The place of English in Macau and a theoretical speculation

• Autores: Godfrey Harrison
• Localización: Journal of multilingual and multicultural development, ISSN 0143-4632, Vol. 5, Nº. 6, 1984, págs. 475-489
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Macau has been under Portuguese control for over four centuries. Today, the paper claims, English is the second most useful language in Macau (after Cantonese). This claim is supported by considering the place of English in Macau's modernisation and development over the last decade. The demand for English is indicated and provision for acquiring it is described. The importance of Hong Kong for Macau is discussed both linguistically and also more generally to show the circumstances in which that linguistic relevance arises. Macau media employ English fairly widely and their role is reviewed. The possibility that English has a social identity role is introduced. After an overview section it is argued that Macau, being small and modernising, is particularly open to English, currently the major world language, and that acquiring such a language may usefully be seen by prospective bilinguals as giving more access to various aspects of modern life. Accordingly, a proposal is made to acknowledge the very width of possibilities that a world language offers and so to augment Lambert's very useful distinction between integrative and instrumental motivations in language learning.