Introduction to the Dibuls (bloggs)

From Grammar to Politics

For 14 years I published the weekly newsletter Majority English Dibul (=DIgital BULletin). The newsletter discussed language from the perspective of the non-native speakers of English, those who use English as a second language. The qualifying "Majority" emphasized the fact that non-native speakers far outnumber those who possess English as their parent tongue. The dibuls dealt regularly with words: new words, word usage, old words and word histories.

As enterprises of war exploded onto the world scene, discussions of words and grammar divorced from the context of these violent conflicts felt dishonest. At least for me. I tried to stick to the formalities of language analysis while providing space for the discussion of the new words generated by the wars. I couldn't maintain the balance. Language or politics, what was it going to be? Many of the Majority English Dibul readers grew uncomfortable with the amount of politics edging into the newsletters. The decision to abandon the language aspect was formalized in the first of the dibuls without "Majority English" in the title. This was Dibul 01 - The War Word.