Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T20:42:50.906Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Diversity of attitudes to English in non-professional public discourse: A focus on Lithuania

An analysis of the narratives people tell about English as a global language in the local context of Lithuania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2017

Jūratė Ruzaitė
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

This paper stems from the ongoing debate on the changing role and status of English in different parts of the world, with a special interest in the socio-historical background of a post-Soviet country. The international status of English has given rise to different reactions among speakers, ranging from attraction to resentment (cf. Onysko, 2009: 34). These reactions are expressed in public online discourse, which provides a rich resource of empirical evidence to study public attitudes and language ideologies. Digital media offers an especially important strategic site to disseminate ideologies and shape public opinions. This paper analyses the spectrum of discourses operating within Lithuanian digital media to perpetuate attitudes towards English and the values associated with it.

Type
Research Article
Information
English Today , Volume 33 , Issue 3 , September 2017 , pp. 15 - 24
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ashraf, M. A. & Tsegay, S. M. 2016. ‘Analysis of globalization and “Englishization” in Pakistan.’ International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 5(1), 79–88.Google Scholar
Baločkaitė, R. 2014. ‘On ideology, language, and identity: Language politics in the Soviet and Post-Soviet Lithuania.’ Language Policy, 13, 41–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyd, S. & Palviainen, Å. 2015. ‘Building walls or bridges? A language ideological debate about bilingual schools in Finland.’ In Halonen, M., Ihalainen, P. & Saarinen, T. (eds.), Language Policies in Finland and Sweden. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, pp. 57–89.Google Scholar
Danet, B. & Herring, S. C. (eds.) 2007. The Multilingual Internet: Language, Culture, and Communication Online. New York NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Deneire, M. 2015. ‘Images of English in the French press.’ In Linn, A., Bermel, N. & Ferguson, G., (eds.), Attitudes towards English in Europe. English in Europe, Vol. 1. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 55–70.Google Scholar
Fishman, J. 1998. ‘The new linguistic order.’ Foreign Policy, Winter, 26–40.Google Scholar
Gao, L. 2005. ‘The Englishization of Mandarin in computer-mediated communication.’ University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics, 11(1), 57–70.Google Scholar
Gerner, K. & Hedlund, S. 1993. The Baltic States at the End of the Soviet Empire. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Gvelesiani, I. & Tvaltvadze, D. 2014. ‘Languages today – competition of regional, national and international languages (on the example of Georgia).’ European Scientific Journal, 1, 313–318.Google Scholar
Krauss, M. 1992. ‘The world's languages in crisis.’ Language, 68, 4–10.Google Scholar
Lee, J. 2010. ‘Ideologies of English in the South Korean “English Immersion” debate.’ In Prior, M. T., Watanabe, Y. & Lee, S. (eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 2008 Second Language Research Forum. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project, pp. 246–260.Google Scholar
Linn, A. R. 2010a. ‘Can Parallelingualism save Norwegian from extinction?’ Multilingua, 29(3/4), 289–305.Google Scholar
Linn, A. R. 2010b. ‘Voices from above – voices from below. Who is talking and who is listening in Norwegian language politics?’ Current Issues in Language Planning, 11(2), 114–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linn, A., Bermel, N. & Ferguson, G. (eds.) 2015. Attitudes towards English in Europe. English in Europe, Vol. 1. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.Google Scholar
McAllister–Spooner, S. 2009. ‘Fulfilling the dialogic promise: a ten-year reflective survey on dialogic internet principles.’ Public Relations Review, 35(3), 320–22.Google Scholar
Norgaard, O. 1996. The Baltic States after Independence. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Onysko, A. 2009. ‘Exploring discourse on globalizing English.’ English Today, 25, 25–36.Google Scholar
