UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE JUIZ DE FORA

COLÉGIO DE APLICAÇÃO JOÃO XXIII

STUDENTS:__________________________________________________________________
CLASS:_____________________ DATE:___________________________

The Linguistic Colonialism of English

ANNA CORRADI | APRIL 25, 2017
Some argue that the historical and current bloodshed of Western imperialism has
transformed the English language into a universal tool of communication. Through
centuries of colonialism, neocolonialism, Cold War expansionism, and, most recently,
globalization, the West has spread its preferred systems of capitalism, democracy, and
moral values. As a result of this, contemporary English is detached from any specific
cultural identity; it is a tool which links different societies in an increasingly smaller
world.
The first population to speak English was the British. About five hundred years ago,
between five and seven million people spoke the language; today, about 1.8 billion
people do. Processes of violent imperialism have paved the way for the cultural
pandemic originating in the West. Most former British colonies now use English as
their official language (e.g. Ghana and South Africa). Ever since the US colonized
Puerto Rico after winning the Spanish-American war (note the absence of Puerto
Rico, or Cuba, in the name of the war), the official languages on the island became
Spanish and, of course, English.
Today, English is the third most spoken language in the world and tops the list of
second languages. English is a necessity for studying at the most prestigious
institutions of higher learning, a ticket to working almost anywhere in the world, and
an instrument enabling a livelihood in the wealthiest nations. It has become the norm
for non-native English speakers to communicate with other non-native English
speakers in English if they do not share a native language. This phenomenon feeds
into the growth of social inequality linked to globalization. The majority of the time,
English learned as a second language in public schools does not create a proficiency
level adequate for working, studying, or relying on the language in daily life. Private
language courses, summer exchange programs abroad and access to international
schools are expensive and limited to a privileged minority. As is common, this kind
of globalization seems to only benefit the rich.
The process of globalization leads people to visualize an array of opportunities and an
exponentially better future linked to the English language. A language is not only an
instrument of communication, however. It is also the tool of a society, made up of its
culture, traditions, and sets of religious and ideological beliefs. Each language has
nuances which represent its origin. Replacing indigenous Kenyan Kiembu with
English is comparable with marginalization of the that particular culture. Okoth
Okombo, a professor of linguistics at the University of Nairobi, summarises
this: “The death of a language is like the burning of a library.” According
to UNESCO, about 231 languages have gone extinct in the world, 37 of which
originated in Sub-Saharan Africa. These indigenous languages were replaced by
Western ones imposed by colonizers. If the preservation of other cultures is given the
same importance and value as spreading English is currently receiving, the language
can be an addition, not a replacement, to a naturally evolving culture’s array of
nuances.
Source: CORRADI, Anna. The Linguistic Colonialism Of English. Brown Political Review, April 25th, 2017. Available
at: HTTPS://BROWNPOLITICALREVIEW.ORG/2017/04/LINGUISTIC-COLONIALISM-ENGLISH/
QUESTION 6: Based on the title, we can say that the text is about

a) The advantages of studying English.

b) How English is taught in schools.
c) English being used as a second language throughout the world.
d) The linguistic processes that created English in Great Britain.
e) The domination processes connected to English.

QUESTION 7: The author believes that English nowadays

a) Is fully based on cultural aspects from the US and the UK.

b) Respects the existence of other languages.
c) Has no culture attached to it, because it is a tool to connect the world.
d) Doesn’t influence other languages.
e) Is used solely in countries that originally spoke English.

QUESTION 8: The following fragment of the poem “Summer in Calcutta”, by Indian

author Kamala Das, connects to the news article above by

(…)
Don’t write in English, they said,
English is not your mother tongue…
…The language I speak
Becomes mine, its distortions, its queerness
All mine, mine alone, it is half English, half
Indian, funny perhaps, but it is honest,
It is as human as I am human…
…It voices my joys, my longings my
Hopes…
Source: DAS, Kamala. Summer in Calcutta. Kottayam: DC Books, 2004.

a) Agreeing that English is a tool of oppression towards other languages.

b) Saying that the use of English is exclusive to native English speakers.
c) Agreeing that English has no specific culture of its own.
d) Saying that English is a language in which people from different backgrounds
communicate.
e) Saying her expression has been marginalized by the use of English.

