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Detail of contribution

Auteur: Adcharawan BURIPAKDI

Titre:
Hegemonic English and Fragmented Identities in a Professional Writing Domain in Thailand


Abstract/Résumé: Grounded in in-depth interviews, this qualitative study investigated how twenty Thai professional writers conceptualized their English and a concept of Thai English. The findings revealed that most of the writers had fragmented identities and different ways to distant themselves from Thai English and to attach to the form of Standard English varieties. Overall, they expressed marginalized views toward their English. Their attitudes were greatly influenced by the hegemonic Standard English. Evidently, their perceptions of the English language conformed to a colonial, hierarchical standpoint which privileged the types of English spoken and written within the U.S. and Great Britain and denigrated spoken and written local English varieties. The study not only reflected the reality of English hegemony in Thailand but also addressed political aspect of language use related with identity, power, and hierarchical discourse in a context where English is used as a foreign language.