Is Linguistic Identity Becoming a Problem Facing English Linguistic Imperialism

Chen+Jiliang++Tan+Zhuxiu

【Abstract】English language has undergone a long-term development and now it has become an international language.The wide spread of English contributes greatly to its status as an internationally dominating language which results in the linguistic imperialism and the loss of linguistic identity for many people speaking other languages.Their linguistic identity is becoming a problem now.

【Key words】English language development； linguistic imperialism，linguistic identity

1.Rise and Evolvement of English language

The history of English language can be traced back to the arrival of three Germanic tribes to the British Isles during the 5th Century AD.Angles，Saxons and Jutes crossed the North Sea from what is the present day Denmark and northern Germany.The inhabitants of Britain previously spoke a Celtic language.This was quickly displaced.Most of the Celtic speakers were pushed into Wales，Cornwall and Scotland.The Angles were named from Engle，their land of origin.Their language was called Englisc from which the word，English derives.

During the 7th and 8th Centuries，Northumbria's culture and language dominated Britain.The Viking invasions of the 9th Century brought this domination to an end.Only Wessex remained as an independent kingdom.By the 10th Century，the West Saxon dialect became the official language of Britain.Written Old English is mainly known from this period.It was written in an alphabet called Runic，derived from the Scandinavian languages.The Latin alphabet was brought over from Ireland by Christian missionaries.This has remained the writing system of English.

At this time，the vocabulary of Old English consisted of an Anglo Saxon base with borrowed words from the Scandinavian languages （Danish and Norse） and Latin.Latin gave English words like street，kitchen，kettle，cup，cheese，wine，angel，bishop，martyr，and candle.The Vikings added many Norse words： sky，egg，cake，skin，leg，window （wind eye），husband，fellow，skill，anger，flat，odd，ugly，get，give，take，raise，call，die，they，their，them.Celtic words also survived mainly in place and river names （Devon，Dover，Kent，Trent，Severn，Avon，and Thames）.

In 1066 the Normans conquered Britain.French became the language of the Norman aristocracy and added more vocabulary to English.More pairs of similar words between English and French arose.

It wasn't till the 14th Century that English became dominant in Britain again.In 1399，King Henry IV became the first king of England since the Norman Conquest whose mother tongue was English.By the end of the 14th Century，the dialect of London had emerged as the standard dialect of what we now call Middle English.Chaucer wrote in this language.

Modern English began around the 16th Century and，like all languages，is still changing.Since the 16th Century，because of the contact that the British had with many peoples from around the world，and the Renaissance of Classical learning，many words have entered the language either directly or indirectly.New words were created at an increasing rate.This process has grown exponentially in the modern era.

2.Spread of English language

Language spread is a metaphor for the adoption of a given language by individuals.Language spread can be defined as ‘a(chǎn)n increase，over time，in the proportion of a communication network that adopts a given language or language variety for a given communicative function. （Cooper 1982：6）

Whereas in earlier historical periods，other languages have spread over large areas for a certain purposes （often commercial or religious），the spread of English is unique，both in terms of its geographical reach and as regards the depth of its penetration.The contributing factors for its wide spread should be the contact of the English language speakers with other language speakers.English demonstrated great flexibilities to absorb new vocabulary from other languages.The core English-speaking countries，the United States and the Britain，for example，had developed a prosperous economy and advanced science and technology.Their promotion of English teaching worldwide also had contributed a lot to its wide spread.

3.To keep linguistic identity facing English linguistic imperialism

A working definition of English linguistic imperialism is offered as follows： “The dominance of English is asserted and maintained by the establishment and continuous reconstitution of structural and cultural inequalities between English and other languages （Robert Phillipson 2000：47）.English has become an international language to the point any literate educated person is in real sense deprived if he doesnt know English.Poverty，famine，and disease are instantly recognized as the cruelest forms of deprivation.Linguistic deprivation is a less easily noticed condition，but one of great significance.English language is more than just a tool to communicate.Any countries are now spending great efforts to promote the English teaching in their countries and their English language teaching is making a progress.But whats becoming worse is that their own vernacular language teaching is facing problems，thus their citizens are facing more problems to form their own linguistic identity because language has always played an important role in the formation and expression of identity.The role of language in identity construction is becoming even more central in the post-modern era，as other traditional markers of identity are being reduced，including that of race.Language makes us declare our identity，without our own language，our identity stays unknown and hidden.The English language should not be imposed upon the people.So when making educational policies，each nation should start from protecting their own language and cultural identity.

4.Conclusion

English linguistic imperialism is the result of Englishs long history of development.The British success in conquest，colonization，and trade 17th，18th，and 19th century contributed it greatly.It was greatly accelerated by the emergence of the United States as the major military world power and technological leader in the times after World War Two.

English has been eagerly adopted in the global linguistic marketplace.It intrudes on all the languages that it comes into contact with.English language offers the world people more chances to exchange and communicate with each other，at the same time，each nation and peoples should make efforts to maintain their own languages so that they can maintain their own linguistic and cultural identity.

References：

[1]Cooper，R.L.1982.A framework for the study of language spread.Indiana University Press.

[2]Robert Phillipson.2000.Linguistic Imperialism.Oxford University Press.