Beyond the World Englishes Paradigm: Agency, Performativity and Malaysian English

Abstract

As a global language, English is taken up and used in local contexts in ways that cannot be accounted for by limited World Englishes (WE) paradigm. This can be illustrated through an analysis of the performative agency of individuals’ language usage in specific contact contexts. After a brief overview of the WE paradigm, this article offers a consideration of the Malaysian linguistic context and Malaysian English from a ‘post-WE’ perspective. The conclusion is that, rather than think of the respective WE and post-WE approaches as opposed to one another, it is more useful to characterize them as distinctive theoretical prisms that illuminate divergent issues.

Critical Literature Review of Contemporary Research on Attitudes Towards World Englishes

“…The specific terminology used to refer to attitudes appears to be a subjective choice made by individual researchers based on their own understanding of the terms and their own assumptions regarding their shared meaning. While this affords a certain level of freedom in meaning-making, the lack of in-depth engagement with the concept in many studies lends credence to the criticism that WEs research, in general, and AWEs research, in particular, generally lack theoretical rigour (Baird & Baird, 2018;Brown, 2016;Mahboob & Liyang, 2014;Soukup, 2012). Regrettably, despite the proliferation of studies, this has resulted in little contribution by AWE researchers to advance or reevaluate the theoretical concept of language attitudes.…”

The utility and cultural framing of global English: Perspectives from a group of Korean English users

“…Performativity lays criticism at Kachru's (1990) Word Englishes (WEs) model, which is anchored in notions of nation and location. Brown (2017) highlights performativity as a post-WEs approach emphasising that it more aptly captures English learners' ability to reinterpret culture and power through more globally aware and idiosyncratic discursive practices. In essence, the participants' interpretation of English as being usefully bound to its traditional culture alludes to an appropriation that is implicitly afforded through better access to worldly information and increased ability to move in today's increasingly connected world.…”