Prestigious American honour for York academic
Posted on 23 December 2004
With 50 per cent of the world's population expected to speak English within the next decade, Dr Janina Brutt-Griffler has examined the complex use of the language in a global setting against the background of the waning of the nation state and rising economic pressures.
Her book World English: A Study of its Development has been awarded the MLA's twenty-fourth annual Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize presented for an outstanding work in the fields of language, culture, literacy, or literature linked to the teaching of languages other than English.
Dr Brutt-Griffler will receive a cash award of $1,000, a certificate, and a year's membership of the MLA on 28 December during the association's annual convention in Philadelphia.
Dr Brutt-Griffler, who is building and directing the University of York's new MA course in the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA-TESOL), said: "My aim in writing World English: A Study of Its Development was to bring a greater level of complexity to our understanding of the global spread of English, which has been a subject of much scholarly debate over the last decade.
My aim in writing...was to bring a greater level of complexity to our understanding of the global spread of English
Dr Janina Brutt-Griffler
"I am very gratified that the work has been recognised for advancing this goal, especially as we enter an era in which one out of every two people in the world are expected to speak the language within the next decade."
The citation for the winning book says that Dr Brutt-Griffler examines the paradoxical nature of English that was at once the language of colonialism and a means of resistance to colonial rule, and that has now become for many people the world's second language
The citation adds: "Beyond its scholarly value, this well-documented book should draw foreign language teachers' attention to the global context in which their efforts are now taking place."
Notes to editors:
- Dr Brutt-Griffler's publications include Bilingualism and Language Pedagogy and the forthcoming English and Ethnicity. She is currently completing a book entitled The Post-Imperial Politics of English: Language, Identity,and "Globalization". She serves on the Modern Language Association's executive committee for general linguistics and the Distinguished Service and Scholarship Committee of the American Association for Applied Linguistics.
- The MLA was established in 1883 to promote the advancement of literary and linguistic studies and is the largest and one of the oldest American learned societies in the humanities. Its 30,000 members are drawn from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Canada, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The MLA is a constituent of the American Council of Learned Societies and the International Federation for Modern Languages and Literatures.
- The Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize was established by the MLA Executive Council in 1979. First presented in 1980, the prize is awarded under the auspices of the MLA's Committee on Honors and Awards.
- The University of York's Department of Educational Studies is committed to excellence in research and teaching and provides education courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, including Masters and doctoral programmes. In research terms, the department focuses on science and mathematics education; equity and impact in education; language learning; primary education; and methodological studies in education research. Although its research focus is largely on the school curriculum, it also has interests in initial and continuing professional development of teachers, international and comparative education, gender issues and ICT in education.