Ozolins, U. 1999. ‘Between Russian and European hegemony: Current language policy in the Baltic States.’ In Wright, S. (ed.), Language Policy and Language Issues in the Successor States of the Former USSR. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Pennycook, A. D. 2006. ‘Postmodernism in language policy.’ In Ricento, T. (ed.), An Introduction to Language Policy. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, pp. 60–76.Google Scholar
Phillipson, R. 1992. Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Phillipson, R. 1998. ‘Globalizing English: Are linguistic human rights an alternative to linguistic imperialism?’ Language Sciences, 20(1), 101–112.Google Scholar
Phillipson, R. 2008. ‘Lingua franca or lingua frankensteinia? English in European integration and globalization.’ World Englishes, 27(2), 250–267.Google Scholar
Piechnik, I. 2014. ‘Factors influencing conservatism and purism in languages of northern Europe (Nordic, Baltic, Finnic).’ Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis, 131, 395–419.Google Scholar
Reisigl, M. & Wodak, R. 2001. Discourse and Discrimination: Rhetorics of Racism and Antisemitism. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sandøy, H. & Kristiansen, T. 2010. ‘Globalization and language in the Nordic countries: conditions and consequences.’ International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 204, 151–159.Google Scholar
Skutnabb–Kangas, T. 2000. Linguistic Genocide in Education or Worldwide Diversity and Human Rights? Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Smith, G. 1994. The Baltic States: The National Self-Determination of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Soler–Carbonell, J. 2011. ‘Speakers’ evaluations of the Estonian and the Russian languages in Tallinn. Between linguistic stability and interethnic tension.’ ESUKA - Eesti ja soome-uugri keeleteaduse ajakiri / JEFUL - Journal of Estonian and Finno-Ugric Linguistics, 2(1), 315–333.Google Scholar
Soler–Carbonell, J. & Karaoglu, H. 2015. ‘English as an academic lingua franca in Estonia: Students’ attitudes and ideologies.’ In Linn, A., Bermel, N. & Ferguson, G. (eds.), Attitudes towards English in Europe. English in Europe, Vol. 1. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 213–238.Google Scholar
Soler–Carbonell, J. & Gallego–Balsà, L. 2016. ‘The internationalisation of higher education in two different contexts: Catalan and Estonian sociolinguistic perspectives.’ Language, Culture and Curriculum, 29(1), 40–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taavitsainen, I. & Pahta, P. 2008. ‘From global language use to local meanings: English in Finnish public discourse.’ English Today, 24, 25–38.Google Scholar
Tamaševičius, G. 2011. ‘Metaforos, kuriomis gyvi esam. Arba kaip kalbama apie grėsmes kalbai.’ Naujasis židinys-Aidai, 5, 308–314.Google Scholar
Tatsioka, Z. 2015. ‘Attitudes towards English language use on Greek TV: A threat or not?’ In Linn, A., Bermel, N. & Ferguson, G. (eds.), Attitudes towards English in Europe. English in Europe, Vol. 1. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 97–112.Google Scholar
Thøgersen, J. 2004. ‘Attitudes towards the English Influx in the Nordic Countries: A quantitative investigation.’ Nordic Journal of English Studies, 3(2), 23–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thøgersen, J. 2010. ‘Coming to terms with English in Denmark: discursive constructions of a language contact situation.’ International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 20(3), 291–326.Google Scholar
Vaicekauskienė, L. 2010. ‘Lietuvių kalbos norminimo šimtmetis: Daug ideologijų ir šiek tiek vartosenos.’ Naujasis Židinys-Aidai, 5–6, 165–172.Google Scholar
Walsh, O. 2015. ‘Attitudes towards English in France.’ In Linn, A., Bermel, N. & Ferguson, G., (eds.), Attitudes towards English in Europe. English in Europe, Vol. 1. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 27–54.Google Scholar
Wei, C. Y. & Kolko, B. E. 2005. ‘Language and Internet diffusion patterns in Uzbekistan.’ New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia, 11(2), 205–220.Google Scholar
Yim, S. 2007. ‘Globalization and language policy in South Korea.’ In Tsui, A. & Tollefson, J. (eds.), Language Policy, Culture and Identity in Asian Contexts. Mahwah, N. J.: Erlbaum, pp. 37–54.Google Scholar
Yoo, O. K. 2005. ‘Discourses of English as an official language in a monolingual society: The case of South Korea.’ Second Language Studies, 23(2), 1–44.Google Scholar