Global English
We were fooling ourselves if we thought that, by spreading the use of English as a common global language, we were building the ultimate bridge to international peace and understanding. We are now in an era in which globalization increases inequalities and competitiveness between economies and cult...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Irish Association for Applied Linguistics
2023-11-01
|
| Series: | Teanga: The Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journal.iraal.ie/index.php/teanga/article/view/6797 |
| _version_ | 1797627911446986752 |
|---|---|
| author | Claire Kramsch |
| author_facet | Claire Kramsch |
| author_sort | Claire Kramsch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
We were fooling ourselves if we thought that, by spreading the use of English as a common global language, we were building the ultimate bridge to international peace and understanding. We are now in an era in which globalization increases inequalities and competitiveness between economies and cultures; the “engagement algorithms” of social media not only foster new friendships, they also spread untruths and fear; and the English linguistic sign is increasingly reduced to a commodified or empty signifier. More than ever, our times call for more than communicative competence, tolerance of and respect for others – values supposedly vehiculated through English in intercultural communication. They urgently call for a critical understanding of the role that symbolic systems like Global English, global marketing discourses and the discourse of global ideological competition play in constituting the distressing world we live in. What we need in language education is a kind of symbolic competence that includes the ability to understand the symbolic universe in which utterances and texts are produced, identify the symbolic power struggles at work in face to face and online interactions, and be wary of the new A.I. systems that risk upending our efforts to understand one another across cultures. On two examples of “intercultural competence”, one in China, the other on Chat GPT, this paper reflects on how the globalization of English has changed the nature of intercultural communication and how an understanding of symbolic power is needed to come to grips with the changes.
|
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:31:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ef3441f9825d4ca184a1dec5ce13602c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0332-205X 2565-6325 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:31:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | The Irish Association for Applied Linguistics |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Teanga: The Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics |
| spelling | doaj.art-ef3441f9825d4ca184a1dec5ce13602c2023-11-14T18:50:16ZengThe Irish Association for Applied LinguisticsTeanga: The Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics0332-205X2565-63252023-11-01301Global EnglishClaire Kramsch0University of California, Berkeley We were fooling ourselves if we thought that, by spreading the use of English as a common global language, we were building the ultimate bridge to international peace and understanding. We are now in an era in which globalization increases inequalities and competitiveness between economies and cultures; the “engagement algorithms” of social media not only foster new friendships, they also spread untruths and fear; and the English linguistic sign is increasingly reduced to a commodified or empty signifier. More than ever, our times call for more than communicative competence, tolerance of and respect for others – values supposedly vehiculated through English in intercultural communication. They urgently call for a critical understanding of the role that symbolic systems like Global English, global marketing discourses and the discourse of global ideological competition play in constituting the distressing world we live in. What we need in language education is a kind of symbolic competence that includes the ability to understand the symbolic universe in which utterances and texts are produced, identify the symbolic power struggles at work in face to face and online interactions, and be wary of the new A.I. systems that risk upending our efforts to understand one another across cultures. On two examples of “intercultural competence”, one in China, the other on Chat GPT, this paper reflects on how the globalization of English has changed the nature of intercultural communication and how an understanding of symbolic power is needed to come to grips with the changes. https://journal.iraal.ie/index.php/teanga/article/view/6797intercultural competenceGlobal Englishcommodified signifierempty signifierlocus of enunciation |
| spellingShingle | Claire Kramsch Global English Teanga: The Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics intercultural competence Global English commodified signifier empty signifier locus of enunciation |
| title | Global English |
| title_full | Global English |
| title_fullStr | Global English |
| title_full_unstemmed | Global English |
| title_short | Global English |
| title_sort | global english |
| topic | intercultural competence Global English commodified signifier empty signifier locus of enunciation |
| url | https://journal.iraal.ie/index.php/teanga/article/view/6797 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT clairekramsch globalenglish |