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Discussion published In:
Languages of the Internet
Edited by Claudio Menezes
[Journal of Language and Politics 5:2] 2006
► pp. 277–298
Discussion

Systemic theory of language competition

After Robert Phillipson argued in Linguistic Imperialism (1992) that the present spread of English throughout post-colonial societies is a specific form of Western imperialism, a vigorous academic debate ensued. It revolved around several interrelated questions: How do different languages interact in the global arena?; Is such language competition a manifestation of imperialism or of globalisation?; What are the social implications of language growth and of language decline/death?; etc. The present article is a critique of the debate and an attempt to develop a positivist, systemic, macro-level theory of language competition, which would offer a general framework for dealing with the issues in question.

Keywords: sociology of language, language contact, linguistic imperialism, language death, language ecology, systemic theory
Published online: 15 September 2006
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.5.2.09don
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