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Postmodernism and Intercultural Discourse: World Englishes
The objective of this chapter is to chart the changes in orientation to intercultural communication through English as a lingua franca, in the context of changing social and philosophical conditions characterized by a shift from a modernist to postmodern globalization. As English gains in stature as a global language, it is facilitating contact between speakers of diverse cultures, raising questions about the ways in which communicative differences are negotiated. Paralleling the spread of English are the changing social conditions and philosophical assumptions from modernity to postmodernity, which we might characterize as a shift from a hierarchical and centrifugal relationship of communities to a more fluid and polycentric one. The resulting changes in modes of cultural contact have implications for how English is used in contemporary social interactions. I will compare the assumptions motivating the spread of English in modernity with the new imperatives of communication in the context of postmodernity, charting the changes in the status and identity of English, approaches to representing identities and cultures through English, and the dynamics of intercultural communication.
Social and Theoretical Context
Postmodernity might be considered both a social movement and a theoretical paradigm. We can borrow Stuart Hall’s (1997) distinction between a modernist and postmodern globalization to consider ...
