ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the colonial origins of the discourse of English as an International Language (EIL). A key argument here is that the discourse of EIL had its origins in colonialism, but not so much in terms of an expansionist drive as in terms of a will to description. This involves an analysis of what have been termed the Orientalist and Anglicist ideologies of colonialism. A common assumption appears to be that Orientalism was replaced by Anglicism, which led to the widespread use of English under colonialism and its current position in the globe. The chapter presents that a crucial part of the colonial process is not only the material domain of physical and economic exploitation but also the discursive domain of cultural definition. Edward Said's exploration of Orientalism as a colonial definition of the other opens up an analysis of Orientalism not as a benevolent precursor to Anglicism but as a different site of colonial oppression.
