The Handbook of World Englishes, 2nd Edition

30Colonial/Postcolonial Critique: The Challenge from World Englishes

PRADEEP A. DHILLON

1 Introduction

The terms “colonial discourse” and “postcolonial critique” have long histories, and scholars disagree on exactly what they mean. I shall say more about the disputed definitions later, but I begin by asking the reader to rely on his or her intuitive understanding of the words and to consider three central concepts: territories, citizens, and the processes and modes of state governance that legitimize both of these. What is the relationship between territories, citizens, and governance? Above all, what role does language play in establishing, maintaining, and triggering shifts in this relationship? This chapter considers the role of a single prominent language, English, in the construction of (British) colonial discourse and postcolonial critique. Throughout this discussion, it is important to remember that both of these processes, the construction of colonial discourse and of postcolonial critique, can be found in various parts of the world at various times in human history. In other words, colonialism was not a unique invention of the European states as they rose to global power over the last 500 years. Rather, its logic can be detected in the establishment of the Greek nation‐state, the ambitions of Genghis Khan as he rode out of the Mongolian steppes, and the expansive impulses of the Hindu kings of Vijayanagara. Nevertheless, the systematic study of colonialism in a European, ...