It seems that claiming English as a neutral linga franca of the world is a double edged sword—"a join us or die claim" if you will (ironically, this was one of the slogans used by the American Revolution when they split from England, and now we see the globalized power of the US perpetuating the linguistic hegemony of English throughout the world). I say this because English's spread has not come without an exertion of power. I find it dubious to believe that people around the world just simultaneously decided that English seems to be the best language that they could all learn to communicate together. In fact, I would argue that there has been resistance from the the first spread of English language and western culture, and there is a strong resistance to it still.
The problem however with such a global phenomena perhaps, is that English's gradual spread has grown to such a large degree that it has developed a ubiquitous presence it begins built a following that supports the dominate position it has taken in the world:
"It is the main language of books, newspapers, airports and air-traffic control, international business and academic conferences, science, technology, medicine, diplomacy, sports, international competitions, pop music, and advertising" (qtd. in Bokhorst-Heng and McKay 7).My question then is: How can people resist such a hegemonic force? Or how can do we insure that the architecture and history of this power structure is made plain to see for all, no matter where they stand in relation to hierarchy?
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