QUESTION 9: About the use of English worldwide, the text says that

a) About 1.8 billion people speak English nowadays.

b) Puerto Rico was an active participant in the Spanish-American war and chose
English as its first language.
c) English is the most spoken language in the world.
d) English was introduced into the colonies as a second language and not as the
countries’ official language.
e) Imperialism did not influence the use of English worldwide.
QUESTION 10: According to the news article, generalized proficiency in English in a
globalized world is made difficult because

a) Specialized language schools are financially accessible, but ineffective.

b) Globalization increases the possibility of students coming into contact with
English.
c) Going abroad is the only opportunities students have to have access to English.
d) The language taught in public schools is does not create an adequate proficiency
level in students.
e) Students refuse to learn English due to the erasure of their own cultures.

QUESTION 11: Nowadays, English has been chosen as the world’s lingua franca.
This choice has been influenced by

a) Peaceful treaties and agreements that made English into a second language
worldwide.
b) The rich culture associated with English.
c) The fact that 1.8 billion people are native speakers of English.
d) How easy English is to learn.
e) British and American imperialism and domination.

QUESTION 12: What does Okoth Okombo mean when he says that : “The death of a
language is like the burning of a library”?

a) That dying languages leave nothing behind.

b) That languages do not carry any substantial cultural importance.
c) That losing a language means losing immaterial knowledge associated to it.
d) That languages are only preserved when they have been written down.
e) That losing languages is dangerous because the material elements they have are
lost as well.

QUESTION 13: 37 Sub-Saharan languages went extinct because

a) They were spoken by a small number of people.

b) They were replaced by Western languages brought by colonizers.
c) They were less important than other languages in the region.
d) They were not preserved in libraries or written texts.
e) The UNESCO did not help their preservation.
QUESTION 14: Read the short excerpt of a news article below:

"This Is America, Speak English": Latinas On The Fear Of Speaking Spanish

In Public
ANDREA GONZÁLEZ-RAMÍREZ
MAY 16, 2018 4:57 PM
(…) Truth is, it has never been safe to speak other languages in the U.S. The history of this country
and its obsession with being English-only is inextricably tied to white, Anglo supremacy. Just take
stock of its past: Native American children being forcibly sent to English-only boarding schools, how
the Chinese Exclusionary Act of 1882 only allowed highly-educated migrants with knowledge of the
language, segregating Mexican children from white children in schools because the former "couldn't"
speak English.
In recent decades, we've seen this type of xenophobia flourish everywhere from restaurants to
department stores and even state legislatures. For Pamela Granda, her experience being harassed
happened sometime around 2010. "My mom and I were on line at a McDonald’s in Newark, NJ," she
told me. "We were having a conversation in Spanish and the man in front of us turns back and says,
'It’s because of you people that there are no damn jobs in this country!'" (…)

Source: GONZÁLEZ-RAMÍREZ, Andrea. “This is America, Speak English”: Latinas On The Fear Of
Speaking Spanish In Public. Refinery 29, May 16th, 2018. Available at:
https://www.refinery29.com/amp/en-us/2018/05/199302/speak-english-this-is-america-harassment-
incidents-experience

The except shows the reader that not speaking English in the USA might lead to

a) Appreciation of other languages.

b) Inclusion of different languages and cultures in American life.
c) Aggression and hostility from white Americans.
d) Devaluation of English in detriment to other languages.
e) A defense of English from the imposition of languages brought to the USA by
colonizers

QUESTION 15: The three texts are related to each other because

a) They discuss an aspect of domination linked to the use of English.

b) They defend the supremacy of other languages in relation to English.
c) They were written by native English speakers.
d) They show the advantages of speaking English in a globalized world.
e) They advocate that languages should be kept separate to exist peacefully.