To What Extent Are English Users Victims of Linguistic Imperialism?

To what extent are English users victims of linguistic imperialism?

Introduction

There has been much discussion on the issue of whether English users are victims of linguistic imperialism. The user can be defined as the people who use English such as non-native speakers and native speakers. According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (2008) ‘victim' means someone who has suffered because of the action of someone else. This could be arguing that non-native speakers have suffered because of the dominance of native speakers (Phillipson, 1992). Although some researchers have argued that non-native speakers are victims, others take a different view that they are not victims. Moreover, in the essay it will suggested that non-native speakers may not victims of linguistic imperialism. This essay will first analyse the issue that English may subvert the culture diversity. Second, it will turn to the influence of English in scientific field.

Background

At first, English user are divided into three part, Inner Circle, Outer Circle and Expanding Circle by Kachru (1992 in Jenkins 2003). He gave the idea that the Inner Circle means people who make English as mother tongue, such as the USA, the UK and Canada, and the Outer Circle means people who speak English as a second language, like Singapore, Malaysia, and India. Also, the Expanding Circle means people who speak English as a foreign language, for example, China, Egypt and Japan. For this reason, the country like the USA and the UK would be superior. Kachru (1992 in Jenkins 2003, P.17) shows that ‘The implications of this sociolinguistic reality of English use around the world have gone unrecognised, and that attitudes, power and economics have instead been allowed to dictate English language policy.’ However, in 1992, Phillipson show the information that ‘an imperialist structure of exploitation of one society or collectivity by another’ (Phillipson 1992 in Modiano 2001 P.340). Moreover, Jenkins show that the speed of spread of English is fast and English become a lingua franca (Jenkins 2003). After that, Modiano give the new centripetal model to describe the English users (Modiano 2001). In the model, there is no central and English become an international language and the central is people who speak good English. There are no longer an Inner Circle and English belongs to everyone.

Subverting culture diversity

The most important for reason that non-native users may be victims is undermining cultural diversity. Modiano shows that ‘English virtually Anglo-Americanizes the non-native speaker.’ (Modiano 2001 P.340)It gives the idea that English become a power to control the world and as was stated above, the UK spread the English to most country in colonial period. This situation is easily to make decreasing of traditional language for learning English better. Example of the traditional second language users decline is in the Ireland and Scotland. As the spread of English in the Ireland and Scotland, lots of traditional language speakers began to learn English. It will make the loss of traditional language and culture. The same instance is in Western European, such as France and German. These country have same cultural, value and religious, so the spread of English would be more favouring in Western then in East (Modiano 2001).