELT) – the global project that supports the spread of English – is therefore inescap- References 328 ably caught up in questions of power. Any discussion of English as a Index 357 global language and its educational implications cannot ‘ignore the vii Preface A book that seeks to locate the global spread of English in its cultural and political contexts might, it is possible to assume, have become somewhat dated. This book was written not long after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and at the time the salient shift in global politics appeared to be the final ascendancy of the USA as the preeminent global power. The years that followed saw globalization become the dominant framework for understanding the world, with the English language always in ascendancy. Those years also saw the rise of neoliberal ideologies as well as the massive growth of digital com- munication, with English once again intertwined with these devel- opments. Now, however, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, things have started to look very different. The rallying cry of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign – ‘Make America Great Again’ – is so evidently a response to the decline of the USA in the twenty-first century that the point does not need more elaboration here. This new era looks as if it will be the Chinese, or perhaps more broadly, the Asian century, as power and
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