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A ma ke o accen s
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Published e sion
Blommae , Jan
Blommae , J. (2009). A ma ke o accen s. Language Policy, 8(3), 243-259.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10993-009-9131-1
2009
ORIGINAL PAPER
A ma ke o accen s
Jan Blommae
Recei ed: 24 Ap il 2008 / Accep ed: 12 Feb ua y 2009 / Published online: 16 Ap il 2009
The Au ho (s) 2009. This a icle is published wi h open access a Sp inge link.com
Abs ac This pape desc ibes he cul u al seman ics o in e ne cou ses in
Ame ican accen . Such cou ses a e o e ed by co po a e p o ide s o speci ic g oups
o cus ome s: people in sea ch o success in he globalized business en i onmen .
The co e o such cou ses is an o de o indexicali y which s esses uni o mi y and
homogenei y, p oducing an in isible accen ha eplaces exis ing ‘ o eign’
(i.e. au hen ic, biog aphic) accen s. I is a new o m o commodi ied dialec ology,
which di e s qui e subs an ially om common s a e and academic a i udes owa ds
dialec s and accen s. The p ocedu es used by such p i a e p o ide s a e ins ances o
language policing aimed a he in ini ely small s u o language: p onuncia ion.
They show he in e play o di e en ins i u ional ac o s in p oducing language
no ms wi hin a globalized en i onmen , and hey aise issues o subjec i i y and
agency.
Keywo ds In e ne Accen Ame ican Globaliza ion Language policing
In oduc ion
Language policy e ol es a ound he p oduc ion and en o cemen o no ms o
language use, and i s success is measu ed by he deg ee o which policy-p e e ed
no ms a e accep ed and sp ead. T adi ionally, he s a e is he majo playe in he ield
o language policy. I egula es which language(s) and o ms o li e acy a e ‘o icial’
and ‘na ional’, and i imposes ules and cons ain s on he use o languages and
sc ip s in i s ealm. Usually, no e, he s a e was and is conce ned wi h languages, ha
is, wi h one laye o linguis ic a ia ion, and he s a e would egula e he use o one,
o a hand ul o o icial languages in a ange o ins i u ions—educa ion, legisla ion,
J. Blommae (&)
Uni e si y o Jy a
¨skyla
¨, Tilbu g Uni e si y, Joze Bals aa 11, 2600 Be chem, Belgium
e-mail: [email p o ec ed]
123
Lang Policy (2009) 8:243–259
DOI 10.1007/s10993-009-9131-1
he cou s, and adminis a ion. The endency he e would gene ally be ‘monoglo ’,
s eng hening he hegemony o he o icial languages and implici ly (o explici ly in
some ins ances) p osc ibing he use o o he languages (Bou dieu 1991; Sil e s ein
1996).
The s a e, howe e , always had o sha e he space o no m de ini ion and
no ma i e conduc wi h o he ac o s— he amily is one e y impo an such ac o s,
while ci il socie y ac o s such as chu ches a e o he s. Media, adi ionally, by and
la ge suppo ed he ‘o icial’ no ms imposed by he s a e and would ollow he
egula ion o languages in hei ope a ions. No e again ha all o his pe ains o one
le el o sociolinguis ic a ia ion: he le el o in e -language a ia ion. When i
comes o in a-language a ia ion—dialec s and accen s in he languages egula ed
by he s a e—we see a mo e lexible and less igid pic u e, wi h some eedom o
he indi idual o a icula e iden i ies h ough in a-language a iables such as accen
and dialec . A he na ional le el, such le els o in a-language a ia ion a e e y
o en seen as he ab ic o na ional iden i y and local (sub-s a e) au hen ici y and
o en che ished as such (see e.g. Elmes 2005). Thus, he s a e would p esc ibe he
use o English in schools, bu would no be o e ly wo ied i he esul o his
schooling we e English wi h an Indian, Chinese, Nige ian, e c. accen . This coun s
e en in places whe e ha d choices we e made be ween US and UK e sions o
English as he o icial e sion o be augh : he ac ha s uden s speak Ame ican
English wi h an Indian accen is no usually a cause o conce n o he s a e, and he
s a e would lea e i s pupils alone i hey speak his laye ed cake o accen s.
