A market of accents

This is a sel -a chi ed e sion o an o iginal a icle. This e sion may di e om he o iginal in pagina ion and ypog aphic de ails. Au ho (s): Ti le: Yea : Ve sion: Copy igh : Righ s: Righ s u l: Please ci e he o iginal e sion: CC BY-NC 2.0 h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ A ma ke o accen s © The Au ho 2009 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 257 123 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. Re e ences Agha, A. (2005). Voice, oo ing, en egis e men . 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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). A ma ke o accen s 259 123