Linguistic Opportunism and English in Moldova - Essay Example

The author’s interests are clearly developed and the audience to this piece of work is easy to identify. This paper presents a synopsis of the book, alongside the writer’s intent. This is further compared and contrasted to similar and related literature referenced in the book. The book presents an examination of English in Moldova. Specifically, the position of English in the country can be sated from different points of view. The writer’s procedural development of this book is a critical study of the specific components of English in Moldova.

There are two major drivers of English in Moldova as identified by Matthew Ciscel. These are opportunism and imperialism (Ciscel, 2002, p.404). The writer follows revolutionary times across history to draw the trend of English in Moldova, with opportunism appearing superior to imperialism. A comparison of past and present social, economic and political trends in the local and international arena paves way to the actual context of English in Moldova. Opportunism is a situation where individuals and /or groups take advantage of emerging opportunities without necessarily taking into account the consequences of those opportunities to others.

In other words, these individuals and/or groups maximize their own benefits without prior consideration of the rest of the people. Imperialism on the other hand depicts a colonial-like aspect between one state and another. The author’s main argument is that the above two factors have shaped English in Moldova. This statement may stand challenged, but of course the author had taken this into account during the early stages of developing his book. Ciscel therefore undertook surveys, collecting and analysing relevant data to back up this claim.

This was done in the light of world English trends. As aforementioned, the international language is predominantly English. This has suppressed other major world languages around the world. This trend was however expected right from the colonial times. This is because major colonies in the world were colonized by English states, for example Britain. The book Linguistic opportunism and English in Moldova therefore takes into account this and other world aspects to highlight linguistic concerns and interests in Moldova.

The writer’s intent to the reader is to present how linguistics has constituted exploitation and beneficial opportunities for a few at the expense of many. In this regard, English in Moldova has been integrated into the same context, encompassing imperialism as well. This effort has not been pursued without the support of other works that have been referenced in Ciscel’s book. The investigation of the role of English in Moldova by Matthew Ciscel is backed up by Phillipson’s (1992) and Krachu’s (1985) works.

Concepts of linguistic opportunism and linguistic imperialism are highlighted. The work of Krachu goes a step ahead and considers the world “Englishes” in concentric circles. The works of these three writers converge to the point that English in Moldova among other states in the world is primarily based on the concept of linguistic opportunism. In this regard, linguistic dominance is realized and further enhanced by imperialism in the same context. The evidence used to back up this observation is common to all three.

There is data collection, analysis and interpretation in relation to attitude and use of language in Moldova (Ciscel, 2002, p.412). The work of Matthew Ciscel alongside those of the