Is english an imperialist tool?

Abstract

My paper will excoriate the claim that English is an imperialist tool. Imperialism is defined as a situation in which a strong nation undermines the sovereignty of another nation. While it is true that English has influenced various spheres of our lives, it has not infringed on the sovereignty of any nation. Unlike human rights issues which can lead to a trade embargo, one has not heard of economic sanctions imposed by an English-speaking country on another country whose population does not speak good English or which fails to incorporate English in its curriculum. Neither will the use of English control or determine our thinking, as Sapir-Whorl hypothesis has claimed. This hypothesis, if true, would have posed threats to a nation's independence buT the claim has long been debunked (English speakers do not think alike). The widespread use of any languages should not constitute an act of imperialism and interestingly the rise of Mandarin has not attracted the accompanying fear of imperialism. It is more likely that the historical acts of the colonialists, rather than their languages, have coloured the perceptions of many postcolonial nationalists and thus we need to dissociate English from imperialism and re-evaluate its role.