Unit 12 English as a Global Language
Text Analysis
I. Background information
1. About the text
The text is written by Juliane House and first published in The Guardian Weekly (Thursday, April 19, 2001).
2. About the author
Juliane House (1942-)—German linguist and Translation Studies scholar. House received a degree in English and Spanish Translation and International Law from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Later, she worked as a translator and researcher. She earned her Bed, MA and PhD in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at the University of Toronto, Canada. She is a senior member of the German Science Foundation’s Research Centre on
Multilingualism at the University of Hamburg, where she has directed several projects on translation and interpreting. Her research interests include translation theory and practice, contrastive pragmatics, discourse analysis, politeness theory, English as lingua franca, intercultural communication, and global business communication. Her published works include A Model for Translation Quality Assessment (1977 and revisited 1997), Let’s Talk and Talk About It: A Pedagogic Interactional Grammar of English (1981) with Willis Edmondson, Interlingual and Intercultural Communication (1986) with Shoshana Blum-Kulka, Cross-cultural Pragmatics: Requests and Apologies (1989) with Shoshana Blum-Kulka and Gabriele Kasper, Misunderstanding in Social Life: Discourse Approaches to Problematic Talk (2003) with Gabriele Kasper and Steven Ross, Multilingual Communication (2004) with Jochen Rehbein, Translation (2009), Translatory Action and Intercultural Communication (2009) with Kristin Bührig and Jan ten Thije, English as a Lingua Franca (Special Issue of Intercultural Pragmatics vol. 6, No. 2. 2009), Convergence and Divergence in Language Contact Situations (2010) with Kurt Braunmüller, Globalization, Discourse, Media: In a Critical Perspective (2010) with Anna
Duszak and Lukasz Kumiega, and Impoliteness in Germany (Intercultural Pragmatics 7:4, 2010).
II. General analysis of the text
The essay is a piece of argumentative writing. The primary purpose of an argumentative writing is to seek to state a position on an issue and give several reasons, supported by evidence, for agreeing with that position. The whole essay falls into three parts:
Part
Paragraph(s)
Main idea
I
1-2
Introduction: The language policy in EU is both ineffective and hypocritical, and its ideas of linguistic equality and multilingualism are costly and cumbersome illusions.
II
3-11
Analysis: The reasons for using English as a lingua franca are offered.
III
12
Conclusion: Using English as a lingua franca in Europe does not inhibit linguistic diversity, and it unites more than it divides.
Just like a lawyer, a writer must present the issue at hand, give background, and put forth the main argument—all in a logical, intellectual and persuasive way. From the outset of Text A, Juliane House points out the problem and establishes her stance. According to her, the European Union decides to adopt a multi-linguistic approach in its organizations, requiring all of its documents to be translated into each of the official languages of the EU. While this is a costlyand somewhat inefficient system, it does allow the EU to present an image of linguistic equality, which is symbolic of wider equality between its member states. Juliane criticizes the flaws of the language policy in EU and proposes that the use of English as a lingua franca would be infinitely better.
In the second part, Juliane gives a detailed account of why she thinks the EU must embrace English as a lingua franca from five perspectives. First, English is particularly suitable as Europe’s lingua franca because of its functional flexibility and spread across the world (Paragraph 3), and because English is already “de-nativised” to a large extent. Second, English is no longer one monolithic, “hegemonic” voice but a diversity of different voices (Paragraph 4). Third, there is no didactic-linguistic replay of formerly colonial and
militaristic means (Paragraphs 5-6). Fourth, English as a lingua franca is nothing more than a useful tool: it is a “language for communication”. Fifth, there is no need to set up an old-fashioned dichotomy between local languages and English as the “hegemonic aggressor” (Paragraphs 9-11).
Juliane ends her argumentation with a natural conclusion (Paragraph 12), claiming that using English as a lingua franca in Europe does not inhibit linguistic diversity, and that it unites more than it divides.
III. Detailed study of the text
1.A Language That Europe Must Embrace
◆embrace v. [T] (formal) to accept an idea, a proposal, a set of beliefs, etc., especially when it is done with enthusiasm 欣然接受，乐意采纳（思想、建议等）；信奉（宗教、信仰等）
to embrace democracy信奉民主
The eagerness with which the nation embraced the scandal is simultaneously understandable and troubling.
Paragraph 1
2. The language policy in the European Union is both ineffective and hypocritical, and its ideas of linguistic equality and multilingualism are costly and cumbersome illusions.
◆hypocritical adj. behaving in a way that shows your moral principles, beliefs, and the things you say are not sincere 虚伪的，伪善的
Their hypocritical lies can’t cover the ironclad facts. 伪善的谎言掩盖不了铁的事实。
Rosa thought the man was ignorant, rude, and hypocritical. 罗莎认为这个男人无知，粗鲁而且虚伪。
◆illusion n. 1) [C, U] an idea or belief that is not true幻觉，幻想
He had no illusions about his talents as a singer. 他对自己作为歌手的才华不抱幻想。
2) [C] sth that is not really what it seems to be 假象，错觉
A large mirror in a room can create the illusion of space. 房间里放面大镜子能给人一种房间很宽敞的错觉。
understandable
The impression of calm in the office is just an illusion. 办公室里的平静其实只是一种假象。
◆multilingualism n. [U]the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers 多语制；多语现象；多种语言能力
We live in a world where multilingualism is the norm and monolingualism the exception.我们生活在多语为常态、单语为例外的世界里。
3.Why have these illusions been kept up for so long?
◆keep sth up/keep up sth: to continue to use or practice sth沿用（沿袭/保持）某事物

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