The linguistic market for English in Bangladesh

• Published in: Current issues in language planning Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 36 - 55
• Main Author: Hamid, M. Obaidul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 02.01.2016; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Bangladesh; Bourdieu (P); Bourdieu, Pierre (1930-2002); Commercialization; Communicative Competence (Languages); Communism; Competence; Developing countries; Economic conditions; Education policy; Educational markets; Educational policy; English (Second language); English as a medium of instruction; English as a second language instruction; English in Bangladesh; English language; English proficiency; English teaching; Foreign Countries; Grade Point Average; Higher Education; Human capital; Language Attitudes; Language of Instruction; Language Planning; Language policy; Language Role; Language usage; Learning; linguistic capital; Linguistic competence; linguistic market; Markets; Policy analysis; Policy making; Private Schools; Public Schools; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Secondary Schools; Social Capital; Social conditions & trends; Teaching; Bangladesh
• ISSN: 1466-4208; 1747-7506; 1747-7506
• DOI: 10.1080/14664208.2016.1105909

A large body of work has investigated the presence of English and its teaching and learning in the developing world where English is used as a second/foreign language. While this work has provided plausible explanations for the global spread of English as well as its uptake by education policy-makers and communities, there has been limited research on, in Bourdieu's ( 1991 , p. 44) terms, the "economic and social conditions of the acquisition of the legitimate competence" in English. This paper draws on Bourdieu's concepts of linguistic market and linguistic capital to illustrate differential proficiency outcomes for different market actors affiliated with different education markets in Bangladesh. Although Bourdieu focused on the notion of a "unified market" with reference to the dominant or official language, investigating English as a second or foreign language requires exploring multiple markets of English in the polity. Drawing on a diversified understanding of the context of language policy and planning, these markets are located at the national and subnational levels. I argue that while macro-level policy-makers have been guided by "linguistic communism" in introducing English for all, it is actually market forces that determine, to a large extent, who attains linguistic competence and whose competence is likely to be transformed into linguistic capital.