A sweeping account of the global rise of English and the high-stakes politics of languageSpoken by a quarter of the world's population, English is today's lingua franca- - its common tongue. The language of business, popular media, and international politics, English has become commodified for its economic value and increasingly detached from any particular nation. This meteoric "riseof English" has many obvious benefits to communication. Tourists can travel abroad with greater ease. Political leaders can directly engage their counterparts. Researchers can collaborate with foreign colleagues. Business interests can flourish in the global economy.But the rise of English has very real downsides as well. In Europe, imperatives of political integration and job mobility compete with pride in national language and heritage. In the United States and England, English isolates us from the cultural and economic benefits of speaking other languages.And in countries like India, South Africa, Morocco, and Rwanda, it has stratified society along lines of English proficiency.In The Rise of English, Rosemary Salomone offers a commanding view of the unprecedented spread of English and the far-reaching effects it has on global and local politics, economics, media, education, and business. From the inner workings of the European Union to linguistic battles over influence inAfrica, Salomone draws on a wealth of research to tell the complex story of English - and, ultimately, to argue for English not as a force for domination but as a core component of multilingualism and the transcendence of linguistic and cultural borders.

Collectively, the chapters in this volume make a significant contribution to the emerging paradigm of English as an International Language (EIL) by exploring various aspects of the English language and its pedagogy in the context of the globalization of this language. The volume shows great deal of promise in terms of expanding the paradigm and also establishing new grounds for thinking, research, and practice.

This book examines the concept of authentic English in today’s world, where cultures are in constant interaction and the English language works as a binding agent for many cross-cultural exchanges. It offers a comprehensive review of decades of debate around authenticity in language teaching and learning and attempts to synthesise the complexities by presenting them as a continuum. This continuum builds on the work of eminent scholars and combines them within a flexible framework that celebrates the process of interaction whilst acknowledging the complexity and individual subjectivity of authenticity. Authenticity is approached as a complex dynamic construct that can only be understood by examining it from social, individual and contextual dimensions, in relation to actual people. Authenticity is a problem not just for language acquisition but one which affects us as individuals belonging to society.

Bestselling queen of Regency Romance, Georgette Heyer, in her inimitable style, explores the lengths to which a gentleman must go to avoid scandal when confronted by a very young runaway lady. A young and lovely runaway alone on the road to London Miss Charity Steane is running away from the drudgery of her aunt's household to find her grandfather. Not expecting her visit, the old gentleman is not in London but is away in the country. A scandal broth in the making When Viscount Desford encounters a lovely waif searching for her grandfather, he feels honor bound to assist her; but dashing about the countryside together, the Viscount must prevent his exasperating charge from bringing him ruin upon herself...and him. In the end, his best idea is to bring Charity to his lifelong best friend, Henrietta, which is when the fun and surprises really begin... Praise for Georgette Heyer: "It all begins when a chivalrous and rich young gallant takes pity on a pathetic poor relation in a neighboring family. Before long he is so entangled in his efforts to help her that every step he takes leads to some hilarious new confusion. The romantic conclusions are not what you may expect, but that adds to the fun."—Publishers Weekly "Georgette Heyer is unbeatable."—Sunday Telegraph "My favourite historical novelist—stylish, romantic, sharp, and witty. Her sense of period is superb, her heroines are enterprising, and her heroes dashing. I owe her many happy hours."—Margaret Drabble

Noting ASEAN's adoption of English as its sole workng language, this book analyzes the language education policies of Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Sri Lanka and China, and traces the influence of globalization on English language education in Asia.

Winner of the Kobayashi Hideo Award, The Fall of Language in the Age of English lays bare the struggle to retain the brilliance of one's own language in this period of English-language dominance. Born in Tokyo but raised and educated in the United States, Minae Mizumura acknowledges the value of a universal language in the pursuit of knowledge yet also embraces the different ways of understanding offered by multiple tongues. She warns against losing this precious diversity. Universal languages have always played a pivotal role in advancing human societies, Mizumura shows, but in the globalized world of the Internet, English is fast becoming the sole common language of humanity. The process is unstoppable, and striving for total language equality is delusional—and yet, particular kinds of knowledge can be gained only through writings in specific languages. Mizumura calls these writings "texts" and their ultimate form "literature." Only through literature and, more fundamentally, through the diverse languages that give birth to a variety of literatures, can we nurture and enrich humanity. Incorporating her own experiences as a writer and a lover of language and embedding a parallel history of Japanese, Mizumura offers an intimate look at the phenomena of individual and national expression.