English within Language Diversification Discourses: Tracing Ideologies at European Teaching Conferences in the 1970s and 1980s
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| Title: | English within Language Diversification Discourses: Tracing Ideologies at European Teaching Conferences in the 1970s and 1980s |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Zorana Sokolovska (ORCID |
| Source: | Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication. 2026 45(3):313-339. |
| Availability: | De Gruyter Mouton. Available from: Walter de Gruyter, Inc. 121 High Street, Third Floor, Boston, MA 02110. Tel: 857-284-7073; Fax: 857-284-7358; e-mail: service@degruyter.com; Web site: http://www.degruyter.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 27 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Language Attitudes, Language Usage, Ideology, Conferences (Gatherings), Language Planning, Educational Policy, Discourse Analysis, Multilingualism, Semiotics, Official Languages, Diversity |
| Geographic Terms: | Europe |
| DOI: | 10.1515/multi-2025-0163 |
| ISSN: | 0167-8507 1613-3684 |
| Abstract: | This article critically examines the ideological positioning of English within discourses of language teaching diversification promoted by European institutions and circulating in Western European countries during the 1970s and 1980s. Drawing on institutional reports from three key Council of Europe conferences (1979, 1982, 1988), we adopt a historical and multi-layered approach to language educational policy to trace how multilingualism was constructed as a European ideal, while omitting the growing dominance of English as the primary foreign language. Using Gal and Irvine's semiotic model of language ideologies, we analyse processes of erasure in connection with rhematisation and fractal recursivity to trace the presence of English in marginal sites such as inaugural speeches and informal discussions at these conferences. This study highlights the value of "traces" and "marginal data" for understanding ideological tensions in international language policymaking. It demonstrates that diversification policies were not neutral but functioned as a discursive strategy to manage English-centric multilingualism, reinforcing hierarchies among languages and speakers. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1508893 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This article critically examines the ideological positioning of English within discourses of language teaching diversification promoted by European institutions and circulating in Western European countries during the 1970s and 1980s. Drawing on institutional reports from three key Council of Europe conferences (1979, 1982, 1988), we adopt a historical and multi-layered approach to language educational policy to trace how multilingualism was constructed as a European ideal, while omitting the growing dominance of English as the primary foreign language. Using Gal and Irvine's semiotic model of language ideologies, we analyse processes of erasure in connection with rhematisation and fractal recursivity to trace the presence of English in marginal sites such as inaugural speeches and informal discussions at these conferences. This study highlights the value of "traces" and "marginal data" for understanding ideological tensions in international language policymaking. It demonstrates that diversification policies were not neutral but functioned as a discursive strategy to manage English-centric multilingualism, reinforcing hierarchies among languages and speakers. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0167-8507 1613-3684 |
| DOI: | 10.1515/multi-2025-0163 |