I ha e o cu qui e a ew co ne s he e, bu he poin I wish o make is ha (1) he
s a e is adi ionally a e y powe ul ac o in se ing language no ms; bu (2) he
s a e was ne e he only playe in he ield o language no ma i i y; i always was
(and emains) a majo playe , bu ne e a comple ely hegemonic playe ; he e is
always a o m o polycen ici y, a di ision o labou be ween he s a e and o he
ac o s in his ield, and o mal language policies compe e wi h he language poli ics
o o he ac o s in complex webs o language policing ac i i ies; (3) he language
policies o he s a e a e adi ionally aimed a ‘languages’ only; he coexis ence o a
mul i ude o dialec s and accen s in he o icial languages is usually no seen as an
issue.
I will use hese gene al in oduc o y ema ks as he backd op o an a gumen
ha uns as ollows. The adi ional ole ance o s a e policies owa ds in alanguage
a ia ion such as dialec s and accen s is no ma ched by he poli ics o language o
globalized, p i a e en e p ise ac o s. While he s a e ocuses on language, new
ac o s o language commodi ica ion ocus on accen and discou se, hus c ea ing a
ma ke in which sha p dis inc ions be ween speaking igh and speaking w ong a e
a icula ed. Such dis inc ions d aw on globalized o de s o indexicali y, no ma i e
complexes in which image ies o global success and ailu e a e used, and English—
he language ha de ines globaliza ion—is o cou se he co e o such o de s. The
ou come o his is a compe i i e ma ke no jus o English bu o English accen s
which de ies he adi ional ole ance o he s a e policies, as well as popula (and
academic) pe cep ions o accen as p oducing au hen ici y. I c ea es a new
commodi ied dialec ology and aises qui e complex issues o no ma i i y and
iden i y, as well as o he shi ing balance be ween o mal language policies and
244 J. Blommae
123
equally o malized language poli ics in an age o globaliza ion. I is an ins ance o
Foucaul ian ‘policing’— he concep desc ibed in he in oduc o y chap e o his
olume as he a ional p oduc ion o o de —and i wo ks h ough an in ini ely
de ailed a en ion o conduc (wha Foucaul [2006,2007] called ‘ he ca e o he
sel ’, he pe pe ual mic o-p ac ices o subjec i i y). Accen cou ses p oduce a
egimen ed subjec ha is subjec ed o ules o ‘no mal’ speech—speech ha is
in isible because i is uni o m and homogeneous. Le us now examine he
p ocedu es by means o which his subjec i ica ion is pu in o e ec .
The in e ne and he commodi ica ion o accen
Replacing o some ex en he olde indus y o co espondence cou ses, he in e ne
o e s a wide and i ually uncon olled space o language lea ning packages. They
come in all shapes and sizes, and in his pape I will be ocusing on websi es
o e ing cou ses in Ame ican accen . Some o hese cou ses a e a ge ed a Human
Resou ces depa men s o la ge co po a ions, o he s a e di ec ed a indi idual
cus ome s, bu all o hem a e o e ed unde he same banne and h ough he same
public channel— he in e ne . In ha sense, hey o m a cohe en body o objec s,
di e ences in design and a ge audience no wi hs anding. I chose his objec
because he in e ne cou ses mani es ly bank on wo di e en hings: (1) a gene al
phenomenon o he wo ldwide ‘s ampede owa ds English’ (de Swaan 2001)
inspi ed by he global pe cep ion o English as he language ha de ines upwa dly
mobile ajec o ies; (2) a mo e speci ic phenomenon in which a pa icula image y
o he US and Ame ican cul u al symbols is being seen as he o e on o
globaliza ion and he eal key o upwa d global mobili y. In o he wo ds, we ge he
so-called ‘McDonaldiza ion’ o he wo ld caugh me onymically in packages o
acqui ing an Ame ican-sounding a ie y o English. Toge he , hese poin s o m a
cul u al seman ics in which Ame ican accen is seen as no mal, ha is, as
no ma i e, and i s egula ed (o ‘policed’) use is p oposed as an ins umen o
success.
