Beyond Homogeny and Heterogeny
English as a Global and Worldly Language
In: The Politics of English as a World LanguageSearch for other papers by Alastair Pennycook in
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Abstract
This essay explores the globalization and worldliness of the spread of English. Focusing on domains of global popular culture, such as rap and hip-hop, I shall try to show how, at the same time as such forms are spreading, they are also being taken up and used for quite diverse alternative purposes. Rather than the model of language implied by a simple globalization thesis, the homogeny position, or the view of language suggested by a world-englishes framework, the heterogeny position, I shall argue for an understanding of English within a view of language that allows for a critical appraisal of both the globalizing and worldly forces around English. Drawing on Walter Mignolo’s (2000) discussion of globalization as a long historical process of European designs on/for the rest of the world (Christianity, Civilization, Development, Global Market), and mundialización (here translated as worldliness), referring to the ways in which global designs are enacted, resisted, and rearticulated, I will discuss ways in which we can start to look at the complex interactions between global and local forces, English and popular culture.