Global Englishes and Transcultural Flows

by Alastair Pennycook

The English language is spreading across the world, and so too is hip-hop both are being altered, developed, reinterpreted, reclaimed. This timely book explores the relationship between global Englishes (the spread and use of diverse forms of English within processes of globalization) and transcultural flows (the movements, changes and reuses of cultural forms in disparate contexts). This wide-ranging study focuses on the ways English is embedded in other linguistic contexts, including those of East Asia, Australia, West Africa and the Pacific Islands. Drawing on transgressive and performative theory, Pennycook looks at how global Englishes, transcultural flows and pedagogy are interconnected in ways that oblige us to rethink language and culture within the contemporary world. Global Englishes and Transcultural Flows is a valuable resource to applied linguists, sociolinguists, and students on cultural studies, English language studies, TEFL and TESOL courses.

Genres: Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published December 1, 2006

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

[Luce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not going to read a whole book which caused my brain to melt and reset itself without adding it to my 2021 read shelf. As complicated and intricate the theoretical application was, this was very interesting and thought-provoking. A useful and sometimes important read for anyone interested in cultural studies, education, applied linguistics, and sociolinguistics (particularly those people keen to reimagine linguistic, cultural, and sociological theory from a truly contemporary perspective).

[Manheim Wagner · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, English is an uncountable noun. Yes, there are multiple dialects of global English but anyone with any knowledge of basic grammar and intercultural language skills this book will cringe reading this book.

[quasialidia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been less focused on theory and more focused on showing how hip-hop culture and as a practice of language supports his argument that hip-hop challenges and disproves (through creole, mixing and sampling) "essentialist" theories of language and the local.

[Jaana · Rating 2 out of 5]

At points, the book was a bit confusing and it took long to achieve "the real point" in the book.