Wha is sp ead is, o cou se, no jus he p oduc bu also he adjec i es used o
quali y i , no jus he language as linguis ic s uc u e bu he language as a densely
loaded ideological package, some hing ha is a mo e han a language bu also an
acqui able image y o he Sel as being ‘in he wo ld’. Le me no e om he ou se
ha , al hough Ame ican accen websi es may o e us he mos ou spoken examples
o such dense ideological packaging, websi es o e ing packages in o he languages
and a ie ies do he same, be i sligh ly less explici ly. They all o e language and
he social ajec o ies i is supposed o p o ide o open. Ame ican accen websi es
a e no unique bu illus a i e o a b oade pa e n o ideological packaging o
commodi ied languages and a ie ies. We should also obse e igh om he s a
ha hese websi es ne e o e ‘a’ language in i s o ali y. Wha hey o e is a
egis e —a speci ic bi o language ailo ed o he immedia e needs o desi es o he
cus ome s (c . Sil e s ein 2003a; Agha 2005,2007). Wha is o e ed is some hing
ha gi es he imp ession o language, a p agma ic and me ap agma ic componen
o language compe ence ha indexically induces he igh ideological package. The
A ma ke o accen s 245
123
poin is no o lea n Ame ican English, bu o sound like an Ame ican. The language
policing he e ope a es on sub-language objec s, on in a-language a ia ion.
Conside example 1, aken om a websi e called ‘Ame ican Accen Now’
(www.Ame ican-accen -now.com).
Example 1
We see se e al hings he e. Fi s , o cou se, we see wo igu es: a mani es ly happy
young whi e man, and a mani es ly us a ed Asian woman. We can assume ha he
man has acqui ed an Ame ican accen (o had one igh om he s a ) and ha he
Asian woman hasn’ . The eason why she is us a ed can be ead om he boxes
one can check o demons a e he ways in which a ‘‘non-Ame ican accen p e en s
you om achie ing you p o essional and pe sonal goals’’. Responden s—
p ospec i e cus ome s—a e eques ed o iden i y he ‘‘single bigges p oblem wi h
you accen ’’. The wo ca ego ies can be di ided as ollows:
P o essional
– I ha e been denied a job p omo ion
– My clien s (o pa ien s o colleagues) o en misunde s and me
– I ailed o ge a job I was quali ied o
– My boss (o eache ) doesn’ gi e me he espec I dese e
246 J. Blommae
123

– I make less money han less expe ienced people who ha e a be e p onuncia ion
Pe sonal
– People hink I’m less sma han I am
– I ind i e y ha d o socialize wi h Ame icans in pe sonal and business se ings
– People some imes laugh a he way I alk
We now begin o disco e he s ange wo ld we ha e en e ed. I is a wo ld in
which indexical alues and social e ec s o language—usually aci ideological
ea u es o language use—a e made e y explici bo h in ex and in images.
P onuncia ion is he key o ob aining he jobs one dese es and ea ning he money
one is en i led o. An image o pe sonali y is in oked ha makes his educ ion
possible: he p ospec i e cus ome is al eady sma , en i led o be e jobs and a
supe io income, and en i led o espec om one’s supe io s. So acqui ing he
accen will, so o speak, elease all o hese quali ies o be seen by e e yone.
Acqui ing an Ame ican accen will, in he eyes o he in e locu o s, u n you in o he
pe son you eally a e.
No e e yone is a p ospec i e cus ome o cou se. As we could see in he images
used by Ame ican Accen Now, he us a ed subjec was Asian and he happy one
was wha is known in he US as a ‘Caucasian’. Websi es make gene al a ge ed
s a emen s abou ‘s ong o eign accen s’:
Example 2
‘‘A s ong o eign accen can p e en you om achie ing you p o essional o
pe sonal goals and eaching you ull po en ial. People shouldn’ ha e o ask
you o epea wha you said. In oday’s compe i i e co po a e en i onmen ,
clea p onuncia ion and co ec g amma a e a mus .’’ (Accu a e English,
www.accu a eenglish.com).
