Back to Search Start Over

Negotiating Hegemonies in Language Policy: Ideological Synergies in Media Recontextualizations of Audit Culture

Authors :
Savski, Kristof
Source :
Current Issues in Language Planning. 2023 24(1):1-20.
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

One of the products of globalization in sociolinguistics is the emergence of transnational regimes in language policy, in which power is exercised across boundaries of traditional nation states. This paper engages with audit culture, a transnational policy mechanism which involves the continuous evaluation of nation states' performance through the use of purportedly neutral, typically quantitative instruments. As achieving broader visibility in public discourse is a key part of how such evaluations enforce language policy regimes, the paper presents an analysis of how an audit instrument, the Education First English Proficiency Index, was recontextualized in media discourse in Thailand over a 6-year period. The findings highlight an apparent discontinuity, as much of the neoliberal rhetoric in the audit instrument was not taken up in Thai media. Rather, the recontextualization was selective, with elements of the audit texts being integrated into an already established language policy regime in Thailand, built on nationalism and developmentalism. These findings point to the need to consider how language policy mechanisms like audit culture can facilitate synergies between hegemonic ideologies, particularly when they are recontextualized across different scales.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1466-4208 and 1747-7506
Volume :
24
Issue :
1
Database :
ERIC
Journal :
Current Issues in Language Planning
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
EJ1378890
Document Type :
Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2021.2006945