Is it fair to dismiss Linguistic Imperialism as a conspiracy theory?
What is it about?
The theory of Linguistic Imperialism is that powerful institutions - particularly governments - use language policy to maintain economic and political dominance, and to exert soft power. Some scholars have suggested that this theory is more like a conspiracy theory than an academic theory. This study compares the language used by Robert Philipson in his books and papers about his theory, with that used in other academic papers, and by conspiracy theory authors, to see where they overlap and whether there is the much similarity.
Why is it important?
When this study commenced it was partly inspired by the burgeoning public enthusiasm for conspiracy theory style content - particularly on social media. Since then we have come to hear the term "Fake News" used regularly. The allegations made against Linguistic Imperialism bare relevance to both of the above in that it is becoming increasingly important to gauge the legitimacy of information that comes before us. This study was a modest attempt to do so with regards to Linguistic Imperialism.