And wha is mean by ‘s ong o eign’ accen is o en documen ed in he FAQ o
Tes imonials pages o such websi es, and almos in a iably his is done by e e ence
o ‘na ional’ accen s. Some Eu opean accen s such as F ench, Ge man and e en
B i ish accen s a e seen as pa icula ly p one o misunde s anding, Asian accen s
such as Indian, Chinese and Japanese accen s na u ally mo e in he dange zone o
globalized comp ehensibili y, and Middle Eas e n accen s a e p oblema ic h ough-
ou . They a e p oblema ic in con ac s wi h ‘na i e speake s’:
Example 3
‘‘Ou accen educ ion and Ame ican p onuncia ion cou ses will each you o
c ea e he sounds o S anda d Ame ican English and gi e you g ea e
con idence in you communica ion skills wi h na i e speake s o English.’’
(Accu a e English)
Example 4
‘‘[Tes imonial om an ‘I anian den al s uden ’] Hi, my name is Sanaz. Abou
a yea ago when I came o he U.S., I was e y con used. I was in cul u e
shock. Thanks o God, i happened o me o mee e y lo ely people. They
ga e me cou age o deal wi h all new hings, as well as hey helped me o
imp o e my English, and ga e me con idence o speak English. Among hem
A ma ke o accen s 247
123
wo people we e so special o me—She i and Ma k [ he Accen Wo kshop
aine s]. No only hey we e abulous eache s, hey we e e y help ul iends.
You can always us hei opinion. I’ll ne e o ge he g ea in luence ha
She i and Ma k ha e on my English. I’m eally happy o mee hem.’’ (The
Ame ican Accen Wo kshop, www.accen wo kshop.com)
Sanaz expe ienced ‘con usion’ and ‘cul u e shock’ upon his a i al in he US,
and he Ame ican accen cou se ga e him ‘cou age’ and ‘con idence’ o speak
Ame ican English, and his capaci y clea ly helped him o e come his ini ial
eelings. No e he equen e e ences o ‘ eelgood’ ac o s such as ‘con idence’.
1
Speaking in an Ame ican accen makes people mo e con iden in con ac s wi h hei
Ame ican na i e-speake coun e pa s:
Example 5
[Tes imonial om a Spanish male Labo a o y manage ] ‘‘The Accu a e
English accen educ ion cou ses should be a ‘‘mus ’’ o all p o essionals
whose o eign accen ge s in he way o clea communica ion. Taking he
cou ses has g ea ly imp o ed my p onuncia ion o Ame ican English sounds
and made a big di e ence in my speech. My p esen a ions a wo k a e much
be e . I speak wi h mo e con idence and au ho i y.’’ (Accu a e English)
Example 6
[Tes imonial om an Is aeli male compu e consul an ] ‘‘Be o e I s a ed
aking he classes, I couldn’ p onounce ce ain owel sounds co ec ly. Lisa
[ he aine ] iden i ied he issues and augh me o lis en and o exp ess mysel
in a na i e way. He cus omized me hod allowed me o quan i y my weekly
imp o emen s. A e a ela i ely sho ime, I no iced majo p og ess in he
way I speak. This lead o an unexpec ed inc ease in my con idence when
communica ing. I highly ecommend he Ame ican P onuncia ion cou se’’
(Accu a e English)
Example 7 (The bene i s o Accen Modi ica ion can be you s!)
•Clea , unde s andable speech
•E icien , e ec i e communica ion
•Ca ee oppo uni ies
•Imp o ed job pe o mance
•Success ul public speaking
•Mo e con idence
(Ad ance Ame ican Accen T aining, www.ad anceame icanaccen .com)
The ‘con idence’ p omised o epo ed in hese examples is a mix u e o pe sonal
and p o essional ea u es. People a e mo e con iden in gene al, hey eel be e a e
ha ing aken he cou ses, and hey also pe o m be e in hei jobs as well. The
Spanish Labo a o y Manage epo ed signi ican imp o emen s in his p esen a ions
a wo k, and Ad ance Ame ican Accen T aining p omises no jus ‘mo e
1
No e also he indexical cu ency o au hen ici y exp essed in ‘ hanks o God’: Sanaz is I anian,
he e o e he is Muslim, and Muslims use exp essions like ha .
248 J. Blommae
123
con idence’ bu also ‘ca ee oppo uni ies’ as well as ‘imp o ed job pe o mance’.
