Abstract

It is well admitted that English is being more widely used than ever before in history in today’s international and intercultural communication. Around the world, English is widely accepted as a de facto international language or world language, it has infiltrated into almost every aspect of social life, from education to scientific research, from economic affairs to mass media. In a word, there is a “English craze” in the world.
Usually language is considered merely a tool for communication, however, according to the Antonio Cramsci, a well-known Italian Marxist Philosopher, language, which is closely related to culture and ideology, can influence people’s value and world view. Therefore, it is not simple to spread English into China, but the English culture which can influence our Chinese people’s value and ideology, even establish the English Cultural Hegemony in China.
Based on Cramsci’s theory, combined with the example of English education in China, this thesis analyzes how language, culture, ideology and cultural hegemony relate to each other, and guide us how to a treat it, especially the English education.

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