Linguistic Imperialism

Where do we see evidence of linguistic imperialism in the Anglophone world?

Linguistic imperialism is the transfer of a dominant language to other people. This transfer can occur any many different ways and poses a threat to many endangered languages and in turn cultures around the world. One example of linguistic imperialism in the Anglophone world is in the case of pop culture. Pop culture is nearly universal and is also predominantly communicated in English. English is rapidly becoming the dominant language and pop culture plays are large role in this. From songs to movies and television shows English is constantly being spread across the globe. This mainstream media is an important tool in defining what is the norm. This has a particularly large impact on today's youth as they are very susceptible to outside influences. Many kids are trying to conform to these mainstream norms , in this case, speaking English being the norm. As pop culture defines what is considered cool or popular this sends the message that in order to keep up with the times and stay modern and hip you need to know English. It is particularly dangerous that pop culture mostly targets youth as this leaves languages vulnerable. If the youth stop speaking the language then it is only a short amount of time before the language goes extinct. Pop culture gives English a certain sense of power through the way it is depicted and this is why it remains one of the more dominant and universal languages.

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Text 2 Analysis

This text titled "Food Crisis in Sahel" is an article published on the Oxfam website in December 2011 which discusses the impending food crises in Sahel. The author utilized a very popular technique among articles which is to begin the article with a brief summary of what the article will actually be about. While this piece is meant to be informative for its audience there is also no denying the underlying advertising nature of this article. The author is trying to inform the audience of the food crisis in Sahel and what is being done to help but at the same time they are also trying to persuade the audience to donate to the Oxfam organization. This text is intended for those who are interested in this crisis and would like to aid Oxfam in their efforts therefore the audience is most likely adults or perhaps even teenagers. No gender is specifically targeted in the article therefore the audience is quite broad. The language used in the article is not too formal and therefore is easy for anyone to understand.

The first thing you see when looking at this article is the picture at the top which shows an African man riding a donkey and leading goats in what appears to be a very dry and barren environment. This helps give the audience an image to associate with the crisis and the people Oxfam is helping. The article then starts by summarizing the topic and source of the problem. It explains what the situation is in Sahel and what Oxfam is doing to help and utilizes many numbers and statistics to bolster the arguments and facts presented.

The tone of this article is very serious as the author is discussing a serious issue concerning peoples' lives. However in some places in the article the tone shifts from serious to hopeful for example, "We hope to reach one million people across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger with humanitarian aid". The author uses a lot of facts and figures however they balance this out by also appealing to emotion. As mentioned before the language used in the article is formal yet not overly academic which allows Oxfam to remain professional but still reach a broad audience. The overall tone is serious with an underlying sense of encouragement and persuasion as the author is not only trying to inform but also to persuade the audience.

The structure used by the author is very typical for articles. The articles begins with an image and then text is placed underneath. This text is then divided into three sections by subheadings which are marked by bold text. The image gives the audience a face to visualize when discussing this matter. This image is also an appeal to the emotions of the audience and this image along with the text creates a persuasive effect. A quote in large green font is featured at the beginning of the article which addresses Oxfam's point of view on the topic being discussed. There is no use of personal pronouns as the article is meant to be professional. Oxfam's stance on the topic is considered ideological as it is based on general morals and the idea of helping others who are in need. 

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