The implici image is ha o a ‘p o essional’, someone whose job is a cen al pa o
his/he li e, and o whom p o essional unhappiness is equal o pe sonal
unhappiness. Mos websi es, hus, would sugges mix u es o p o essional and
pe sonal esul s o hei accen cou ses, and we see a so o con inuum he e, some
websi es sugges ing mo e p o essional bene i s han pe sonal ones. Conside
example 8 om he Accen Reduc ion Ins i u e (www.lessaccen .com), a websi e
ha shou s ‘‘Lose you accen in 28 days!’’:
Example 8
‘‘The Accen Reduc ion Ins i u e (ARI) is he indus y leade in Ame ican
Accen T aining, p o iding non-na i e English speake s wi h p o en ech-
niques o quickly mas e English p onuncia ion. ARI p o ides he ools o help
people main ain hei unique cul u al iden i y while:
•Elimina ing language ba ie s and miscommunica ions
•Inc easing sales and p o i abili y
•Communica ing expe ize o cus ome s
•Building s ong eams
•Inc easing e iciencies
•Raising sel -con idence’’
‘Sel -con idence’ has been pushed in o a small co ne he e, and he main
ad e isemen claims a e abou p o essional aims. No e, howe e , ha cus ome s
can ‘‘main ain hei unique cul u al iden i y’’. I shall come back o ha below.
Communicaid (www.communicaid.com), in he mean ime, is clea abou i s busi-
ness-o ien ed e iciency:
Example 9
‘‘Why Ame ican Accen T aining? Wi h he p oli e a ion o o sho e
ope a ions in loca ions as di e se as India, he Philippines, Sou h A ica and
China, o ganiza ions need o ensu e ha hei o sho e employees a e able o
communica e e ec i ely wi h cus ome s and colleagues alike. A i al
ing edien o success ul communica ion o you o e seas s a is hei accen
when speaking English.’’
‘‘The impac o Fi s Language In luence (FLI) on an o sho e employee’s
accen can no be unde es ima ed. Ame ican Accen aining om Commun-
icaid will help you o e seas s a o minimize he in luence o hei i s
language while maximizing hei communica ion wi h you cus ome s h ough
a neu al accen . Whe he h ough online Ame ican Accen T aining cou ses,
i ual Ame ican Accen aining o ace- o- ace accen ins uc ion, Com-
municaid o e s scaleable Ame ican accen aining solu ions o you
o ganiza ion’s o sho e ope a ions.’’
‘‘A Communicaid Ame ican Accen T aining cou se will p o ide you
o sho e pe sonnel wi h he abili y o:
– Communica e mo e e icien ly and e ec i ely wi h cus ome s and colleagues by
educing hei i s language in luenced accen
A ma ke o accen s 249
123
– Build appo and empa hy and s eng hen ela ionships wi h cus ome s and
colleagues h ough mo e success ul communica ion
– Enhance you cus ome expe ience and sa is ac ion’’
The a ge g oups a e he e, clea ly, he e e -inc easing wo k o ce o in e na ional
call cen e s, and mos o he Ame ican accen websi es would make explici o
implici e e ence o call cen e s as a a ge o a success s o y. Thus, he
Tes imonials page o he P onuncia ion Wo kshop (www.p onuncia ionwo kshop.
com) epo s:
Example 10
‘‘This is by a , he MOST EFFECTIVE English P onuncia ion p og am I ha e
e e seen. I am an Ame ican Accen T aine in India and ha e ained 22,000
agen s. A e aking his p og am, I wish he e was a way o go back and s a
all o e again.’’—Oo akx Boyce, Ame ican Accen T aine , India
‘‘I am he Head o he T aining Depa men o he Wo ld’s Second La ges
Call Cen e Company in India. We ha e oo p in s in o e 40 coun ies a ound
he wo ld including many cen e s in Uni ed S a es as well. I ha e been
wo king in he Call Cen e Indus y in India o he pas 8 yea s. Because we
ca e o Ame ica, o yea s we ha e been sea ching o a cos e ec i e aining
me hod o lea n he Ame ican s yle o English P onuncia ion, howe e , ha e
had no luck… ha is, un il we ound he P onuncia ionWo kshop p og am.
