A Critical Analysis of Liguistic Imperialism Essay

Introduction English has become one of the major languages of the world, and it can be an agent of linguistic imperialism (Phillipson, 1992). This review will offer a critique of the of the 1992 book, Linguistic Imperialism, published by New York: Oxford University Press. The author, Robert Phillipson, is a research professor at Copenhagen Business Schools Department of English. Through the examination of this article, it can be confirmed that Phillipson has accurately described the existing problems of the dying minority languages and the untenable idea of the combination of globalization and English. However, I contest that English can promote social mobility in low-income countries in Africa and other countries. The questions†¦show more content†¦It is strongly suggested that with this global diffusion of English, the equality for speakers of all languages is flawed. However, in contrast to this, the article â€Å"The Triumph of English,† published in The Economist argues that the language of globalization and of economics and politics is necessary for international communications and further education on large variety of subjects. English will be spoken by over a billion people within a decade, and that the English language has diffused everywhere and globally. The English language is a vital skill to operate on the world stage, because many of the fruitful sources needed for education are published in the global language of English, and people can understand the economics and politics of the world. The ability to understand and communicate in English is mandatory in various fields and professions, and is therefore possibly the lingua franca of the modern-day society. Discussion English is essential to the globalization processes for economic and political restructuring. There are opposition of this idea that English can be equally diffused on a global scale. This spread of the language is the imperialism of culture, where Americanization takes place, and American culture is forced into various cultures through the power of the dominance of English as the lingua franca.