‘Brexit’ and the postnational dimension of English in Europe
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
As Britain is leaving the European Union, speculations have been made about the future of the English language in Europe. Some predict that the importance of English will diminish once ‘Brexit’ eventually takes place, while others feel that the language will be free to develop its own European characteristics, without Britain acting as a kind of guardian and ‘protecting’ it. Such predictions assume a strong bond between English and Britain and a form of deference that Europeans have to that bond. In this chapter, we reject those assumptions and argue that the presence and the uses of English in Europe are such that the position of Britain within or outside the EU is irrelevant. By examining specific contexts, we illustrate how the roots of English reach deeply in the European sociocultural soil and are immune to Britain’s status within or outside the European Union.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes |
Editors | Andy Kirkpatrick |
Place of Publication | London |
Publisher | Routledge |
Chapter | 34 |
Edition | 2nd |
ISBN (Print) | 9780367144395 |
Publication status | Published - 3 Feb 2021 |
Publication series
Name | Routledge Handbooks in Applied Linguistics |
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Publisher | Routledge |
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ID: 21987358