Language policy in the kingdom of Hawai'i: A worldly English approach

Abstract

This study attempts to develop Linguistic Imperialism theory (Phillipson, 1992) and overcome the limitations of its historical framework through the concept of „worldliness of English‟ (Pennycook, 1994) and by testing it against a unique historical case. From 1840 to 1887, the Hawaiian Islands enjoyed a constitutional monarchy with a liberal franchise controlled by a Native majority. This analysis of the unfolding of language policies, practices and beliefs under the Kingdom of Hawai„i, more specifically in judiciary and legislative institutions, endeavors to understand the discursive and sociopolitical process that led to the gradual subordination of the Hawaiian language to English before the loss of political sovereignty and American annexation. Special attention is given to guiding hypotheses like cultural hegemony and linguicism, and in order to ascertain their validity in this context, connections are drawn with the historical and current spread of English in post-colonial and non-colonial countries alike. The textual analysis of some key judicial decisions of the period illustrates why LI‟s positivistic assumptions on the primacy of economic factors and its definition of cultural hegemony don‟t stand to analysis in this case, while suggesting the preliminary alternative of professional imperialism.