While sea ching h ough Google one day, I came ac oss he P onuncia ion-
Wo kshop websi e and wa ched he ee demo …We ound ha demo o be
SIMPLY AMAZING STUFF !!!!!!! Ins ead o showing diag ams, isuals
combined wi h phone ics, he e was Paul. A LIVE TRAINER…SHOWING
HIS MOUTH FORMATION and he TECHNIQUES o ge a clea e sound. I
quickly showed i o my CEO and he was amazed as well. Wha ’s unique
abou Paul’s cou se is how simple i is…as well as un o wa ch. My s a
always looks o wa d o wo king on his p og am…We seem o lea n
some hing new e e y ime we wa ch ano he ideo, and i has made
ema kable changes in ou speech and English skills. We ha e implemen ed
his aining app oxima ely 6 mon hs ago o imp o e ou cus ome sa is ac ion
sco es. No only ha e we seen signi ican imp o emen s wi h ou sco es, bu
ou A e age Call Handle Time pe cus ome has educed app oxima ely by
29% in he las 4 mon hs as he agen s do no need o epea hemsel es.
Looking in o he success o he p og am a ou cen e we ha e also asked Paul
o de elop a ce i ica ion p og am. I mysel , as well as membe s o my s a
ha e gone h ough elephonic aining wi h Paul, one-on-one. Paul makes
lea ning so much FUN and has changed he way we speak English!!!. Today I
am p oud o say ha he en i e aining depa men has become Ce i ied by
P onuncia ion Wo kshop. I canno p aise his cou se enough…I is uly qui e
an achie emen and I know you will be ex emely pleased as well.—Joy Deb
Mukhe jee, Di ec o o T aining, India
‘‘The uly ema kable hing abou Paul’s [ he aine ] p og am is how simple
& e ec i e i is…and his engaging pe sona eally pulls you in. He e in India,
250 J. Blommae
123
laye ed p ocesses de eloping a se e al, e y di e en scale-le els. The global
pu chase o English—wha de Swaan (2001) called he ‘s ampede owa ds
English’—is a phenomenon a one scale-le el, a e y gene al one and consequen ly
one ha , in ac ual sociolinguis ic p ac ice, would appea as a ela i ely widesp ead
bu supe icial phenomenon. The ma ke ing o Ame ican accen s, on he con a y,
e ol es a ound speci ic sociolinguis ic egis e s a ge ed a speci ic ( a he small)
g oups. These g oups, we can assume, al eady ‘know English’, bu hey equi e a
mo e speci ic se o linguis ic, p agma ic and me ap agma ic skills— o sound like an
Ame ican. The scale o such p ocesses is a smalle han ha o ‘global Englishes’,
bu he p ocess appea s a lo mo e de eloped and ha ing a mo e p o ound impac .
Gi en he homogenizing ‘semio ic consubs an iali y’ we wi nessed in hese do -com
Englishes, we could say ha his ( a he han he ‘impe ialis ’ sp ead o English ou
cou ) is eal ‘McDonaldiza ion’: cus ome s a e expec ed no jus o buy he language
bu also he whole indexical ( ha is: ideological) package i con ains, and o do so
om wi hin a na owly de ined ‘globalis ’ wo ld iew. These a e di e en p ocesses,
o be su e—pe haps complimen a y bu o a di e en o de . And I would sugges ha
a sound sociolinguis ics o globaliza ion should no jus look a he wo ld and i s
languages, bu also o he wo ld and i s egis e s, gen es, epe oi es and s yles, i i
wan s o ha e any empi ical g ounding. I is in small-scale, niched phenomena such
as he ones conside ed he e ha we see eal language: language ha is in es ed by
eal-wo ld in e es s and language ha ma e s o eal people. This, na u ally, is no
longe he ‘linguis ic’ language, nei he is i he language-poli ical language, bu i is
he sociolinguis ic language and he language o he e e yday poli ics o language,
p oduced and a icula ed in a polycen ic en i onmen by a mul i ude o (o en
epheme al) ac o s.
