How imagined social construction about language, power and social positions are tied up with different kinds of imagined communities – and how such ties may present themselves in a context of cultural – and language – encounters

Abstract

This essay will answer the following question: Use texts from the course to describe how imagined social construction about language, power and social positions are tied up with different kinds of imagined communities – and how such ties may present themselves in a context of cultural – and language – encounters. This essay's point of departure will take place through the following bodies of literature: Benedict Anderson (1983), Anne H. Fabricius, Janus Mortensen and Hartmut Haberland (2017), Anne Holmen (2014), Christian Horst and Thomas Gitz‐Johansen (2010), Ivan Manokha (2018), and Somdeep Sen (2020). First, I will discuss Anderson's concept of imagined communities and its relation to categorization and power. Furthermore, I will discuss how language is a barrier that separates communities and how English has become the standard, with an analysis of Holmen’s (2014), Fabricius’ (2017) and Horst’s (2010) texts, through the case of higher education institutions excluding foreigners in Denmark. Subsequently, I will discuss the current context of technology and what power it has on users all over the world.

Sofía Rendos Vega.