Anna Trosborg (ed.), Pragmatics across languages and cultures. (Handbook of pragmatics 7.) Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2010. Pp. xiii, 628. Hb. $279

Abstract

worldwide seem to see teaching a language (English) to all learners in state schools as an important means of increasing the human capital on which future national economic development and political power depends" (275). He suggests, with the support of case studies, that there is little hard evidence to suggest this is true. Similarly, Philip Seargeant and Elizabeth Erling argue that policy and planning should be based not upon rhetoric but upon detailed studies that offer concrete information about the benefits that English use may provide in a given context.Another key issue concerns the risks of English education in developing countries. That unequal access to quality English language education may have the potential to widen the gap between rich and poor is touched on by Ramanujam Meganathan discussing India, Fauzia Shamim discussing Pakistan, and Martin Lamb and Hywel Coleman separately discussing Indonesia. The language medium of education is also considered in a number of chapters. Meganathan gives a detailed account of the varying languages used in primary and secondary education in the many states of India and argues that it is better to have English as a subject "rather than impose a bad English medium education" (86). However, researching a rural community in Uganda, Juliet Tembe and Bonny Norton found that parents did not value learning in the mother tongue and needed to be persuaded of its pedagogic advantages. Nigussie Negash shows that although many African countries have adopted a policy of educating in the mother tongue, English proficiency is still a prerequisite for many employment opportunities.While acknowledging risks, many contributors also describe the role that English language has the potential to play in development, especially as a linking language in countries with multiple languages. Ultimately, the volume represents a critical analysis of the role of English in developing countries.The contributions in Pragmatics across languages and cultures (volume 7 in the "Handbook of pragmatics" series) discuss cross-cultural pragmatics, focusing on theory, practice, and methods. The interplay between language, culture, and the Language in Society 42:4 (2013)