ABSTRACT
The topic of language, colonialism and postcolonialism is very broad and takes the linguistic observer in the West at least as far back as the Greek and Roman empires. It can be approached from a variety of angles, starting with an examination of the macro-social and political function of language in colonial, imperial and postcolonial situations, considering for example the different ways that colonial and imperial powers exerted their hegemony through language. This might include the overt banning of the use of (an) indigenous language(s) (as in Stalinist Russia), or more indirect inculcation of colonial or imperial values and ideologies through education in the colonial language, which features the programmatic use of cultural icons and economic models.
