The Idea of English in Japan

Ideology and the Evolution of a Global Language

By (author) Philip Seargeant

Publication date:

04 August 2009

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

210x148mm
6x8"

ISBN-13: 9781847692023

This book examines the ways in which English is conceptualised as a global language in Japan, and considers how the resultant language ideologies – drawn in part from universal discourses; in part from context-specific trends in social history – inform the relationships that people in Japan have towards the language. The book analyses the specific nature of the language’s symbolic meaning in Japan, and how this meaning is expressed and negotiated in society. It also discusses how the ideologies of English that exist in Japan might have implications for the more general concept of ‘English as a global language’. To this end it considers the question of what constitutes a ‘global’ language, and how, if at all, a balance can be struck between the universal and the historically-contingent when it comes to formulating a theory of English within the world.

Acknowledgements

List of Figures

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: The Concept of English as a Global Language

Chapter 3: Language Ideology and Global English

Chapter 4: English in Japan: The Current Shape of the Debate

Chapter 5: Globalisation – ‘Enriching Japanese Culture Through Contact with Other Cultures’

Chapter 6: Authenticity – ‘More English than England Itself’

Chapter 7: Aspiration – ‘Enhancing Lifestyles and Living out Dreams’

Chapter 8: The Unknown Language

Chapter 9: Rival Ideologies in Applied Linguistics

References

The idea of English in Japan is the first book-length treatment of globalization and ideology of English in Japan. Seargeant critically analyzes English both as a language to be communicated in and as a concept to be symbolized and reflected in non-linguistic practices in the society. The book is a must-read not only for scholars of English in Japan but also for anyone who is interested in theorizing English as a global language from linguistic and ideological perspectives.