Now you're talking my language

The series 'The Adventures Of English', presented by Melvin Bragg, might be tucked away in a late-night slot in the darkest corner of the ITV1 schedule, but then I suppose I should be thankful this sort of thing hasn't yet been squeezed out of the listings altogether. Last night's installment was a fascinating insight into the ways that English has been used as a colonialist and imperialist tool of cultural repression, patronisingly prescribed by the "civilised" for the "savages", and how a plurality of new Englishes have been spawned, flourishing and escaping the control of the imperialist authorities who imposed English upon the native peoples in the first place. Not only was it emphasised that language is always indissolubly associated with politics and power relations, but also that even "standard" British English is a hybrid and mutant language that has over the years adopted and absorbed words from other languages spoken all over the world. In other words, it was far more interesting and informative than 'Holiday Airport'.