Situating the English-Foreign-Language Press

Abstract

The introduction to this special issue on “the English-language press abroad” builds on the different case studies to theoretically reflect on this rather neglected press category. The label applies to titles published in English in a country that did/does not have English as (one of) its de jure or de facto language(s) and that was not part of the British (formal) Empire. By situating those titles in a broader historical canvas that stretches back to the first-ever English-language serial abroad (1620, in the Netherlands), the introduction proposes three categories of (potentially overlapping) functions: titles that act as cultural brokers (including for an expat community), titles that act as agents of cultural diplomacy and/or informal imperialism and titles that use English as a lingua franca to conjure up cosmopolitan and supranational realities. The introduction argues that any discussion of such titles needs to connect scales, but can barely do away with the national. This also applies to issues of heritage and preservation, while the digital age creates manifold possibilities for rediscovering these titles in a critical manner.