Abstract
The aim of this article is to find out what the status of English, currently the primary working language within the EU institutions, might look like once the United Kingdom leaves the EU structures. To that end, this paper will analyse a selection of press articles. Although the manner in which the so-called Brexit will take place is still uncertain, a diverse range of opinions and prognostications on what will happen to English is being expressed publicly, taking into consideration many factors (political, sociological and purely linguistic) which may contribute to a possible scenario or scenarios. This article does not lay claim to submitting any firm or reliable vision of the future as none such exists elsewhere. This paper intends to analyze some discursive strategies employed by the authors of the articles to place the discussed subject into a discursive framework by using tools of critical discourse analysis which mainly focus on the relation of power and language.
Highlights
Premises of the present discursive analysisThe invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union by the UK’s government in 2017 (commonly known as Brexit) entailed an ongoing discussion on whether English would maintain its predominance as the primary working language utilized by the EU institutional apparatus
The aim of this article is to find out what the status of English, currently the primary working language within the EU institutions, might look like once the United Kingdom leaves the EU structures
The invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union by the UK’s government in 2017 entailed an ongoing discussion on whether English would maintain its predominance as the primary working language utilized by the EU institutional apparatus
Summary
The invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union by the UK’s government in 2017 (commonly known as Brexit) entailed an ongoing discussion on whether English would maintain its predominance as the primary working language utilized by the EU institutional apparatus. There have been many debates, media articles, political comments or statements on that matter, none of them giving credit to one particular scenario; the complexity of this relation between power and language is accompanied by the fact that even the manner in which Brexit will be implemented is as yet undetermined. This issue is creating a political whirlwind and uncertainty on both sides of the English Channel, one indisputable point is that English is by no means a lingua franca of our times and this must be taken into ac-count even if the UK leaves the EU after the transition period. By the example of the chosen press articles, I intend to shed some light on the continuing public debate by using tools of critical discourse analysis which should demonstrate linguistic strategies to confirm different hypotheses that the authors of the chosen material have proposed
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 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 callMore From: Beyond Philology An International Journal of Linguistics, Literary Studies and English Language Teaching
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.
