Globalisation: A Linguistic Approach...

According to many anti-globalists, globalisation, i.e. the breaking down of cultural and national boundaries, has led to 'cultural imperialism' by the West (particularly America) over the rest of the world i.e. dominance of Western culture over other cultures. These anti-globalists make certain valid points and point towards the proliferation of the English language when trying to illustrate the effect that cultural globalisation has had on the different cultures around the world, claiming that the spread of English world wide has undermined the plethora of other dialects that enrich the international tapestry of languages. However, this argument is reductionist in nature and does not entertain the notion that linguistic globalisation may also be a positive phenomenon.

 The nineteenth century was a time of Pax Britannica, with Britain dominating over other European powers and spreading it's culture (language being a part of this) through colonisation. The twentieth century was the age of Pax Americana, with the United States imposing it's military and political hegemony through out the world, spreading it's culture in the process. Thus, English has enjoyed a double tenure, first as the language of the British and then as the central language of American culture and the international proliferation of English has only been a natural consequence of the dominance of these two nations.

However, the spread of English has not led to the elimination of other languages but has rather resulted in rich blends of different languages with English, altering English to local dialects while at the same time making these dialects more easily understandable by the rest of the world. As the English intellectual, Charles Leadbeater says, "Many varieties and combinations of the language (English) have emerged. The pessimists' black and white world rules out the possibility of people reaching these fruitful combinations in language." The works of Salman Rushdie, who sews together English with Bengali slang in his fictional writing, and other Asian writers such as Anita Desai and Arundhati Roy, demonstrate how local languages and English can come together beautifully.

The United States itself is slowly becoming a multi linguistic society; with immigrants hailing from countless cultural and linguistic backgrounds and the American emphasis on equal rights for all this gradual shift to multi lingualism is only natural. Bhagwati, in his book, 'In Defense of Globalisation', points out that cash dispensing machines in American banks now 'talk' in multiple languages such as Spanish, Chinese and Gujrati, which signifies how America is a host to multiple dialects.

The local use of indigenous languages has even revived in spite of, and even in response to the spread of English. Globalisation has made people more acutely aware of this distinct values and norms of different cultures and has pushed people to more actively hold on to and flaunt Thieu distinctive cultural identities. This has lead to a resurgence in the promotion of local customs and languages, instead of undermining these as anti-globalists seem to believe.