Towards Dehegemonizing the English Language: Perspectives of a “Center” ResearcherWorking in the Periphery

Abstract

This article takes as its starting point the phrase “towards dehegemonizing the English language”, used in the rationale for this conference and workshop. The presentation draws on the insights of Southeast Asian scholars including Tupas (Unequal Englishes), Lorente (the grip of English and Philippine language policy), and Noor Azam (It’s not always English: Duelling aunties in Brunei Darussalam). Noting with approval these examples of ‘periphery’ scholars writing back and exploring the ways in which English has become an Asian language, I offer examples of mixed and unmixed language use in language and content classrooms for collaborative analysis with the audience, and other spoken, written and social media texts for comparison and contrast. These should enable us to explore: whether classroom language use reflects the world outside; whether we can move towards a more accommodating multilingual model; whether this can help us to view local and global languages as complimentary The conclusion suggests a reconceptualization of Applied Linguistics and supports the development of theories arising from Southeast Asian multilingual contexts.