Language as Statecraft
eBook - ePub

Language as Statecraft

'Global English' and the Politics of Language in Rwanda

  1. 230 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Language as Statecraft

'Global English' and the Politics of Language in Rwanda

About this book

This book examines the rise of English in Rwanda, offering critical insights into the links between language, colonialism, and capitalism, with implications for our understanding of global English.

Spowage takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on political theory, cultural-materialism, and critical sociolinguistics. She positions language policy as an instrument for social reproduction and exploitation, but also a site of struggle and contest. Unravelling the complex history of language politics and policy in Rwanda, Spowage elaborates a theory of language as statecraft. This approach draws attention to the endurance of a colonial-capitalist link between language and social class, while illuminating the specific power of English in legitimising neoliberal political power and class hierarchies. On this basis, Spowage argues for a theoretical reimagining of the spread of English through the 'global English nƩbuleuse', a model which aims to capture the complex mechanisms that reinforce the dominance of English and to identify points where those mechanisms are fragile.

This innovative volume will be of interest to scholars in sociolinguistics, global Englishes, language and politics, and African studies.

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Yes, you can access Language as Statecraft by Kate Spowage in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Languages & Linguistics & Linguistics. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half-Title Page
  3. Series Page
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright Page
  6. Dedication
  7. Table of Contents
  8. Acknowledgements
  9. Introduction: Rwanda and the ā€˜Global English’ Debate
  10. 1 Language and Statecraft
  11. 2 Language and Hegemony in ā€˜Francophone’ Rwanda
  12. 3 The RPF and the Struggle for ā€˜Anglophone’ Hegemony
  13. 4 English, Prosperity, and Statecraft in Neoliberal Rwanda
  14. Conclusions: In Theory: Hegemony and Resistance, Rwanda and the World
  15. References
  16. Index