Abstract
AbstractAs a post-colonial society with an almost unique colonial history on the African continent and in the Arabophone zone, Algeria can serve as a focus on this millennium’s rivalry between a few “world” languages – namely Arabic, Chinese, English, and French. This article highlights the importance of the influence of colonialism in shaping post-colonial language policy in a multilingual society. It also looks at the role of elites and the effects of their top-down language implementation on planned and unplanned developments as related to the position and status of “world” languages within a polity. And it reasserts the dominant position of English as a global language despite the maintenance of the former colonial language, French. From a theoretical and applied perspective, this article raises questions about what constitutes a “world” language, and it shows the importance of some indicators in measuring the international standing of languages in the globalized world.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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 callDisclaimer: 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.
