Portrayal of the ‘Other’: Tracing the Linguistic Imperialism in English Textbooks of Matric and Intermediate

Abstract

The notion of linguistic imperialism analyzes the dominance of the language used by the powerful over other languages of the world. This linguistic imperialism endangers the other indigenous languages of the world and promotes the myths about the necessity of learning English language. It also tends to promote Western ideologies and culture. The present study has focused on the ways English language has imperialized the education system of Pakistan and the ideological and cultural objectives of English-speaking countries. The data, for the current study, consists of English text books for Matriculation and Intermediate to evaluate their role in moulding the young minds and also the use of different linguistic devices that are employed in the books to influence the cultural ideologies and lifestyles of Pakistanis. Phillipson’s Linguistic Imperialism (1992) serves as a theoretical background for thematic analysis of the texts. The findings reveal that the prevalence of linguistic imperialism in the selected textbooks not only enhances the influence of English speaking people but also promotes their socio-cultural ideologies.