here - O - Universiteit Leiden
here - O - Universiteit Leiden
here - O - Universiteit Leiden
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
MartinGil,ÅboAkadem iUniversity,Turku (Finland)<br />
⇡ediscomfortofstrangers:nostalgia,ideology<br />
anddefenceoftheEnglishspeechcommunity<br />
SpeakingtoConservativepartymembersin2011,BritishPrimeM inisterDavidCameron<br />
highlightedthe“discomfortanddisjointednes”experiencedbyinhabitantsof“real<br />
communities”facedwithanin2uxof“new people”unabletospeaktheirlanguageand“not<br />
realywantingorevenwilingtointegrate”.<br />
Hismesagewasalsoclearlyaimedatawiderandnow increasinglyvocalBritish<br />
audience,hostiletomulticulturalism ,scathingaboutperceived‘politicalcorectnes’–<br />
whowouldconcurwiththemotion proposedin aSpectatordebateattheRoyalGeographicalSocietyin<br />
M arch2012that,regardingimmigration,“Enoughisenough”<br />
(cariedby178votesto85).<br />
Underpresurefrom populardiscoursesdominatedbysuchviews,m anycountries<br />
arewitnesingt<strong>here</strong>surgenceofmonoculturalideologies,including(re)enforcementof<br />
regulatedlanguagenormsandanincreaseddeterminationtoregardthenationalpolityas<br />
stable,hom ogeneousandmonolingual.<br />
Cameron’scommentsreflectapolicyworldshapedbyandresponsivetosuch<br />
asumptions,w<strong>here</strong>theintegrityoftheEnglishspeechcommunityisnow seentobein<br />
urgentneedofdefence.Atthesametime,hisimageofhom ely,plain spoken,monoglot<br />
Britainoverunbydangerouslyincom prehensibleoutsidersbelongstoafam iliartradition<br />
ofnationalrhetoricalself-imagining.Drawingonananalysisofexamplesfrom recent<br />
British politicalandmediadiscourse,thispaperwilexaminecu rentmanifestationsof<br />
thistradition,inparticularitsuseindiscursiveboundarymaintenance,norm enforcement,andt<strong>here</strong>sultingpositioningof‘others’inrelationto‘Britishnes’/‘Englishnes’.<br />
ItwilsuggestthatspeakingEnglishplaysakeyrole:atonceasimplerequirement<br />
andanimposibleideal,aclosedcategorythat“newpeople”arenotautomaticalyfreeto<br />
join,eveniftheyareunderrelentlespresuretodoso,andeveniftheirnotjoiningis<br />
interpretedasanactivechoiceontheirpart,henceproofofunsuitability.<br />
6atsuchviewscanbemaintainedinthefaceofaneverydayrealityin which m ultilingualandmultiethnicidentitiesareincreasinglythenorm<br />
suggeststhatwhatisneededis<br />
acriticalyinform edchalengetothebasisoftheseexclusivediscoursesthemselves.
Change language