With this book, John ORegan has mastered the art of engaging readers with his elegant and sharp scholarship, however complex the subject matter may be. He treats seriously and passionately the long overdue need to examine and document the political economic dimension of language, specifically in relation to the historical global dominance of English. In so doing, ORegan challenges established and promoted bodies of work by questioning normative and in-fashion ideologies and thinking, seeing beyond oft-celebrated sentiments and positions in order to deliver a work that is not only thought-provoking, but also of great merit and intellectual weight.
Phan Le Ha, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
A careful, comprehensive and critical study of the intertwined tentacles of English and capitalism. John ORegan presents here the big and the long picture of the political economy of English, showing how the global dominance of English and the development of the capitalist world-system cannot be usefully considered in isolation. A study of real importance.
Alastair Pennycook, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
In conclusion, with this seminal work on the historical and ongoing alliance of capitalism and a normative English in helping one another, ORegan has indeed filled in a crucial number of the historical and economic lacunae which have existed...in applied linguistic and sociolinguistic accounts of the spread of English as a global language (p. 2) not only for him as he states, but also importantly for many of us who have been calling out capitalism for what it has been doing to us for the past several centuries.
Christian W. Chun, Applied Linguistics 2021: 14
Deeply insightful and intellectually stimulating, ORegans book will be essential reading for scholars and students of applied linguistics, World Englishes, and associated fields of study.
Pamoda M. Jayaweera, Language in Society
The book draws diverse yet highly relevant concepts together to present a case that should make us all stop and think about where ELT is heading. This book is likely to have considerable impact in informing future research into, and discussion of, the nature and purpose of English in the global context and is well worth reading.
Steve Brown, ELT Journal, Volume 77, Issue 1, January 2023
