The Politics of English [Paperback]

This book offers a major reappraisal of the role of language in the social world. Focusing on three main areas - the global spread of English; Standard English; and language and sexism - The Politics of English: examines World English in relation to international capitalism and colonialism; analyzes the ideological underpinnings of the debate about Standard English; and locates sexism in language as arising from social relations. Locating itself in the classical Marxist tradition, this book shows how language is both shaped by, and contributes to social life.`A very welcome and much-needed broadening of current theoretical perspectives' - Professor Norman Fairclough

This book offers a major reappraisal of the role of language in the social world. Focusing on three main areas - the global spread of English; Standard English; and language and sexism - The Politics of English: examines World English in relation to international capitalism and colonialism; analyzes the ideological underpinnings of the debate about Standard English; and locates sexism in language as arising from social relations. Locating itself in the classical Marxist tradition, this book shows how language is both shaped by, and contributes to social life.`The outstanding virture of this book is that whatever expectations one brings to it are likely to be confounded. Blissfully free of dogmatic jargon that once made ideological tracts such hard slogging, it opens with an introductory chapter sounding the contemporary Marxist call to arms against, not capitalism, but post-structuralism' - Journal of Sociolinguistics

`A very welcome and lÃ#