内容説明
Is the English language neutral, global and open to everyone? This text suggest not. Alastair Pennycook argues that the context of colonialism produced particular cultural constructs - discourses - that became linked to English. He questions the extent to which English is, as commonly assumed, an unencumbered medium of communication, and to what extent it is, by contrast, a language that comes laden with meanings. By examining colonial language policies in India, Malaysia and Hong Kong, this book shows how various policies emerged which both reflected and produced colonial discourses. Caught between Anglicism and Orientalism, colonial language policy was a significant site of production of images of English and images of the other. If the language we use is loaded, what are the implications for how we can construct a politics of opposition? Resistance is not simply a matter of arguing back; Pennycook ends by calling for joint strategies on a number of fronts to combat such discursive constructions.
Book Description
Challenging and provocative,
English and the Discourses of Colonialism looks at the English language and its colonial legacy. Through detailed analysis, Alastair Pennycook reveals how colonial practice permeated the discourses of both the colonial and colonized cultures, leaving lasting marks still evident today. He explores the extent to which English is, as commonly assumed, a language of neutrality and global communication, and to what extent it is, by contrast, a language laden with meanings, still weighed down by its colonial past. Travel writing, newspaper articles and popular books on English are all referred to, as well as personal experiences and interviews with learners of English in India, Malaysia, China and Australia. Pennycook concludes with an appeal to postcolonial writing as a means of creating a politics of opposition and rupture.