The coloniality of native speakerism

In various iterations of studies of Global Englishes, much has been written about native-speakerism. However, Kumaravadivelu asks why the intellectual output has not substantially altered the power dynamics between ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ speakers. This article conducts a critical historiography of native-speakerism and shows how it is fundamentally implicated in the mobilization of race and racial inequality in the operationalization of colonial power. It does so by going back to texts written during the period of American colonization in the Philippines and discussing their discursive and structural continuities today. The article highlights and problematizes the coloniality of native-speakerism.