English and the Discourses of Colonialism

by Alastair Pennycook

English and the Discourses of Colonialism opens with the British departure from Hong Kong marking the end of British colonialism. Yet Alastair Pennycook argues that this dramatic exit masks the crucial issue that the traces left by colonialism run deep. This challenging and provocative book looks particularly at English, English language teaching, and colonialism. It reveals how the practice of colonialism permeated the cultures and discourses of both the colonial and colonized nations, the effects of which are still evident today. Pennycook explores the extent to which English is, as commonly assumed, a language of neutrality and global communication, and to what extent it is, by contrast, a language laden with meanings and still weighed down with colonial discourses that have come to adhere to it. Travel writing, newspaper articles and popular books on English, are all referred to, as well as personal experiences and interviews with learners of English in India, Malaysia, China and Australia. Pennycook concludes by appealing to postcolonial writing, to create a politics of opposition and dislodge the discourses of colonialism from English.

Genres: Linguistics

252 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 1998

About the author

Alastair Pennycook is Distinguished Professor of Language, Society and Education at University of Technology Sydney. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan at the University of Oslo, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whew - this author needs a good course in writing or at least a better editor. Having said that, interesting.

[purnota · Rating 4 out of 5]

emeritus at the edward said school of needing an editor 🥀

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Pennycook provides an excellent foundation in critical discourse analysis through the lens of colonialism (at least from my novice view). He has a few main points: 1) that colonization effects the colonizers just as much as the colonized; and 2) that the discourses of colonialist history still adhere to contemporary discourse.

The first point is very important, and as he states, is one that is within his purview as a descendent of colonizers to pursue. He very much believes that he cannot and should not speak on behalf of the colonized, which I appreciated. The effects that he focuses on are largely how English language was taught and thought about, and how that influenced greatly the curricula that was brought back to the "homeland" and still plays a major role in education today (again, he's focusing on what he knows best: he has been an English teacher and involved in ELT and TESOL). Another point is how colonizers came to view their own language of English as inherently superior, and therefore English people themselves as superior.

And it's pretty easy to see those effects today. He quotes liberally from many authors (particularly those from colonized backgrounds), as well as historical documents. Because of this book, I'm now eager to read authors like Césaire and Fanon.

There's a LOT more that could be said about this book, but I'm stopping now because I actually still have tons of other reading to do for school.

It's definitely an intellectual/academical book, so it can be challenging to wade through, but since I'd just read Foucault previously, it seemed fairly light in comparison.

[Manheim Wagner · Rating 1 out of 5]

A pompous know it all who underestimates the discerning abilities of second language speakers of English, Alastair Pennycook offers nothing other than the politically correct party line.

[Sannie Hald · Rating 1 out of 5]

He writes in quotes. Very annoying