Ekin Cotuk has been a member of the Visualising Peace team since Spring 2023. Her research is on language, linguistics, and peacebuilding.
She has written a total of 5 blogs on the subject of peace linguistics, using a variety of case studies and providing bibliographies for each. The fourth of these appears below, and links to the others are included at the end of this post.
Researching the relationship between language and peace over the course of the semester, I began to think about the relationship between the English language and peace. Seeing as English is now the most widely spoken language in the world, how it is often taught as the first foreign language in schools, how social media is dominated by English, how the most popular media and songs are always in English, I grew interested in whether the English language may have been acting as a barrier to a more comprehensive linguistic peace within the status of different languages by being the most widely spoken one, and potentially be displacing and erasing other languages in the process of its expansion. This blog draws on my research findings on where the relationship between the English language and peace is explicitly discussed in scholarship, and seeks to explore how peace is visualised within the English language.
Some of the most frequent links made between English and peace were in the realm of education and pedagogy, mainly about implementing peace education, or even more peaceful teaching practices in the foreign language classroom. The concern for implementing peace education in the English classroom can be explained on one hand with the rise of English as a global language. Scholar David Crystal defines a global language as a language that ‘develops a special role that is recognized in every country’, through either gaining official language status, or becoming the chief foreign language taught in that country.42 The spread of English around the world can be understood through historical context, particularly with the growth of the British colonial empire in the 19th century, which initiated the spread of English throughout the world. Its influence was maintained as the United States’ economic power rose in the 20th century.43 The status of English as a global language was maintained through the continued cultural influence of Britain’s colonial empire, and rapid technological innovation in the 19th century in the UK as well as the United States, which proliferated English language use in media such as the press and broadcast media.44 The prevalence of English is also sustained in popular culture, such as cinema and music, which owes to the progress of these industries in both the UK and the United States.45 There is a direct correlation between technological advancement in both the UK and the United States, and the dissemination of the English language around the world.46 The rise of English as a global language is strongly bound up with economic power, and is a legacy of colonial expansion.
The correlation between English and its history of colonial expansion problematises the legitimacy of its status as a global language. Several scholars have pointed to the dangers of simply accepting the dominance of English, and its potential for erasing other languages because it is ‘armed’ with technological, economic and political power.47 Additionally, there are concerns that the rise of English is contributing to a power imbalance between languages, implementing a framework in which all other languages and cultures are compared with English, and fosters this imbalance further as English is taught uncritically and without awareness of its potentially harmful effects towards other languages and cultures, as an ‘international language’ devoid of any ideological and cultural belief.48 English today also has a tendency to reinforce an imbalanced power dynamic between countries by legitimising the spread of English by associating it with the spread of economic development, modernity and progress.49 This perpetuates the idea that learning English is necessary for participation in the international community, but also for the development of a country.50 In light of this, the necessity to protect linguistic diversity by fostering a linguistic climate where global languages such as English and other languages can coexist constitutes a central concern.51 As the level of globalisation and the amount of English language learners grows, scholar Patricia Friedrich observes a real potential to utilize English’s wide reach to foster more peaceful communication, shifting the discourse around English from curtailing its use, towards how to use it more mindfully and respectfully to contribute towards a landscape of linguistic peace.52 An important component to her approach to discussing the reduction of ‘linguistic violence’, which constitutes language use that ‘acts against survival, well-being, identity, and freedom’, is linguistic peace education. For Friedrich, this involves respecting the diversity of language users within a language and being mindful of the differences in language use that arise as a result of this diversity.53 A path towards peace, when discussing the English language, involves acknowledging its widespread use, and then laying the foundations towards a sustainable and inclusive linguistic climate.
In fact, because of the popularity of English being taught as a second language, many scholars have identified a space within the English classroom to promote increased awareness and understanding of global issues, and shaping language users who are conscious of the power of language and choose to communicate peacefully. Second language classrooms in general provide rich sites of communication across cultures, assembling individuals from diverse backgrounds, which provides potential to foster peace through dialogue and increased understanding of different cultures.54 The responsibility of TESOL teachers shifts from not only teaching people how to speak English, but also how to speak it in a way that promotes peaceful interaction rather than create conflict.55 This involves challenging and educating about the oppressive and harmful aspects of the language, integrating global issues to foster empathy, awareness of current world problems, as well as asking learners reflective questions that get them actively engaging with the type of language user and communicator they want to be.56 Furthermore, the English teacher is given a responsibility to teach English with more critical awareness of its global power in the current political context, so as to raise awareness of the linguistic inequalities and cultural erasure that English can contribute towards given its dominance.57 Within the English language classroom, peace can be fostered in the learning environment by raising awareness of global issues, getting students to reflect on the role of English in today’s cultural, social and political landscape, and by teaching strategies of peaceful communication to shape students into well-rounded, mindful and conscious language users.
English came into power through violent means, through both colonial expansion and cultural imposition. To counteract any legacies of colonial thinking in the English language that legitimises its dominance over other languages and cultures, it is crucial to be aware of its history and the current role it plays in today’s political climate. Across the various discussions of English as harmful to other languages and cultures due to discourses that align the spread of English with development and progress, as well as contributing to linguistic and cultural erasure, the key value that underpins a path towards the mitigation of these harmful effects but also fostering peace is awareness and consciousness. The spread of English doesn’t have to be inherently bad or damaging, but this relies on the increased awareness of its role in today’s world, which can be integrated into the English language classroom. More broadly, the spread of English also provides fertile grounds to promote peaceful communication as the number of English language learners grows, providing great potential to shape language users who are mindful, and peaceful, communicators.
Read Ekin’s other blogs…
Visualising peace across different languages: the Turkish language in protest (next blog)
Why is language important when we talk about peace?
Linguistic diversity and visibility for peace: education and community radio in Myanmar
‘Lost in Translation’: Language, identity, and inner peace
Bibliography
Canagarajah, A. Suresh. “On EFL Teachers, Awareness, and Agency.” ELT Journal 53, no. 3 (July 1999): 207–14. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/53.3.207.
Crystal, David. English as a Global Language. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511486999.
Friedrich, Patricia. “English for Peace: Toward a Framework of Peace Sociolinguistics.” World Englishes 26, no. 1 (February 2007): 72–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-971x.2007.00489.x.
Kruger, Frans. “The Role of TESOL in Educating for Peace.” Journal of Peace Education 9, no. 1 (April 2012): 17–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/17400201.2011.623769.
Matos, Francisco Gomes de. “16 Planning Uses of Peace Linguistics in Second Language Education.” In Un(Intended) Language Planning in a Globalising World: Multiple Levels of Players at Work, 290–300. Warsaw: De Gruyter Open Poland, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110518269-016.
Modiano, M. “Linguistic Imperialism, Cultural Integrity, and EIL.” ELT Journal 55, no. 4 (October 1, 2001): 339–47. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/55.4.339.
Morgan, Brian, and Stephanie Vandrick. “Imagining a Peace Curriculum: What Second-Language Education Brings to the Table.” Peace & Change 34, no. 4 (October 2009): 510–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0130.2009.00598.x.
Tsuda, Yukio. “Critical Studies on the Dominance of English and the Implications for International Communication.” Japan Review, no. 10 (1998): 219–36. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25791026.