engleski

"Ja sam invajto sve i shareao jednom": English as an expressive and symbolic strategy of group-identity construction

It is a matter of record, and beyond dispute today, that English in the course of time has become a global, international linguistic code. Speakers of English as a first, second, and foreign language account for one-third of the world's population. The reasons why English has spread throughout the world as an international, globally functioning language have nothing to do, of course, with any sort of linguistic superiority over other languages, although such misconceptions have not been entirely exotic in the history of linguistic thought. The predominance of English in the scientific, cultural, and sub-cultural discourse of today's world results from various non-linguistic factors, the foremost being political, economic, and cultural. But on the other hand, the consequence of this omnipotent presence is the accelerated transformation of the world, supported by new technologies and new media, into one communicational, market-oriented place. However, today's global presence of English has many different faces. On one hand, we recognize a growing number of English words and phrases being used all over the world. Unlike in the past, when English was a language of colonial power, spoken as a lingua franca by the social élites of numerous countries, today English is used and spoken by the masses, regardless of their nationality, social rank, or cultural affiliation. Simply put, everybody speaks, or rather, makes use of English. On the other hand, English is not a neutral instrument: the globalization of the mind via the English language may at times result in a conceptual prison (Wierzbicka 2014). This paper discusses the role of English in the contemporary Croatian language, most of all the role of English in constructing a group identity which has global pretension. Among the growing population of speakers who favour the use of English words and phrases – which is to be differentiated from the knowledge of the English language – youngsters are by far the most numerous. However, the positive attitude towards English is not age-exclusive but rather age-preferential (Coulmas 2005). As various data excerpts from Facebook and other social networks may suggest, participation in English is a symbol of participation in global trends.

English language ; identity strategies ; group-identities

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