This leads us o a second poin abou globaliza ion. Gi en he in ense
polycen ici y o lea ning en i onmen s and he ac ha globaliza ion p ocesses
de elop a se e al di e en scale-le els, he issue o no ma i i y becomes qui e
complex. Wha is he s a us o language no ms, who p oduces hem and who
en o ces hem? These a e ques ions ha now equi e a de ailed examina ion o
ac o s, ins umen s, goals and esou ces. Ame ican accen websi es ca e o a
ma ke ha is no se iced by he na ional o mal lea ning sys ems. Indians who
ha e acqui ed English a school and seek employmen in global call cen e s need o
be e ained in Ame ican accen , because hei school English bea s oo many aces
o wha in ou examples was called ‘s ong o eign accen ’. Thus we see how ac o s
collabo a e in he p oduc ion o language no ms in an in e dependen complex o
ac o s: he school sys em p oduces ‘English’, using i s own pedagogies and o de s
o indexicali y; bu in o de o acqui e he speci ic kind o English ha o e s jobs in
he globalized economy, people need o u n o p i a e p o ide s, who impose ye
ano he se o no ms and ules o p ope speech. These p i a e p o ide s— he
in e ne companies we discussed he e, bu hink also o p i a ely un in e na ional
schools in pos colonial socie ies—a e no ied o he na ional o de o hings, hei
ac i i ies a e ‘bo de bus ing’ in na u e, and in e es ingly hei cul u al seman ics
e ol es a ound uni o mi y, homogenei y and submission—a e y mode nis
esponse o globalized, pos -mode n p essu es.
A ma ke o accen s 257
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An impo an ea u e o globaliza ion p ocesses is he ac ha hey blend he
local and he anslocal in complex ne wo ks (Cas ells 1996). Local sociolinguis ic
sys ems, consequen ly, a e sho h ough by aces and agmen s o anslocal ones,
and he language ha is ‘good’ in he local sociolinguis ic sys em may no be good
enough in he anslocal ones—which is why Indian call cen e wo ke s need o
lea n Ame ican English and should no use hei local accen s. We see a ious
no ma i e complexes (I called hem o de s o indexicali y) ope a e in he same
en i onmen , o en wi hou mani es o e lap o con usion bu ‘niched’ and con ined
o pa icula se s o communica i e asks. Highly skilled indi iduals such as he
globalized p o essionals a ge ed by he Ame ican accen ma ke ee s acqui e, and
mus acqui e, he esou ces ha allow hem o ope a e wi hin and ac oss hese
di e en o de s o indexicali y. Language, p edic ably, hus becomes some hing ha
equi es con inuously mo e in es men om i s use s, and language lea ning (o
a he : he lea ning o speci ic egis e s ailo ed o pa icula communica i e asks)
will inc easingly become a balancing ac be ween o mal and in o mal lea ning
p ocesses. I becomes, in e ec , a pe manen ‘ca e o he sel ’ in Foucaul ’s (2006)
sense, a pe manen ques o o de by a ending o he small de ails o linguis ic
conduc . Highly specialized p o ide s such as he ones desc ibed in his pape , who
a e able o o e hese mic oscopic de ini ional egis e s o subjec i ica ion as
ope a ional (linguis ic) and ideological (indexical) packages may h i e in his b a e
new wo ld o language.
Open Access This a icle is dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion
Noncomme cial License which pe mi s any noncomme cial use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any
medium, p o ided he o iginal au ho (s) and sou ce a e c edi ed.
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Au ho Biog aphy
Jan Blommae is Finland Dis inguished P o esso o Linguis ic An h opology a he Uni e si y o
Jy a
¨skyla
¨, Finland, and P o esso o Linguis ic An h opology a Tilbu g Uni e si y, The Ne he lands. His
esea ch add esses heo e ical and empi ical aspec s o language and globaliza ion, wi h special emphasis
on inequali ies in his ield, and wi h ma e ials om A ica, Asia and Eu ope. His majo publica ions
include ‘Language Ideological Deba es’ (Mou on de G uy e 1999), ‘Discou se: A c i ical In oduc ion’
(Camb idge Uni e si y P ess, 2005), ‘G ass oo s Li e acy: W i ing, Iden i y and Voice in cen al A ica’
(Rou ledge 2008) and ‘A Sociolinguis ics o Globaliza ion’ (Camb idge Uni e si y P ess, o hcoming
2009).
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