Linguistic imperialism, or language imperialism, is a linguistics concept that "involves the transfer of a dominant language to other people". The transfer is essentially a demonstration of power—traditionally, military power but also, in the modern world, economic power—and aspects of the dominant culture are usually transferred along with the language."
Since the early 1990s, the theory of linguistic imperialism has attracted attention among scholars of applied linguistics. Particularly, Robert Phillipson's influential 1992 book, Linguistic Imperialism, has led to considerable debate about the merits and shortcomings of the theory. Phillipson found denunciations of linguistic imperialism that dated back to Nazi critiques of the British Council, and to Soviet analyses of English as the language of world capitalism and world domination.
Linguistic imperialism is often seen in the context of cultural imperialism.
Read more about Linguistic Imperialism: English, Other Languages, Critique, Response, Appropriation
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