Abstract

ABSTRACT In this polylog to the special issue on The rise of Chinese language education policies in the oil-rich Arabian Gulf: New players, discourses and linguistic markets, three researchers with different personal and professional connections to the three languages ‘at play’ in the region – English, Chinese, and Arabic – offer their assessments of both the current and future status of Chinese in the region. Using language and political economy as their methodological compass, they grapple with three key questions: (i) How Chinese as a third language is conceived and enacted?, (ii) How may the Chinese language shift power relations among languages in the Gulf?, and (iii) Would the Chinese language carry similar ideological, colonial and neoliberal undercurrents that are being voiced in critical applied linguistics about English? As a polyphonous text, disagreements among the contributors are allowed to stand and there is not an attempt to reach consensus. Nonetheless, they unanimously argue that moves towards introducing Chinese as a third language in the Arabian Gulf reveal much about the political, economic, and social drivers of change in the region.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.