The hidden nuances of English

Have you ever wonder what's behind language? Surely it is no inocuous, inoffensive tool, but language can hide the whole ideology that holds a system. As English teachers we must be aware of it. English is nowadays a Lingua Franca, a global language, a means to communicate with people from many different parts of the world. But we mustn't forget that it was once and it still is an imperial language. During the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, Great Britain had many colonies, it was an Empire. One of these colonies was India, where the British first arrived with the East India Company:

The brits didn't just exploit different territories and extract their goods, but with their arrival  they also brought their language. India was one of its most important sources of wealth. At the turn of the 19th century, the British, overconfident with the Industrial Revolution, began to think that they needed to change India: values, superstitions... During the second half of the 18th century the English get involved in Indian politics. 

Although showing resistance, in the end Indians are defeated, crushed and there is a switch in power from the East Indian Company to the British Crown. In 1858, with the Indian Mutiny, starts the British Raj, which is the period of British Sovereignty and it will last until 1946 when they will achieve independence. Throughout these years of power, the English brought not only their traditions and values, but also their language. Such has been its influence, that even nowadays, English is still one of the official languages in India. Although some may argue that the British brought many improvements and enhanced the lifestyle of the Indian, they also exerted their power to such extent that even nowadays it is materialised in the diglossic situation among its languages. 

By diglossia we understand a situation in which two dialects or languages are used by a single language community, an everyday or vernacular language variety -the "low" variety-, and a second, highly codified variety, often considered "high", which is used for more formal contexts. In such situation, English still prevails as the "high" language, synonym with having received an education and thus having economic capital. When teaching English we must bear these aspects in mind, and teach it as global language, but also as a powerful system of oppression.