Abstract: The forces behind ‘global’ English and its increased use at all levels of education in many countries need critical scrutiny. English is fraudulently marketed by the British and American governments, with World Bank complicity, as though it is a universal ‘basic skill’. It conflates English with development, and in reality aims at consolidating Anglo-American power. There are clear examples of this in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. This contemporary surge represents a variant of worldwide efforts to eliminate the languages of Indigenous peoples and linguistic minorities. Such policies can be seen as a crime against humanity and constituting linguistic genocide. Creating a balance between dominant languages, nationally and internationally, and maintaining the vitality of local, minority and Indigenous language ecologies and principles of linguistic human rights is a major challenge, in South Asian countries as elsewhere.
Robert Phillipson is Emeritus Professor at Copenhagen Business School. His books on language issues have been published in twelve countries. Best known are Linguistic imperialism (Oxford University Press, 1992; also published in Shanghai and Delhi, and in translation into Arabic and Japanese); English-only Europe? Challenging language policy (Routledge 2003); and Linguistic imperialism continued (Routledge, 2009). He was awarded the UNESCO Linguapax prize in 2010. For details of CV and publications, see cbs website.
Dr. Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, bilingual from birth in Finnish and Swedish, has written or edited around 50 monographs & over 400 articles and book chapters, published in 49 languages, about mother-tongue-based multilingual education, revitalisation of endangered languages, linguistic human rights, linguistic genocide, subtractive spread of English, and the relationship between biodiversity and linguistic diversity. Recipient of the Linguapax award 2003, CABE’s Vision Award 2013. For more, see Tove's website.
Robert and Tove recently edited four volumes for Routledge on Language Rights (2017; 1668 pages). The volumes are multidisciplinary, drawing on language policy, political theory, education, law, philosophy, anthropology, economics, minority studies, Deaf studies, and indigenous cosmologies, consisting of 95 key texts, case studies of language rights in many countries, written by scholars from all continents, and Conventions etc. The editors have written a general introduction, and introductions to each thematic volume (these are on ResearchGate and Academia.edu).